Oftentimes, there is a singular play in an ascending star player’s career, one defining moment that announces their arrival as a true big-time player on the big stage.
In case anybody in attendance Tuesday night for Peters Township’s 53-46 win at Upper St. Clair didn’t already know it before the game, they certainly know now — Natalie Wetzel has arrived.
A 6-3 junior with several Division I offers to her credit, Wetzel is far from an unknown commodity in WPIAL basketball circles. The talented forward is coming off a stellar sophomore season which saw her average 18.6 points, 8 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.6 blocks per game while earning PUP Third-Team All-Star honors, and she almost certainly will be playing college basketball in a Power Five conference in the near future.
Still, with the Indians (11-0, 3-0) having gone five years since winning their most recent WPIAL title and not having much postseason success since, Wetzel hasn’t had many opportunities to showcase her abilities under the bright lights. Finally, after leading Peters Township to a 10-0 start and entering the new year unscathed, Wetzel got the chance Tuesday to show off her skills in a marquee matchup against returning Class 6A finalist and section rival Upper St. Clair (6-5, 1-1) — and oh my, did she deliver.
After falling into a 15-2 hole in the first quarter, Wetzel began heating up to spark a 6-0 run to close out the quarter and generate some momentum for the Indians. She then capped a 9-0 run to end the first half with an incredible buzzer-beating shot from well beyond halfcourt, giving Peters Township a 26-24 lead it would never relinquish. Wetzel drained two more 3-pointers in the third quarter to help the Indians add to their advantage as they outlasted the Panthers for the impressive victory.
“My jaw dropped. I did not think that [halfcourt shot] was going in,” Wetzel said. “It didn’t even hit the backboard or anything. It was just crazy. It was the craziest shot I’ve ever shot, let alone made, in my life.
“I kind of just chucked it up with one hand. I don’t know how it went in.”
Rather than trying to explain how it went in, Peters Township coach Steve Limberiou summed up Wetzel’s astonishing buzzer-beater with six simple words.
“Sometimes great players make great shots,” Limberiou said.
Wetzel tied with Upper St. Clair junior Rylee Kalocay for the scoring lead with 19 points apiece in the game, and Panthers junior Olivia Terlecki finished with 14 points. Senior guard Gemma Walker added 12 points for the Indians. Kalocay suffered an apparent knee injury on a drive to the basket midway through the fourth quarter, and she did not return to the game.
It remains to be seen how severe the injury is, but Upper St. Clair coach Pete Serio was visibly distraught after the game while showing serious concern for his star player’s health.
“That’s a great team,” Serio said. “Our effort was exactly what we wanted. … Right now, win or lose, I don’t care. I’m just worried about Rylee.”
Being courted by programs such as Pitt, Arizona State, Kent State and Davidson, Wetzel is a premier post player who also can step outside and knock down shots at a consistent clip from 3-point range. She is an elite rim defender and also a great passer from the low post, setting up her teammates for easy looks whenever defenses over-extend to try to stop her from scoring.
Needless to say, players like her don’t come around very often — and Peters Township is lucky to have her.
“[Wetzel] is a great player. There’s no question about it,” Serio said. “That’s why she’s getting Division I looks.”
With two ultra-reliable 20-points-per-game scorers leading the way in Wetzel and Walker — plus sophomore point guard Bri Morreale emerging as a reliable third scoring threat and capable facilitator — the Indians have established themselves as leading title contenders in Class 6A for the first time since Makenna Marisa carried Peters Township to the promised land back in 2019. Now a redshirt senior at Penn State and one of the top shooting guards in the Big Ten, Marisa is undoubtedly one of the greatest players to come out of the WPIAL in the past 20 years and a certified Indians legend.
Five years later, it looks like Peters Township has another superstar on its hands — and another WPIAL championship could soon follow.
“Oh yeah, we’re back,” Wetzel said. “I feel like we’re going to go really far.”
Steve is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at srotstein@unionprogress.com.
