Howard Hanna Simon leads league at 6-0

They hold a three-game lead with two weeks left to play.

The Steel City Summer Basketball League finds itself just over halfway through its regular season, so now is a good a time to take a look at the league’s happenings thus far.

With a 6-0 record, Marie Slagus Howard Hanna Simon sits atop the league standings as coaches Nick Dizon and Kaitlyn Slagus have their squad thriving on all cylinders.

Sutton Williamson and Allie Wilson have made for an extremely effective one-two punch, while Delaney Amato and Mia Sostaric are among a bevy of difference makers for their squad.

Williamson rounds out the topfive scorers in the league with 15.6 points per game, while Wilson is seventh in the league with 14.6 points per contest.

During the second week of action on June 19, Marie Slagus HH Simon managed to knock off defending champions and perennial contenders AMD Industries by a score of 57-52 as they looked to prove to the rest of the league that they mean business.

Williamson led all scorers with 20 points while Wilson had 11 points and 12 rebounds in a dominant double- double showing. Sostaric piled in 10 points during the win.

AMD Industries (3-3) dealt with a short bench that day, but battled until the end as Makayla Canty led the way with 10 points. Bella Klobucar, Emily Eisenberg and Giuliana Giannikas each had eight more, while DaShae Cochran had seven and Riley McCabe and Aubrey Graney had six each.

Chloe Zombek is the squad’s leading scorer with 14 points per game, while Giannikas has been very impressive as one of the youngest players in the league.

AMD finds itself in a tie for second place with BeeGraphix, and the defending champions will have their rematch with Marie Slagus Howard Hanna Simon at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Marx’s Court Time in Elizabeth. Coaches Bria Rathway and Noah Yartin have championship pedigree and will be looking forward to getting their full team to make a proper push at the title.

BeeGraphix (3-3) snapped AMD’s championship streak two years ago, and coaches Larry Cash and Eric Dawson continue to oversee a competitive squad.

Lauren Borella, Emma Larkin and Mya Glisan help the squad tick, but everyone plays their part for a team that has pulled together some strong performances thus far. Borella is second in the league averaging 21.6 points per game, while Larkin is fourth with 17.2 per contest.

BeeGraphix will be back in action Tuesday against Monessen Florist, the team that happens to be in a tie behind them with Trailside.

At 2-4, MoFlo has gotten strong performances from Emma Altavilla, Lynsey Bernotas and Hayley Gibson, while Maggie Spell is the first option for a bucket. A rising junior in the league, the Shady Side Academy guard leads all scorers so far this season with 24 points per game in just two appearances.

Coaches Chad Carroto, Jeremy Sellew and Bella Carroto will be looking for a few more victories to grab a playoff berth before the regular season ends.

Trailside (2-4) will return to action at 8 p.m. Tuesday against Cedarbrook. Bella Furno paces the squad in scoring with 60 points in four appearances for a 15-point average.

Tia Yellock, Abby Genes and Kaelynn Settles are among the other key contributors for a squad that needs a few more wins to seal up a playoff berth. Coaches Dan Slain and Paul Palashak will be hoping to help make that happen.

Cedarbrook finds itself with a 1-5 record as Michelle Jellison is third in the league averaging 19.33 points per game in six contests. She’s joined by Torrie DeStefano, Leah Skweres and Madison Johnson as the leading members of Cedarbrook as coaches Bobby Zynosky and Keagan Brownlee will be looking to flip their squad’s fortunes moving forward.

There are four more regular season games to be played before the league’s playoffs start July 29. The top seed in the league will open the semifinals against the fourth-place squad at 6 p.m., while the two and the three seeds will battle to meet that winner at 7 p.m.

The league championship will be held at 7 p.m. July 31.