Lady Pioneers returning to 鈥淧ress Greene鈥�
Ben Brudnock watched his daughter play basketball for West Greene under head coach Jordan Watson and assistant coach Justin Allen and liked what he saw.
Elizabeth Brudnock wound up being one of the very few girls to ever start in four consecutive WPIAL championship games.
The Lady Pioneers were known for their “Press Greene” full-court pressure and uptempo play at that time and Ben Brudnock, in his first year as head coach, wants to get back to that mentality and execution.
Brudnock takes over for Austin Crouse, who followed Watson as head coach and guided the Lady Pioneers the past two seasons.
“I may not run the same X’s and O’s that Jordan Watson and Justin Allen did but the blueprint is absolutely there,” Brudnock said of how he’s constructed his first team. “The proof is on the gym walls. It was fast-paced, in your face the whole 90 feet. We pay tribute every time we go in the gym because we see those championship banners and our girls right now on the varsity grew up watching his teams. Six straight section championships, 70 straight section wins. We’re definitely dipping back into that.”
Brudnock knows all about West Greene’s athletic traditions. Although he’s a Norwin graduate, he’s made West Greene his home.
“I’m kind of one of those guys, I’ve always been around West Greene,” Brudnock said. “I have been the head junior high coach for the girls the last two years so half the roster is very familiar with me.”
Brudnock has also coached baseball and football.
“I’ve been always around West Greene coaching multiple sports,” Brudnock said. “I’ve just never been a varsity head coach. I think the transition has been pretty quick and easy.”
Brudnock’s son, Nathan, was also an outstanding multi-sport athlete at West Greene, and his youngest daughter, Katie, is a freshman on the girls basketball team under her dad.
Brudnock wasn’t officially hired until October but he’s already had a positive impact with his team opening the season 4-0, including a 45-39 win over Class AAA McGuffey which came in 3-0.
“We’re playing uptempo and we’re playing a lot of girls and they just bring a lot of excitement to it,” said Brudnock who has a flexible starting lineup.
“We have sort of a starting seven or eight depending on matchups but I would say four of them are full-time starters. That includes our lone senior at this point, Marissa Tharp, our point guard. Her sister Kendra, who is a junior, and then two sophomores, Madelyn Roberts and Kylee Davis, are our constant four starters.”
Marissa Tharp leads the way among the foursome.
“Marissa is our most experienced varsity player and she’s going to be our floor general,” Brudnock said. “She is also going to harass the opposing ball handler coming up the floor. She’s given us great leadership, she’s got great overall quickness and she’s a good shooter. She’s a key piece of the puzzle for us.
“Kendra is probably, all-around, the best female athlete in our school. She plays about four-to-five inches taller than what she is (5-foot-7) because she’s so aggressive rebounding. She’s an inside-outside threat. She can pop a three but then she can battle girls much bigger than her for rebounds.
“I think she’s going to surprise a lot of people in the section with her productivity and just her all-around play.”
Brudnock will depend on Roberts to provide a zone-busting jumper.
“Madelyn’s probably our best outside shooter,” Brudnock said. “She’s really going to keep defenses honest because she has a very quick and high jump shot release, which you don’t see too often. When she gets hot she can really light it up.
“Her and Kendra’s ability to share the ball and move the ball in traffic down low makes them a pretty good combination down there. So she’s another inside-outside threat. Because she’s a sophomore she has played for me in the junior high and youth level so she’s one of these girls that understands the tempo and the full-court nature that we want to employ.”
Davis is a key part of the puzzle, according to Brudnock.
“Kylee is kind of the glue that holds our team together,” he said. “She’s a reliable ball handler. She’s another dangerous spot-up jump shooter. I can play her at any position on our full-court press and I just know she’s got a good combination of strength and quickness and good decision making.”
Brudnock has several options when it comes to his fifth starter..
“I can go a little bit bigger with Chloe Harris, who’s a 5-11 sophomore,” he said. “If I need to get physical down low I can put a freshman, Ava Shipman, in. If I want to go completely small like I did in the game against Waynesburg (50-25 win), I can start another sophomore, Samantha Zimmerman.”
Brudnock is counting on Shipman, Katie Brudnock and two other freshmen, Khyler Davis and Jillissa Yeater, to give his team key minutes off the bench.
“They’ve all played important and significant minutes,” Brudnock said. “The plan for them is they’re going to allow our main starters to catch a breather maybe. So far that has worked where we’ve been able to finish every game strong.”
Brudnock has one assistant coach.
“My assistant is Kirsten Garber and she’s my MVP because I don’t work at the school and by the time I get to the gym after my job she’s already there warming the girls up and starting practice,” Brudnock said. “I couldn’t do this without her. She’s been a great addition. The girls love her. She brings a nice fresh perspective to our program.”
The Lady Pioneers were 10-15 overall and 6-4 in Section 2-A last year where they finished third behind Monessen and Geibel Catholic. Those two teams remain in the section this year as do Avella and Mapletown. Jefferson-Morgan was moved out and replaced by perennial power Serra Catholic, a Clairton team that made the PIAA tournament last year and Bishop Canevin.
Crouse did extend West Greene’s streak of consecutive years with at least one playoff win to eight with a victory over Jeannette last season. It’s the longest active streak, boys or girls, among local teams.
Brudnock will try to make it nine this season.
“We’re not going to intimidate anyone during pregame warmups, but we’re getting back to the blueprint of what put West Greene on the map,” Brudnock said. “We are full-court, in your face, we’ve got excellent depth. That’s going to be our M.O. and we’re going to run with it and see how it works.”