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Monday, December 12, 2022, TRIB-LIVE
The Fox Chapel girls basketball team lost its season opener, falling by seven to Highlands at the Freeport Tip-Off on Dec. 2.
The Foxes have reeled off four straight since then. The latest triumph came Monday evening at Plum.
Led by a balanced effort where five players had at least six points, Fox Chapel held off a second-half surge by Plum to post a 48-43 victory over the previously undefeated Mustangs.
“I am very proud of the ladies,” said Fox Chapel coach Marty Matvey, who saw his team play without its second-leading scorer in sophomore Natalia Schaffer (illness) and junior Skye Barnes (ankle).
Matvey hopes Barnes can return for the playoffs.
“So far this season, we’ve had a lot of adversity with injuries and sickness, but the girls have stuck together through it all,” he said. “When the game got tight tonight, they didn’t panic. I am just so happy to see the resiliency. With those who we’ve missed or who has gone down, the next person has stepped up.”
Fox Chapel, which also owns victories over Freeport, Woodland Hills and Seneca Valley, is 4-1. It has a quick turnaround as it will host New Castle on Tuesday.
Plum, which topped Freeport, Highlands, Seneca Valley and South Park to open its season, fell to 4-1. The Mustangs open Section 1-5A play Thursday at home against Gateway.
“This group keeps battling, no matter what,” Plum coach Rich Mull said. “They keep working. That’s what it’s all about. The girls trusted each other, and they were able to come back. While I am disappointed in the end result, I am not disappointed in the way they kept fighting.”
Fox Chapel led by eight at the end of the third quarter, but Plum, fronted by junior Megan Marston, who scored nine points in the fourth quarter and had 18 for the game, rallied to within one at 41-40, with 1:59 left.
The Foxes held strong down the stretch. They closed the game on a 7-3 run and hit 5 of 6 from the line in the final minute.
“In the fourth quarter, we were a little light on the bench, so we had to adjust our defense a little bit, from 2-3 to man,” Matvey said.
“We knew that Megan was going to get going. She’s a phenomenal player. We told the girls that Plum was going to hit us, but we had to hit back and stay composed. We’re still learning how to finish games, and this game was really good for them as they continue to work on that.”
Junior Isabella Barbour led Fox Chapel with 13 points while freshman Lyla Jablon added 11. Senior Elsie Smith, who missed her team’s first three games with injury, just missed a double-double as she scored nine points and added 14 rebounds.
Junior Sarah Slember scored eight in the victory, and sophomore Bella Urso contributed six.
“Last year, when we played here, we got beaten by a lot,” Smith said. “We just came in tonight so motivated to win. We knew Plum was a really good team with Megan. We just needed to limit her as best and possible and lock down on their bigs, and we would do all right. We knew we needed everyone, and we got that.”
Fox Chapel got off to a fast start with a 7-2 run in the first 3:31 of the first quarter on a foul shot and a layup from Barbour, a layup from Smith and a layup from Urso.
The Foxes led by 11 at the end of the first quarter and held a 15-point advantage on three occasions in the second.
Despite committing six turnovers in the second quarter, Fox Chapel maintained its 11-point lead at the break, 28-17.
Plum finished the first half on a 6-2 run and opened the second half with a 5-0 spurt on a field goal from junior Pascale Olczak and a bucket and a foul shot from senior Dannika Susko to trim the deficit to six at 28-22.
Susko finished with eight points and seven rebounds.
Paced by five points from Smith, Fox Chapel went on to maintain its lead at eight, 37-29, heading to the fourth quarter.
Michael Love is a Tribune-Review Staff Writer. You can contact Michael by email at [email protected] or via Twitter