Westmoreland County girls basketball notebook: Franklin Regional hoping for good injury news

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Wednesday, January 3, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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Franklin Regional girls basketball coach Bernie Pucka and his players are being kept in suspense.

On Jan. 15, doctors may determine if senior point guard Angelina Brush can come back to the lineup.

Brush has yet to play a game this season, and her absence has weighed heavily on a Panthers team that came out of the holiday break with a 1-8 record.

Brush tore her ACL and sustained meniscus damage during AAU season in April. She had surgery in May.

Her appointment in 11 days should reveal whether she will have to spend more time on the shelf or, as everyone is hoping, gain medical clearance to rejoin the team.

A Westminster commit, Brush is a two-year starter.

“The effects of losing Ang have been catastrophic,” said Pucka, whose team’s only win came against banged-up Woodland Hills, 74-43. “(Junior guard) Madi DeRiggi has stepped in and done a fantastic job as point guard, as well as freshmen Chloe Pucka and at times, junior Sierra Downs. Adding Angelina back to the roster could be the shot in the arm we desperately need.”

Double Snyder

Latrobe senior guard Elle Snyder is a scorer, which any opponent of the Wildcats knows. But she has become a relentless rebounder as well.

Snyder, who last week committed to Division I Evansville, has nine double-doubles after a 29-point, 14-rebound effort Tuesday against Penn Hills.

“She has been a pleasure to coach my first year at Latrobe because of her leadership skills,” Wildcats coach Mackenzie Livingston said. “I couldn’t be more proud of her for committing to such a great Division 1 school.

“I know she will do great things for them there as she has proven to be one of the best players this year in the WPIAL.”

1,000 for Morgan

Greensburg Central Catholic senior guard Mya Morgan reached a career milestone at a unique place.

Morgan last week scored her 1,000th career point at the Hoopfest a Cal (Pa.) when GCC defeated Canon-McMillan, 44-35.

Morgan is a Cal commit, so hitting 1,000 points at her future college home was special to her.

“It was great. My (Cal) coaches were there watching, and my future teammates too,” Morgan said. “I really like it (at Cal). They are super welcoming.”

GS vs. NC

Greensburg Salem is 10-1 and rolling over opponents. Its 25.4-point defensive scoring average is tied for second best in the WPIAL.

But the Class 4A No. 4-ranked Golden Lions will get a different kind of test Thursday night when they travel to play second-ranked North Catholic (4-4, 3-0) in a Section 1-4A showdown.

North Catholic, which beat Highlands by 20 and Freeport by 40 in other section games, is led by Alayna Rocco, a Trafford resident who has committed to play at Harvard.

Rocco had 31 points and made seven 3-pointers in a win Tuesday against Derry.

Post time

Scorebook Live, a website that covers high school sports nationally and state by state, posted the question recently, “Who is the top post player in Pennsylvania high school girls basketball for 2023-24?”

SB Live then put it to a vote.

Three Westmoreland County players were among the 20 players to make the ballot.

Norwin senior forward/center Lauren Palangio and Greensburg Salem senior center Kaitlyn Mankins are considered two of the state’s best around the rim.

Both are headed to Division II college programs.

The 6-foot-1 Palangio, a third-team all-state player last season, will play at Holy Family in Philadelphia, while Mankins heads to D’Youville (N.Y.).

Others from the WPIAL in the poll include Kelly Cleaver of Union, Kyla Fitzgerald of Armstrong, Hope Hawkins of Woodland Hills, Rachel Manfredo of McKeesport, Oumou Thiero of Quaker Valley and Natalie Wetzel of Peters Township.

Layke Fields of Kennedy Catholic also made the cut. She helped her team to a win over Greensburg Central Catholic in last year’s PIAA 2A semifinals and led Kennedy to a nonsection win over Norwin this season.

The final results of a fan vote were set to be announced Wednesday.

State rankings

Greensburg Central Catholic, the top-ranked WPIAL team in Class 2A, has moved into the TribLive HSSN state rankings.

The Centurions (6-2) are No. 4 behind Kennedy Catholic, Bishop McCort and Marian Catholic. Portage is No. 5.

GCC plays at WPIAL No. 2 Serra Catholic on Thursday night.

Marinchek returns

Derry coach Gene Brisbane was pleased to welcome senior guard Rachelle Marinchek back to the lineup.

Marinchek was believed to be done for the season with a broken collarbone, but a CT scan, Brisbane said, showed the injury had healed enough for her to play.

A 10-point-per-game scorer, Marinchek adds experience to the Trojans’ backcourt, which also features Jane Huss and Sam Gruska.

“Rachelle is a senior and she wants to play,” Brisbane said. “I give her a lot of credit.”

On the boards

Belle Vernon’s Lee girls — Saylor and Caroline — are a pair of rebounding machines.

They combined for 30 rebounds in Tuesday’s 40-26 win over Uniontown. Saylor pulled down 16 to go with 14 points.

He said it

“It puts them in the fire. The only way to understand and feel the fire is to be in it.” —- GCC coach Chris Skatell on his team’s tough schedule. GCC, a 2A program, has three wins against 6A teams.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Belle Vernon, Derry Area, Franklin Regional, Greensburg C.C., Greensburg Salem, Latrobe, Norwin