Baldwin girls basketball lost 67-31 against top-ranked South Fayette in the second round of WPIAL playoffs Wednesday night.
South Fayette played strong offensively, making it difficult for Baldwin to bounce back after a rough first quarter, junior Bella Niles said. Baldwin struggled to play as a team, as South Fayette pressed defensively, Niles said.
“Mary Vargo hustled the entire time. She never gave up, which really helped. Laci Bernotas and I tried to help motivate everyone, but we could not get anything going,” Niles said.
Sophomore Kelsey Meyer said that if Baldwin played more as a team, rather than individually, they could have scored more points.
“We had to think fast on our feet because South Fayette made us make a lot of quick decisions,” Meyer said.
The end result was disappointing for the Highlanders, Vargo said.
“We could have stuck to the game plan and worked as a team,” Vargo said. “We forced too many shots.”
Vargo said that this was the first time in her four-year high school career that she has played South Fayette. She said that they outplayed Baldwin in many ways.
“They attacked the hoop and did not miss any shots outside of the arc. Their defense was very aggressive and doubled us on the drive,” Vargo said.
The Highlanders’ season is not over, though. Since they won their first-round playoff game, they have qualified for state playoffs. They also will be participating in a WPIAL consolation game at home against Bethel Park at 7 p.m. Friday.
“We’ve beaten Bethel twice in a row now, and we know how they play. If we play better than we did against South Fayette, it should be a good game and we should be able to beat them,” Vargo said.
