Westmoreland County girls basketball notebook: Greensburg Salem junior likes wearing stripes

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Wednesday, December 20, 2023 | 11:01 AM

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Regan Kerr has a good reason for becoming a referee.

“My mom told me to get a job, so I thought, why not be a ref?” said Kerr, a junior basketball player at Greensburg Salem.

The 5-foot-11 forward passed her PIAA officials’ certification test about two months ago and has been working middle school- and youth-level games.

“I did four games on a Saturday and made $100,” said Kerr, 16. “I never really thought about doing it, but I like it a lot.”

Kerr is a key starter for Greensburg Salem.

“She is a basketball junkie,” Greensburg Salem coach Rick Klimchock said. “I tell her she’s going to be a basketball coach or a teacher.”

Kerr said she has a newfound appreciation for the people wearing stripes and blowing whistles.

“I used to yell at refs all the time,” she said. “Now, I have more respect for them.”

Marinchek out

Derry has to move ahead without Rachelle Marinchek in the lineup. The senior guard is done for the season, coach Gene Brisbane said, with a broken collarbone.

Marinchek was the team’s second-leading scorer at about 10 points per game.

With Marinchek out, Derry has had to start three freshmen at times.

New No. 1

Greensburg Central Catholic (4-2) moved into the No. 1 spot in the TribLive Class 2A rankings, leapfrogging Freedom, which lost three of its first five games. Serra Catholic is No. 2.

Other county teams in the rankings are Norwin (No. 2 6A), Greensburg Salem (No. 4 4A) and Monessen (No. 4 A).

Nice look

A number of county teams have something in common early in the season: strong records.

Seven local teams had one or no losses after Tuesday’s games: Norwin (6-1), Hempfield (4-1), Penn-Trafford (6-1), Greensburg Salem (4-1), Burrell (5-0), Mt. Pleasant (5-1) and Monessen (2-1).

Catching up

Monessen had a 12-day layoff from game action after three games were canceled by opponents.

Chartiers-Houston, Springdale and Jeannette decided not to play the Greyhounds for various reasons. They plan to make up the Chartiers-Houston game next month, coach Janine Vertacnik said.

Games to watch

Section play is done for county teams until after the holidays, but there are some good matchups Thursday night.

McKeesport at Norwin is the top one, a clash of 20-plus-win teams from last season.

McKeesport (23-6) reached the WPIAL 5A semifinals and PIAA quarterfinals, and Norwin (24-5) played in the WPIAL and PIAA semis in 6A.

McKeesport beat Norwin last year, 47-37.

Other games Thursday include Hempfield at Indiana, Kiski Area at Penn-Trafford, Ligonier Valley at Derry, Mt. Pleasant at Frazier, Penn Hills at Latrobe and Serra Catholic at Yough.

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

Tags: Greensburg Salem, Monessen, Norwin