NTL GIRLS BASKETBALL: TROY PLAYERS THRILLED BY WIN OVER CAMBRIA HEIGHTS, TURN ATTENTION TO STATE POWER TRINITY (March 9, 2026)

BY CHRIS MANNING
Northern Tier Sports Report
The Troy girls basketball team is peaking at the right time, and it’s led them to the Sweet 16 after their win over Cambria Heights last Friday.

“It feels amazing, especially since it’s never been done before for Troy girls basketball,” Giana Renzi said about making it to the second round of the PIAA, Class AAA playoffs.

“It’s just unbelievable that we’ve made it this far,” Kyah Renzo added about still playing basketball in March.

March basketball isn’t new to coach Steve Renzi, who has now made history as both a player - when he made two state tournament runs - and a coach.

“It’s totally different,” remarked Renzi. “Having my two daughters, and these other four girls on varsity that I’ve seen grow, and get better, and seeing them making this run brings back a lot of feelings. Having Tony Sterling as one of my assistants, we went through it together. It brings back a lot of memories, actually.”

It was quite a new experience going to the western part of the state - do to the higher number of AAA teams in the each Troy is part of the Western Bracket - a game that was over three hours away.

“We didn’t know what we were going to face,” Giana said. “We knew it was going to be tough, and it wouldn’t just be an easy takeaway from the beginning. We weren’t going to be able to beat them right away, but we knew we just had to go out there and not be nervous, and play.”

Despite the new opponent coach Renzi felt this was a team his girls could compete against.

“I was confident watching the tape,” he said. “I wasn’t sure how quick their guards were from the tape. We matched up very well with them. I think we could have shot the ball better - I think offensive execution was not where we needed it to be against Cambria - which we’ve been working on the last two days.”

After Cambria Heights had an early lead Troy took control, going up after the first quarter, which was a big confidence booster for them.

“It definitely helped a lot,” remarked Giana. “It showed we can compete with this team, and we can win this game.”

For the first time in a couple weeks Troy played with a lead throughout the contest.

“It made us stay on track,” Renzo said about being in control. “It hyped us up across the game to keep pushing.”

It was stark difference compared to Mt. Carmel in the District IV third place game where Troy had to claw from behind for the first two-and-a-half quarters.

“It was nice, we had a quick start,” Coach Renzi said. “I wish we just kept that throttle on through the first and second quarter, but I think Cambria started playing a little harder, too.”

Cambria rallied in the third quarter to take a four point lead just after the halfway mark, putting Troy in the same position they were in against the Red Tornadoes.

“We were getting a little nervous there,” Giana admitted. “But we just had to calm ourselves, and run offense, and play really good defense.”

Defense was a key reason for their turn around in the second half of the quarter as they retook the lead.

“We just needed to step up our defense, and communicate more than we we were,” explained Renzo. “Just keep playing basketball, and not letting it get in our heads.”

Coach Renzi feels his team can play their best basketball when their backs are against the wall.

“We waned until that we were down four,” he said. “It was two minutes to go in the third quarter, and then all of a sudden, here we go, lighting up for 20 plus points in the last 10 minutes of the game. It shouldn’t happen that way, we should be more consistent with the talent we have, but they’re young.”

And, just like the Mt. Carmel game, they saved their best for last.

“It helped us a lot,” Giana said about playing the Red Tornadoes before this team. “Showing that offense isn’t just going to be wide open for us. We’re going to have run through our offense and find our shots by ourselves.”

Their lead got wider as the minutes ticked down.

“It felt great when we pulled away,” said Renzo. “We just kind of knew that we were going to win that game, and it just felt amazing to know that we were going to win.”

The party was on once the clock hit triple zeroes. 

“I love celebrating with the girls,” said Renzo. “We’ve been working on this for a year, so it just felt great to go out there and win.”

Now they take on a Trinity that has just two losses, won the District III title, and kept their opponent to under 20 points in their first round state game.

“I think they’re a good team,” Coach Renzi said. “We’re in the Sweet 16, every team we play is going to be good, and we match up with them. They have guards that can handle the ball. They’re not huge, they don’t have a lot of size, but they’re fast - man to man press, they run and jump - it’s going to be a challenge but if we’re making shots, we can stay with them. I think our defense has gotten better and better with the rotations as we go.”

They like the fact that they play at Milton, a District IV site.

“That helps a lot,” said Giana. “I remember playing there my freshmen year, so I’m happy it’s a familiar gym, and close by.”

And they’re also excited about playing one of the best programs in the state.

“We’re just going to play our game,” said Renzo. “We’re going to work great on offense and defense, and just play how we always do.”



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