Plum girls basketball team looks ahead to promising future

By: Michael Love
Saturday, February 23, 2019 | 9:38 AM

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Plum girls basketball coach Steve Elsier saw growth in his young team from his inaugural season with the program last year to this recently concluded campaign.

The Mustangs bettered their WPIAL playoff seeding in Class 5A and increased their overall win total by five games.

Elsier now hopes his squad can take that next step, which includes snapping a long postseason losing streak since the only playoff win in program history in 2002.

“The run to the playoffs and the playoff game was a great experience for the team moving forward,” Elsier said. “Hopefully, the returning girls can carry that into next year. One of our goals next year, of course, is to win a playoff game and also to win some more games during the season. This season gives the girls motivation to get better.”

Plum finished 11-12 overall, an improvement from last year’s 6-17 mark.

Plum, as the No. 11 seed in the WPIAL Class 5A bracket, saw its 2018-19 season come to a close Feb. 19 with a first-round defeat at the hands of No. 6 Thomas Jefferson, 79-36.

“We prepared for the game the best we could, and we had some good things schematically, but we just didn’t execute very well,” Elsier said. “There were times we had an open girl against their press and threw the ball away. We had too many turnovers, especially early, and a lot of that was nerves. But Thomas Jefferson is a very good team, and we made mistakes, so it was a double negative.”

But Elsier also was quick to point out how his team kept challenging the Jaguars despite the score.

He also said he was proud of the way his players battled in the second half of Section 2 play.

Plum was 3-5 after eight section games but then won three of four down the stretch, including consecutive victories against Armstrong, Hampton and Kiski Area, to clinch its third straight trip to WPIALs and ninth in 10 years.

The Mustangs graduate two seniors — forward Kelsi Zik and guard Alexa Seigh. Both were varsity starters or contributors for four years. Elsier said their leadership on and off the court was appreciated, including helping him get up to speed with the program as the new coach last season.

Zik finished second on the team in scoring this season at 9.3 points per game and led the way with 41 3-point field goals. She also averaged 4.6 rebounds.

Seigh contributed 5.0 points, was second on the team in assists and tied for the lead in steals.

“I feel bad they had so much turnover in the varsity careers with three coaches,” Elsier said. “But they continued to play and get better and lead the team. That speaks volumes for their character.

“Alexa did such a good job of taking charges defensively and motivating our team overall. Kelsie hit some really big shots for us this year and brought that veteran presence. We’re going to miss that competitiveness from both.”

Elsier said he expects even better things next season from 5-foot-11 sophomore forward Kennedie Montue.

Montue, an all-section performer this season, led the team in scoring at 18.7 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. She had a team-best 20 points against Thomas Jefferson.

“She grew quite a bit from the beginning of the year,” Elsier said. “She matured as a player and a leader. She played a solid game against Thomas Jefferson. She has a strong work ethic, and we expect her leadership to grow even more heading into next season to help push us to that next level.”

Elsier said he also expects growth from returning players such as starting guards Mackenzie Lake and Jamie Seneca, a junior and sophomore this year, respectively, as well as junior Gianna Trombetta and freshman Kai Johnson.

“There is a lot of excitement for our program,” Elsier said. “We want to keep building. Last year, we only had 10 girls and then nine at the end of the season because one was injured. This year, we had 12, so we’re looking to again increase our numbers, and that comes through time, experience and success.”

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