Experienced and playing at a faster pace, high-scoring Lincoln Park girls unbeaten and looking like a WPIAL Class 5A title contender

Lincoln Park has been on an absolute tear over the first month of the basketball season, using the WPIAL’s most-potent offense to sprint to a 10-0 record.

But the success has nothing to do with Brandin Cummings’ scoring ability or Meleek Thomas’ masterful all-around play.

No, it’s not the defending WPIAL and PIAA champion Lincoln Park boys, but rather the Lincoln Park girls that begin 2024 with a perfect record. And as the season progresses, a program that is in just its 10th season hopes to earn a championship banner just like the highly successful boys team has done so many times over the years.

“We want to win the section, the WPIAL and states. It’s everybody’s goal, and that’s definitely our goal,” senior guard Maddie Syka said.

Lincoln Park has come a long way in a short time. The program was established in 2014, and, after playing an independent schedule that first season, Lincoln Park joined the WPIAL for the 2015-16 season. Ryan Kacsur, who previously was the girls coach at Sto-Rox, took over in 2017. Kacsur guided the Leopards to a winning record for the first time in the 2019-20 season. They participated in the playoffs for the first time a season later, but that was only because every WPIAL team qualified due to the pandemic. But last season the Leopards earned a playoff spot on merit for the first time when they notched a program-record 18 wins.

With five starters — all of them seniors — back this season, Lincoln Park is thinking big. So far, so good. The Leopards are one of only seven unbeaten teams in the WPIAL and have won all of their games by double digits. They started 9-0 last season before losing to South Fayette, which went on to win its second consecutive WPIAL Class 5A title. Lincoln Park travels to South Fayette (5-3) Friday for a Section 4 game.

“This is why we do what we do as coaches,” said Kacsur, whose team is 1-0 in section play. “You work so long with these girls for so many years to have this opportunity where we’re at now. These girls have been playing since second grade. Some of them have been playing together since fourth grade. Seeing them start jelling and working together and doing the little things, it’s something special. There’s definitely something special in that locker room.”

Lincoln Park has seven seniors, a class that includes J’La Kizart, Maddie Syka, Sarah Scott, Abbi Jannuzi, Sincere Conley, Bella Ruminer and Zoe Mangus. Scott is the only one that has been starting at Lincoln Park for four seasons. A 6-foot forward and Baldwin Wallace recruit, Scott averages 10.9 points and a team-best 9.2 rebounds per game.

“She came to me at the end of her eighth grade year, and she has just blossomed,” Kacsur said. “I told her, ‘You dedicate yourself to this program and good things are going to happen.’ She’s been through the ringer from the ups and downs that come with high school basketball and just any program in general, and she’s getting to see the excitement this season, which is awesome. I feel great for her since she dedicated herself to this program.”

Kizart and Syka give Lincoln Park one of the top one-two scoring punches in the WPIAL. Both came to Lincoln Park prior to their junior year (Kizart from Beaver Falls and Syka from Blackhawk). Kizart, a 5-8 guard, has pumped in a team-high 20 points per game to go along with 5.9 rebounds and 5.1 steals, while Syka, a 5-9 guard, averages 18.4 points in addition to 8.1 rebounds and 4.7 assists. Syka scored 22 points and Kizart 20 in a recent win against West Allegheny at PPG Paints Arena. A day later, Kizart went off for 39 points in an 80-53 triumph against Wilmington.

“They’re just scorers,” Kacsur said. “They know how to get the ball to the hoop. They don’t want to settle for jump shots. They want to get to the rim. And that’s what makes them special.”

Jannuzi (11.7 ppg) gives Lincoln Park a fourth player averaging double digits. Jannuzi does a lot of her damage from beyond the arc, as she has knocked down a team-high 21 3-pointers. She has connected on at least three in five of the team’s 10 games.

No WPIAL team is putting the ball in the basket more frequently than Lincoln Park, which averages a district-best 71.6 points per game. Only four other teams average at least 60. It has been a big uptick in scoring for the Leopards, who averaged 55.5 a game last season. And it’s not something that has happened by accident. It has been by design.

“We got faster this year,” Kacsur said. “The girls really dedicated themselves to what it’s going to take to win in 5A basketball. [Class] 5A basketball is brutal. It’s an up-and-down game. There’s not many slow-down teams. If we want to beat some of these upper-echelon teams that have won, the South Fayettes and Trinitys, we had to speed ourselves up, so that’s what we did.”

Kacsur often uses the word “special” when talking about his team. Watch Lincoln Park play, and it’s easy to see why. The Leopards could take another big step this season, with winning a first section title and first postseason game being among the many possible outcomes.

“There’s a lot of talent in that room,” Kacsur said. “The section title would be something very special, and who knows what happens when you get into the WPIAL playoffs. This team has something special, and this team could do something special for sure.”