By JEREMY TEPPER
MVI Sports
It was an up-and-down season for Leslie McPherson in her first year as the South Allegheny girls basketball coach, but the end result was a marked improvement.
The Gladiators went 9-12 and 7-7 in section play, a nice step up from the previous 4-16 record. McPherson began to establish the culture she seeks at South Allegheny as she goes into her second season with a largely different team.
“I feel like I didn’t really have serious expectations as far as how it would go. I just wanted to make sure the girls got better, worked hard and their basketball IQ raised and they were better people,” McPherson said. “I think that we accomplished all of those goals.”
The Gladiators graduated four players from last season’s team, including Madison Kirkwood and Madison Taylor, who were staples for the group.
South Allegheny is much smaller — in height and in players — as McPherson has just 11 girls on her roster. A team that played slower and relied on its size last year now figures to adopt a much different style of basketball.
“Conditioning was a big factor when we weren’t able to do much, so that’s all we’ve been working on, shooting and running,” McPherson said. “We’re going to have to play a faster game than last year because we’re a little bit inexperienced and we’re small, but we’re quick. We have a lot more speed this year, so I think that will play to our advantage.”
McPherson said the team’s shooting has improved a lot over the offseason, specifically pinpointing Erin Uziel’s improvement. Uziel is one of a number of girls competing for three open starting spots.
“Our guards are all interchangeable, it’s just a matter of who’s having the better night. That’s how close it is,” McPherson said. “They’re all really competitive and they’re all playing for the same spots.”
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