As back-to-back WPIAL Class 1A champions, Union has played with a target on its back all year long while receiving its opponents’ best shot night in and night out. And with first-team all-state forward Kelly Cleaver no longer patrolling the paint, some likely expected the Scotties to take a bit of a step back while enduring some tough sledding this season.

Turns out, Union had no plans of slowing down in its quest for a WPIAL championship three-peat.

Believe it or not, these Scotties have been better than ever while displaying a level of dominance few teams in the area can match. One of three undefeated teams remaining in the WPIAL along with Penn-Trafford and Shady Side Academy, Union (17-0, 10-0) has embraced the pressure of chasing perfection while its stellar senior class looks to leave a lasting imprint on the school’s legacy.

“I don’t think we look at an undefeated season and put more pressure on ourselves, but I do think it’s in the back of our minds,” said Scotties coach Rob Nogay, the 2022-23 PUP Coach of the Year. “We’re one practice at a time and one game at a time here.”

Leading the way is sharp-shooting senior guard Kylie Fruehstorfer, a third-team all-state selection who has taken over as the team’s go-to scorer and unquestioned leader following Cleaver’s graduation. After averaging 13.9 points per game as a junior, Fruehstorfer has raised her average to 18.8 ppg this season while continuing to expand her all-around game.

“When she started out as a freshman with us, she got thrown into the fire,” Nogay said about Fruehstorfer. “She definitely has grown into that role and become a leader for us — somebody who wants the ball in her hands in key moments. I’m very confident Kylie can perform in situations like that, and she has done that.”

But while Fruehstorfer provides plenty of offense on her own, Union’s biggest strength lies in its balance, depth and championship DNA.

Fellow senior guards Mia Preuhs and Addie Nogay are both multi-sport athletes who have shined on the softball diamond as well as the hardwood for the Scotties, and each have a pair of WPIAL championship rings in both basketball and softball — not to mention a PIAA basketball championship in 2023. Preuhs is Union’s star pitcher in softball, while Nogay plays the outfield — and both do a little bit of everything for the Scotties on the court.

“They are accustomed to winning. They know what it takes to win,” Nogay said. “We go as Kylie goes, but there have been nights where Addie has hit huge shots for us. Mia has played extremely well for us rebounding and scoring points. … When teams try to take Kylie away from us, these other girls are stepping up and hitting huge shots for us.”

Union’s Mia Preuhs, pictured during the 2024 WPIAL Class 1A championship at Petersen Events Center, is a two-time WPIAL champion pitcher for the Scotties who is also a key contributor for the two-time defending WPIAL champs in basketball. (Emily Matthews/Pittsburgh Union Progress)

Another softball standout having a big season in basketball is Olivia Benedict, a 5-10 junior forward who is teaming up with Preuhs and senior guard-forward Hayden Strickler to try to fill the massive void left behind by Cleaver in the frontcourt.

“I knew coming in that we weren’t going to replace Kelly,” Nogay said. “I think we just needed to play a different way, and we needed a group of kids to step up and compete at a high level. And we have that right now. We have a couple seniors who are stepping up for us.”

Since the start of the new year, Union has taken its already-tenacious defense to a whole new level. Through their first nine games of 2025, the Scotties have yet to allow 30 points in a game while holding five of their opponents to less than 20 points.

Nogay credits his team’s defensive success to the discipline of his players and their tireless work ethic, both in practice and during games.

“We have hung our hats on that since I started here,” Nogay said. “We take pride in shutting down teams and trying to shut down good players in the WPIAL. We have been fairly successful with that this year. Our kids know what is expected of them. To go out and do the fundamental things — make sure we’re boxing out and closing out on shooters. The girls in the past here have set the tone for that.”

After an overtime victory against section rival St. Joseph in last year’s WPIAL title game, Union won the first meeting between the teams on the road on Jan. 8, 46-29. The two will square off in a rematch on Thursday, when the Scotties put their undefeated record on the line with a chance to lock up the Section 1 title.

But while another section title would be nice, Union wants to go down in history with a WPIAL championship three-peat and potentially even another state title — but Nogay knows doing so will be tougher than ever before.

“I think we still feel like we have a target on our back. We still keep that same mentality,” Nogay said. “I know people are gunning for us. That’s expected when you have success. There are some teams who came down from [Class] 2A last year, and those teams are probably expecting to do very well. It’s a very deep field, and I think it’s going to be a competitive playoff.

“It’s been a really good year for us. We have low numbers, but these kids are working really hard and doing what we ask them to do.”

Union coach Rob Nogay talks with an official during the WPIAL Class 1A championship against St. Joseph on Saturday, March 2, 2024, at Petersen Events Center. Union won in overtime, 50-43, for its second consecutive WPIAL title. (Emily Matthews/Pittsburgh Union Progress)

Shaler soaring to new heights under new coach

It has been more than a decade since Shaler won its last WPIAL championship in 2011, but the Titans have emerged as legitimate title contenders in Class 5A under new coach Tony Grenek.

Coming off a two-year stint at North Hills that saw him lead the Indians to their first section title in 44 years, Grenek previously spent a decade as women’s head coach at Point Park along with prior terms as women’s associate head coach at Seton Hill and men’s head coach at Butler County Community College. In Grenek’s first year at Shaler, the Titans (15-2, 6-1) are hot on Franklin Regional’s heels in the Class 5A Section 1 standings with the regular season winding down.

After a narrow 54-48 loss on the road against the Panthers in the first matchup between the section rivals on Jan. 13, Shaler has turned things up a notch during its recent four-game win streak. Led by 5-8 sophomore guard Reese Smetanka (19.1 ppg) and 6-3 senior center Jorja Bernesser, the Titans took down Class 6A stalwarts North Allegheny (48-44 on Jan. 18) and Upper St. Clair (59-47 on Jan. 20) in back-to-back games sandwiched between lopsided wins over section foes Armstrong and Plum.

As long as Shaler keeps up its winning ways over the next three games, the Titans will close out their season at home with the section title on the line in a high-stakes rematch against Franklin Regional on Feb. 7.

Cash comes home for court naming ceremony

Widely regarded as the best girls basketball player to ever come out of Western Pennsylvania — and one of the greatest athletes the WPIAL has ever produced in any sport — Swin Cash returned home to McKeesport on Monday night.

A Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer and the current Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations and Team Development for the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans, Cash grew up in McKeesport and starred for the Tigers from 1994-98. She was a WPIAL champion, a two-time NCAA champion at Connecticut, the No. 2 pick in the 2002 WNBA Draft, a three-time WNBA champion and five-time WNBA all-star, and a two-time Olympic gold medalist in 2004 and 2012.

McKeesport held a ceremony before Monday’s game against West Mifflin to rename the basketball court at the school’s historic Neenie Campbell Gymnasium in her honor, and Cash was on hand to cut the ribbon and offer some words of wisdom and encouragement to the young Tigers in attendance.

It should come as no surprise, then, that with Cash in the house, McKeesport (5-14, 2-8) snapped a five-game losing streak with a 46-31 win over the Titans. Emily Eisenberg led the way with 14 points for the Tigers, followed by 13 from Jessica Miller and 11 from Adrianna Allison.

Steve is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at srotstein@unionprogress.com.

Steve Rotstein

Steve is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at srotstein@unionprogress.com.