NEW KENSINGTON, Pa. - The Penn State New Kensington women's basketball team lost at home on Saturday in spite of a new and advanced scheme of passing.
The women showed up to Saturday afternoon's contest with a new and enhanced passing scheme. The up-to-date offensive development opened the door to scoring opportunities that would have otherwise been missed.
In recent weeks, the women's program discussed making their offense run in unison. This was extremely evident in the rate of play and openings for breakaway drives the women achieved throughout the course of the game. These superb down-court maneuvers resulted in Deshaya Chavis (Penn Hills, Pa. / Penn Hills) and Ryliegh Beck (Saegertown, Pa. / Maplewood) engineering the first of many substantial drives. Izzabelle Estrabela (Natrona Heights, Pa. / Highlands) and Shaylynne Boitnott (Meadville, Pa. / Meadville) capitalized on the fresh offense by putting up points in a much shorter span of time.
Chavis had her usual automatic and physical layups while Beck was outstanding from the three yet again. The defense also thrived through the first half with Sarah Usko (Lower Burrell, Pa. / Burrell) fighting for rebounds. Beck led the scoring with six points, Chavis, Estrabela, and Boitnott all with four after 20 minutes of play.
The women managed to keep the pace of the first half in the final two periods, never letting up on offense. With 6:13 left in the game, Boitnott came out with an injury. The women showed great resolve by finishing the game four players to five. The scoring continued in the third and fourth periods ultimately finishing with a total of four ties and lead changes. Penn State Scranton finished on top in a hard-fought battle, 54-38.
New Kensington's scoring leaders include Ryliegh Beck totaling 15 points, Deshaya Chavis with 12, and Shaylynne Boitnott with nine.
The women decided to take on a realistic approach concerning the remainder of their season after their first win earlier this week. On Wednesday, the team composed a strong effort against a tough divisional opponent in Penn State Beaver but unfortunately came up short.
This optimistic approach means they always look forward to the next game. Prior game analysis is a small part of the women's procedure. Because the season takes its toll after a few months, looking ahead and focusing on the next win has become the most effective strategy in the environment around women's basketball.
"I feel like moving forward we'll get through, hopefully, get a few games still, get wins," said Izzabelle Estrabela during Tuesday's practice. "But I know we're going to lose some. You have to have the same confidence and spirit to try to win more games."
The team certainly does not lack confidence or spirit. Their offense is led by Deshaya Chavis who was recently selected as the PSUAC Player of The Week for her extraordinary multi-faceted performance on the floor. "Even though we were winning, we all noticed that we were still making little small mistakes that could be game-changers in different games," said Chavis during Tuesday's practice. "But we just wanted to be happy in the moment. Obviously not look over those mistakes, and you know, change them for whenever we do play these next couple games this week."
The women were all business following their first win and picked up practice as usual for the rest of the week. A quality team will continually persevere and play through. Their scoring has been elevated in their last few games and the fine-tuning is something that can only happen during a game. All of the women agree that games are the best experience and this explains their motivation and determination to move on to the next contest.
Concerning their next contest, the women look forward to getting their first win in front of a home crowd in the coming days.
They will take on Penn State Fayette on the road on Tuesday, February 1, at 6:00 p.m.
Written by Matt Heavner, PSNK Athletics Communications Intern
