Confident Tigers ruin Slagus’ debut
By JEREMY SELLEW
jsellew@yourmvi.com
It’s understandable if Belle Vernon Area girls basketball coach Kaitlyn Slagus was nervous before coaching her first game at her alma mater.
The problem for the Leopards was her team played nervous, too.
BVA committed 25 turnovers in the first half, and host McKeesport had no issues taking advantage.
Haley Hertzler finished with 15 points, all before halftime, and Malina Boord added 14 as the Tigers cruised to a 53-34 win over Slagus’ Leopards.
It was a disastrous start for BVA (0-1) as McKeesport led 19-4 after the first quarter and 40-13 at the half.
“I think nerves was a lot of the problem,” Slagus said. “I couldn’t even tell you how many shots we got up in the first half because we were too busy turning it over.
“The second half was better once we realized it wasn’t us against Belle Vernon anymore. There was a new team for us to play against. We had to settle down and we played much better.”
Hertzler and Carmen Coles each finished with five steals as the length of McKeesport (1-0) was too much for the Leopards to handle early on.
“That’s what we have to play to,” Tigers head coach Eric Smith said. “We don’t have a lot of size, so we have to play to our length and play to our speed. Our length is the key, though.”
Hertzler was dominant when she was on the floor for the Tigers. Stepping into a leadership role as only one of two seniors on the roster, she oozed confidence and it was evident her strength was absorbed by her teammates.
“Haley, she’s a dog. She’ll get down and dirty out there,” Smith said. “Tonight she showed her leadership and confidence and she passed it on to the younger players.”
To read the rest of the story, please see a copy of Saturday’s Mon Valley Independent, call 724-314-0035 to subscribe or subscribe to our online edition at http://monvalleyindependent.com.
