Drawing on dad’s strength,
McPhatter paces Lady ’Canes



By TODD KRISE
t_krise@ncnewsonline.com

Ja’Nia McPhatter looked toward the stands and found a space where he father should have been.

Jake McPhatter spent Saturday’s PIAA Class AAA first-round girls basketball game between New Castle High and Mercyhurst Prep in a Pittsburgh hospital.

No father meant no advice.

No advice meant a shaky Ja’Nia McPhatter.

Right?

Wrong.

McPhatter drew on her father’s strength to score 11 points, grab seven rebounds and dish out three assists in the Lady ’Canes’ 43-42 victory.

The performance earned McPhatter the distinction of being Lawrence County’s co-Athlete of the Week, as selected by the New Castle News sports staff. The award is sponsored by Washington Centre Physical Therapy.

“It was weird,” she said, “but he told me to go out there and do it for him.”

Jake McPhatter suffered broken bones in his neck and spine last Wednesday in a motorcycle accident, Ja’Nia said. He was released from the hospital Sunday and now is walking under his own power.

Ja’Nia admitted this wasn’t her father’s first accident on two wheels. However, it’s easily his most severe.

“My mom (Kiley) has a motorcycle, too,” Ja’Nia said. “They’re hard-headed.”

Lady ’Canes coach Jason Rankin, who has known Ja’Nia’s parents for several years, made sure his junior forward was prepared for action Saturday.

“I think it had helped out because she had spoken to him (prior to the game),” Rankin said. “I told her, ‘Your dad’s a young guy and he’s strong. He has a lot better chance of getting a full recovery more so than somebody like myself.’ ”

The McPhatter family tree has a special place in New Castle’s athletic history.

Ja’Nia’s grandfather, Jesse Moss, was an outstanding football and basketball player for the Red Hurricane in the early 1970s, while Ja’Nia’s sisters, JaVonna Moss and Ki’Ria McPhatter, also have played for the Lady ’Canes.

JaVonna Moss graduated in 2008, and Ki’Ria currently is a freshman.

Ja’Nia said she learned a lot from JaVonna and is trying to bestow the same knowledge to Ki’Ria.

“It’s fun,” Ja’Nia said of playing with her younger sister. “It’s tough sometimes. We even share the same room (at home). She’s with me all the time.

“I think she was like where I am now. She kind of looks up to me and she’s my little motivator.”

Ja’Nia McPhatter played for Rankin on the New Castle’ junior high squad, giving Rankin a chance to coach her for the past five seasons.

The first-year varsity head coach said the desire and dedication were there at an early age. The ability, on the other hand, took some time.

“You could see that she was athletic,” Rankin said, “but she didn’t know what she was doing a whole lot. But there was a certain determination that I saw in her that said once she puts it together, she’s going to be a good player.”



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THE JA’NIA MCPHATTER FILE

POSITION: Forward

TEAM: New Castle

GRADE: 11

KNOWN FOR: McPhatter collected 11 points, seven rebounds and three assists in the Lady ’Canes’ PIAA Class AAA first-round victory over Mercyhurst Prep on Saturday. McPhatter leads New Castle with 32 blocked shots, an average of 1.3 a game. She is second on the team in rebounds at 185 behind fellow forward LsShauna Brothers, who has 187.

PARENTS: Jake and Kiley McPhatter

FAVORITE PRO PLAYER AND WHY: Allen Iverson because “he’s really good and he’s cute. I just always liked him when I grew up.”

EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES: McPhatter is New Castle High’s junior class president. She also is a member of the National Honor Society, Spanish Club and Peer Leadership, a community service organization.