Penn-Trafford has had plenty of productive players come and go over the past two decades, but the Warriors haven’t always been blessed with an abundance of all-star talent.
Still, longtime coach John Giannikas always seems to find a way to get the most out of his players — and this season is no different for Penn-Trafford.
They only have one WPIAL title to show for it in 2014, but the Warriors have steadily transformed into one of the area’s most consistent programs under Giannikas’ watch. After years of toiling near the bottom of the standings prior to his arrival in 2006, Penn-Trafford has missed the playoffs just three times over his first 18 years at the helm — and you can bet the Warriors will be going dancing once again when this year’s WPIAL tournament comes around next month.
But while qualifying for the postseason is nice, it has been quite some time since Penn-Trafford played for a championship. Now, with the Warriors (13-0, 6-0) standing tall as the last remaining unbeaten team in Class 5A and already owning several signature wins against a handful of marquee opponents, it’s safe to say this Penn-Trafford team has far bigger goals in mind.
“We just want to be playing our best ball going into the playoffs,” Giannikas said. “Then it’s a whole new season. It’s anybody’s game. The year we won it, we were a No. 7 seed. You can’t take anybody lightly.”
Opening up its season at the Play 4 Mae Tournament Nov. 30 at Woodland Hills, the Warriors took home a 56-40 win against Seneca Valley that only continues to look better and better with time. The Raiders have since won 10 of their past 13 games and currently sit all alone atop the Class 6A Section 1 standings.
The next day, Penn-Trafford defeated defending City League champion Allderdice, 57-47, at the same neutral-site tournament, then they followed with a nail-biting 51-50 win over defending WPIAL Class 6A champion Norwin in its home opener two days later.
Certainly not a bad three-game stretch to start your season.
“Playing teams like that only makes you better,” Giannikas said. “We’ve played a lot of good teams in section and we’ve been fortunate to find a way to win those, but we still have a long way to go. We haven’t played our best game yet.”
Six days later, the Warriors traveled down the road to Franklin Regional for a showdown against the Class 5A Section 1 leaders, handing the Panthers their second-most lopsided loss of the season, 53-27. A 57-46 win over Baldwin followed two days later, sending Penn-Trafford into section play with a rising level of confidence that only continues to soar.
“It all starts with [the players],” Giannikas said. “They have all bought into this mindset that we’re going to win as one. They make the extra pass for the better shot. The little things that help you win games.”
After rattling off 12 wins in a row to start the season, the Warriors took a trip to Indiana with first place in Class 5A Section 2 on the line — and for the first time all year, they found themselves in serious trouble going into the locker room, facing a nine-point deficit at halftime.
But rather than panic and fall apart under pressure, Penn-Trafford’s selfless, team-first bunch rallied together to dominate the second half, pulling out a 50-37 come-from-behind victory.
“We still have a lot to get better at,” Giannikas said. “But one thing we do is play hard every possession, and that’s what happened [Monday] night.”
Junior point guard Torrie DeStefano (10 points per game) is the maestro on offense for the Warriors, and she is perfectly capable of facilitating for her teammates or creating her own shot, depending on what the situation calls for. Elsewhere, sophomore Isabella Fontana and freshman Raya Johnson are emerging as knock-down shooters on the wing, and 6-foot senior Kamryn Pieper (10 ppg) and 5-11 senior Lauren Marton (12 ppg) are both four-year starters who have been making an impact in the frontcourt since their freshman season.
“[Pieper and Marton] have been through a lot,” Giannikas said. “They’ve seen a lot. They’ve been a part of some big wins and crushing losses. … [DeStefano] got hurt in December last year. She missed the rest of the season with her knee. We were rolling with her in there. Losing her was huge.
“The bright side of that is some of these kids got in and got experience. Maybe that’s helping them now.”
All in all, you won’t find any players destined to play for a Power Four school at the next level, but you also won’t find many teams in the WPIAL who play a better brand of team-oriented basketball.
“Honestly, I think every single one of them has given up some individual success,” Giannikas said. “They could all probably score more points per game if the situation was different. But they have all given up some individual success to benefit the whole team. … A lot of kids in this day and age just want to look at points, but these kids have bought into looking at the success of the team and the wins.
“Even though their numbers might not be as gaudy as others, they’re great players but even better kids.”
Undefeated Union barreling toward potential three-peat
Coming off back-to-back WPIAL Class 1A titles, some might have expected Union to take a slight step back this season after graduating first-team all-state forward Kelly Cleaver.
Not if Kylie Fruehstorfer and the rest of the Scotties have anything to say about it.
Fruehstorfer is a third-team all-state selection in her own right who has shined as a sharp-shooting guard for Union since her sophomore season, when the Scotties captured the first WPIAL and PIAA titles in program history in 2023. Last year, Fruehstorfer averaged 13.9 ppg alongside Cleaver (16.3 ppg), while helping Union defend its WPIAL crown with a 50-43 overtime win against St. Joseph. Now, she has taken over as the team’s unquestioned leader as a senior — and the Scotties (12-0, 6-0) are showing no signs of slowing down.
Averaging a team-high 19.1 ppg, Fruehstorfer has Union off to a scorching start in search of its championship three-peat, as one of only three unbeaten teams left in the WPIAL along with Penn-Trafford and Shady Side Academy. But she is getting by with a little help from her friends, too — including junior forward Olivia Benedict, a softball standout who tallied 14 points with 17 rebounds in a 64-16 win over Eden Christian on Monday.
A third consecutive WPIAL title is within reach, but with coach Rob Nogay manning the controls and a handful of talented multi-sport athletes playing key roles — including senior guards Addie Nogay and Mia Preuhs — these Scotties might even have enough firepower to make a run at another state championship.
Allderdice affirms status as top dog in City League
Going into Tuesday’s clash, archrivals Allderdice and Obama Academy each shared the top spot in the City League standings with identical 3-0 records in City League play.
The Dragons are the defending City League champions, while the Eagles claimed the previous two city crowns. Many expect them to meet once again in this year’s title game, but first, they will meet twice during the regular season — and the first installment was all Allderdice on Tuesday night.
Obama’s Taylor Phillips (21 ppg) entered the game with a narrow edge over Dragons junior Bailey White (20.9 ppg) as the leading scorer in the City League, but it was White who got the last laugh on Tuesday, leading the Dragons (10-5, 4-0) to a convincing 72-34 home win to stretch Allderdice’s winning streak to six games in a row.
Steve is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at srotstein@unionprogress.com.
