ST. MARYS, Pa. – St. Marys, Pa., may sit out of the way, but you can bet college coaches from coast-to-coast will very soon start heading to MapQuest.com to find out exactly what roads travel to the rural Pennsylvania town.
That's because St. Marys, which is located two-and-a-half hours northeast of Pittsburgh and 75 miles northwest of State College, is where St. Marys Area High School is located. And at St. Marys Public, as the locals call it to distinguish it from Elk County Catholic High School in the same town, is one of the best prep-school girls basketball players no one has heard off in junior guard Kayla Hoohuli.
Hoohuli – pronounced Hoo-hoo-hul-lee – is the second-leading girls basketball scorer in Pennsylvania, according to MaxPreps.com, at 28.5 points per game, and she is already at 1,661 career points, the all-time leading scorer in school history and quickly closing in on the Top 10 all-time in PIAA District 9 history. The 5-foot-8 lighting-quick guard led District 9 in scoring as both a sophomore (26.9 ppg) and a freshman (21.1 ppg), and has remarkably taken her game to another level this year, scoring 30 or more points in six of 16 contests, including going over 40 points three times, including Monday night when she torched Clearfield for 41 points. She also scored 46 points against Clearfield Jan. 22 and went off for 44 against Keystone Dec. 19.
"Kayla has taken her game to another level at times," St. Marys head coach Bob Swanson said. "She plays within the confines of our system a lot, but she also plays to win and has the ability to turn it up and take over a game."
Hoohuli is much more than just a scorer, though. She also averages 9.2 rebounds, 7.6 steals, 2.6 assists and 2.8 blocks per game.
"She seems to be doing it all," Swanson said. "She is a hard worker and works at this game year-round. A good example of her dedication is an example from last spring, when she went from track practice after school to a three-hour practice with her AAU team."
Hoohuli is also a student of the game who makes the players around her better.
"When we watch game tapes the next day, Kayla is pointing out things before they come up on the tape," Swanson said. "That’s because she has already watched the tape three times. Her mom, Leona, is my assistant coach, so she spends a lot of time studying basketball.
"She also sets the tone in practice. We have a young team, and Kayla leads by example, and she’s also so good with them on and off the court. She tells them little things during practice, and they take her advice. They know if they get into a jam, she is going to be there for them. She is a nice team player who is good with the young players."
As scary as it may seem, Swanson believes Hoohuli’s game still has room for improvement.
"She is only going to get better," Swanson said. "I know it seems like, 'How could that be possible?' but she is going to get stronger and quicker and that really is her game. She is so darn quick. One minute she is out around the circle and the next thing you know she is at the hoop."
Swanson said Hoohuli is already getting interest from colleges, but she hasn’t made up her mind yet.
"She is handling that well," Swanson said. "She is looking for a school that has the field she is interested in, which is something in the medical area."
Swanson believes Hoohuli is right up there with the best players he has seen in District 9, including the two all-time leading District 9 scorers, Sheana Mosch of DuBois Central Catholic (3,066 points, graduated in 1999) and Kim Tingley of Coudersport (2,905 points, graduated in 1997). Mosch played college basketball at Duke and has played professionally in Europe. Tingley played two years at West Virginia before transferring to Delaware, and she is now an assistant coach at Seton Hall.
"I would really rank her up there with them," Swanson said. "They were both fun players to watch, not always to coach against but to watch. Kayla’s tendencies are just like theirs; even her shooting style is very similar. Athletically and leaping ability-wise, Kayla may even have them beat."
Swanson believes Hoohuli would adjust well to a high level of basketball.
"I really do think she can play at a high NCAA Division I level," Swanson said. "You look at what Mosch did at Duke, and Kayla can flat-out shoot. Every team needs an outside shooter, and I think her game will get even better when she is surrounded by players of like ability."
The one thing missing from Hoohuli’s resume is a state playoff victory. St. Marys has won the last two District 9 titles but has been beaten in the opening round of the PIAA playoffs each of the last two years.
"Yes, that is a goal of ours," Swanson said. "We always have a goal of winning the district title and making the state playoffs. Now that we have been there two years in a row, we would like to win a game. Last year, we thought we had a chance. But we dug ourselves a big hole early and couldn’t climb out of it."
Local football recruiting news
Western Pennsylvania is usually known as an area of high-end talent when it comes to football players, but the Class of 2010 seems to be down a bit and that can be seen in the fact that one of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Fabulous 22 Players, David Miller, a running back from PIAA Class AA runner-up Greensburg Central Catholic, is staying close to home at NCAA Division II Seton Hill … Another Fabulous 22 selection, Richard Gray, a defensive end from Woodland Hills, has narrowed his choices down to Kent State and Akron, according to the Post-Gazette. The Post-Gazette is also reporting that Franklin Regional offensive lineman Sean Hickey is headed to Syracuse, choosing the Orange over Illinois and Boston College. He is joining fellow WPIAL players Dom Timbers (Woodland Hills) and Myles Davis (Penn Hills) in Syracuse’s recruiting class.
Many of the top players in Western Pennsylvania made their choices months ago, including Sto-Rox quarterback Paul Jones, who is already enrolled at Penn State with hopes of competing for the Nittany Lions' starting quarterback job next season. He will be joined at Penn State by Cannon-McMillan’s Mike Hull, State College’s Alex Kenney, Fox Chapel’s Miles Dieffenbach, North Allegheny’s Tom Ricketts and Penn-Trafford’s Luke Graham, giving the Nittany Lions a strong contingent of Western Pennsylvania talent. Penn Hills’ teammates, Aaron Donald and Brandon Ifill, are heading to Pitt, while their Indians teammate Cullen Christian is going to Michigan along with Hampton’s Jordan Paskorz. Also going to Pitt are Sto-Rox’s Drew Carswell, Clairton’s Kevin Weatherspoon, Wilmington’s Derrick Burns and Woodland Hills’ Khaynin Mosley-Smith, while Gateway’s Brendon Felder is headed to North Carolina and Brashear’s Manasseh Garnder is going to be a Wisconsin Badger.
Mt. Lebanon boys basketball drops first contest
The Mt. Lebanon boys basketball team, ranked No. 23 in the nation by MaxPreps.com, lost its first game of the season Saturday, falling 72-63 to Archbishop Carroll of Philadelphia. The Blue Devils were playing their second game in less than 24 hours after beating Baldwin at home, 53-27 Saturday, and then getting on a bus and making the five-hour trip to Philadelphia to play at Villanova in a Prime-Time Shootout event.
Fight causes b-ball game to be completed in empty gym
A fight broke out in the hallway during halftime of Monessen’s 71-52 loss to Washington Friday night at Monessen forcing school officials to evacuate the gym and play the second half in front of only team members, school officials and media. The ripple effect also mean the Greyhounds' home game with Belle Vernon scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 3, will now be played at 4 p.m.
"This is what our lead administrators wanted to do," Monessen athletic director John Sacco told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "But we’re only changing this game and that’s all. Everything else for the boys and girls will be on as normal the rest of the season."
Clarion names Allan football coach
Clarion has hired Judd Allan as its new football coach. Allan takes over the District 9 Class A champions from 22-year head coach Larry Wiser, who retired following the season with a career record of 146-77-1, including a pair of District 9 titles. Allan, who was the defensive coordinator at Mercer last season, helping the school go 8-4 and reach the District 10 Class A semifinals, was Clarion’s offensive coordinator from 1999-2005 before going back to his alma mater as a teacher and then coach. Allan was also hired to teach math at Clarion, where he taught from 1999-2005, and is just the fourth coach in 40 years for the Bobcats.
"The best thing I can say about Judd Allan is that if I was looking for a coach for my son, it would be Judd," Wiser, who is still Clarion’s athletic director, said. "He brings good expertise, is a person of great character, and has great compassion for the kids and the ability to bring it across. We are getting more than just an X-and-0 guy."
Fuhrman goes off from the field, hitting 9 of 10 3-pointers
Bradford senior guard Pug Fuhrman had a game to remember Saturday, hitting 9 of 10 3-pointers on his way to a career-high 34 points in the Owls' 80-54 win over Cameron County.
"Pug was really hot," Bradford head coach and Pug’s father Dave Fuhrman said. "Our guys did a good job of finding him when he was open."