Gateway girls look to bounce back after narrow section losses

By: Michael Love
Sunday, January 15, 2023 | 11:01 AM

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The Gateway girls basketball team started 0-4 in Section 1-5A play, but it was in position to turn some of those games into victories rather than the setbacks they experienced.

That’s the assessment of Gators coach Curtis Williams after his team suffered a two-point loss to Plum in December and a three-point defeat at the hands of Kiski Area on Jan. 3.

“Things like free throws, missing layups, and not executing what we wanted down the stretch hurt us in those games, especially in the most critical moments,” Williams said.

“But we’ve battled hard in games, and we’re still learning how to battle so we can turn those losses into wins.”

Plum and Gateway were close through their Dec. 15 contest. The Gators led by two at the end of the third before the Mustangs pulled ahead at the end for a 36-34 triumph.

Senior Marina Grado, Gateway’s leading scorer, had 18 at the end of the third quarter but was shut out in the fourth.

Against Kiski, Gateway had to play catch-up from the start as it trailed 13-4 after the first quarter and 20-8 at the half.

The Gators broke out of an offensive rut with 17 in the third quarter and were behind by only two at the start of the fourth. Grado scored seven of her team-best 11 points in the third.

But Gateway stalled again in the fourth, and the Cavaliers came away with a 32-29 win.

Gateway also was in position to defeat Penn Hills in a section matchup right before Christmas.

The Gators led 31-27 after three quarters, but they went cold in the fourth as the Indians closed out the game with a 17-3 run over the final eight minutes of play for a 44-34 victory.

Gateway tested itself Jan. 10 at home against section leader Indiana. The Gators, who were led by Grado’s 14 points, trailed 18-14 at halftime.

But Indiana used an 11-3 advantage in the third quarter to open a double-digit lead heading into the final stanza.

“They have a couple tall girls inside, and I think our tallest girls might be 5-9,” Williams said.

“But, again, the girls competed and showed some good things. We were close at halftime, but Indiana is a strong team, and they did the things they needed to do in the second half and down the stretch to get the win.”

Gateway hoped to gain a measure of momentum heading into the second cycle of section play and also finish out the first cycle strong with games against Franklin Regional last Thursday and Woodland Hills on Tuesday.

“We’ve been able to keep the group grounded and positive, no matter what has happened in games both in and out of section,” Williams said.

“They’ve been able to be focused on the next game as opposed to dwelling on the overall body of work. As we continue to grow and develop and some of the girls continue to further settle into their roles, they can see that they are close. If we continue to battle, we can push through and have a strong second half.”

Gateway opens the second half of section play at 6 p.m. Friday against Plum at the Furrie Sports Complex. It is the first game of a varsity double header as the Gateway boys host Belle Vernon in a nonsection matchup at 7:30.

Through Gateway’s first 11 games — it was 4-7 after the loss to Indiana — Grado averaged 14 points a game.

Her season best of 23 points came in the season opener, a 64-48 loss to North Catholic, No. 2 in the latest Trib HSSN WPIAL Class 4A rankings.

She followed that up with 15 against Shady Side Academy and 19 against Allderdice.

“Marina is always a workout warrior and is dedicated to her skills and improving,” Williams said.

“The biggest challenge for her this year is that she is the scouting report. All of our opponents are trying to take her out and cause her problems. She’s still our leading scorer despite all the challenges she is facing. I’ve got a lot of respect and admiration for how she is working and how she is doing all she can to help the team get wins while being the focal point of the other coaches.”

Seniors Jayla Oliver, Mea Johnson and Amiya White and junior Anayla Jordan also have produced scoring in the form of double-digit performances this season.

“Those losses, especially to teams like Plum and Kiski, were tough, and we understood what we needed to do differently,” Grado said.

“But we’re coming together more and more as a team, and I think that will help us get some wins in section and help us change our position (in the standings).”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

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