BY CORY ISENBERG
JOHNSTOWN — The Conemaugh Valley and Tussey Mountain girls basketball teams have played only one mutual opponent, but both squads are well aware of the other’s path to their second-round PIAA Class A game at 7:30 tonight at Hollidaysburg High School.
The Titans, who play in the Sideling Hill League, defeated Shade 55-43 in the District 5 championship game. During the regular season, the Blue Jays downed the Panthers 50-39 in WestPAC action.
Tussey Mountain (23-3) won its PIAA first-round game against District 7-4 Monessen, 60-43, while Conemaugh Valley (19-6), the District 6 third-place representative, downed District 7 runner-up North Catholic, 54-49.
“They are as good as any team we’ve played thus far,” Tussey Mountain coach Todd Gates said. “Their size is a concern for us, and we have to limit their second-chance shots and hit the boards. We’re excited to be playing a quality team. They come from the toughest district in the state for girls basketball, so we know we are going to have to play our best.”
Conemaugh Valley last played in the state playoffs in 2006, advancing to the championship before falling to Nativity BVM in the final.
“This is just huge, to move into the next round of the playoffs,” said senior Beth Kendera after her team’s win over North Catholic on Saturday. “It’s heart throbbing, because we’ve never made it this far. This is a step forward for us.”
Added Conemaugh Valley coach Teri Cruse: “This was one of our goals at the beginning of the year, to make the state playoffs, because the seniors hadn’t. Beth and Taylor (Gruss) were stat keepers when we went to the state championship game, and they were just thirsting for that. We have a good nucleus of kids. This is big for them to not only get into the state playoffs, but to take it further because since the beginning of the year, I’ve believed.”
Tussey Mountain advanced to the Elite 8 last season.
“Our experience in the playoffs last season is really helping us now late in games,” said Gates, whose team defeated Ferndale in the second round last year. “It was big in our win over Shade in the district championship and again against Monessen in the first round of states.
“I think our quickness and ball handling will be key for us. We do not go very deep into our bench.”
Senior guard Rachel Zimmerman leads the team in scoring, averaging 18.1 points while sophomore Morgan Lemin adds 10.6 a game. Senior Krista Swope provides 5.3 rebounds a game while sophomore Caitlin Foster supplies 5.5 assists and 2.8 steals a game.
“We’ve heard a lot about them,” Cruse said. “They have good shooters and hustle on defense. We’ve seen that type of game before, and that’s a benefit for us. We’re just trying to focus on Rachel Zimmerman. She’s such a good player, and you can’t really stop good players, but you can limit them and make sure that the rest of the team has to step up.”
Gruss leads Conemaugh Valley in rebounds (8.3), assists (5.7) and steals (2.6) and is the team’s second-leading scorer with nearly 11 points a game. Kendera tops the Blue Jays in scoring (13.4) and blocked shots (3.7). The other Blue Jays starters are senior Katelyn Emigh, junior Nikki Ledwich and sophomore Carly Gruss.
Also expected to get playing time for Conemaugh Valley are junior Jess Verno, sophomore Abby Menett, sophomore Jen Percinsky, sophomore Darla Pollino and freshman Jamie Cekada.
“Taylor and Beth are the focal point for a lot of teams, but we get a lot of important contributions from a lot of other kids,” Cruse said. “So many different people stepped up against North Catholic, and that made a big difference. If these kids start believing in themselves, they can accomplish so much.”
