Feb 17, 2015 By Eleanor Bailey 4 min read

Bethel Park (19-4) defeated Hempfield, 51-36, in a first-round WPIAL Quad-A girls’ basketball tournament game at Charleroi High School gym to advance to a Feb. 20 showdown against Pine-Richland (19-4) in the quarterfinals.

The quarterfinal playoff contest pits the No. 4 seed versus the No. 5 seed.

“It will be a tough game,” explained BP head coach Jonna Burke.

In addition to sporting identical records, both the Lady Hawks and Rams boast strong defenses. Pine-Richland gives up 43.7 points per game while BP surrenders 40.4 a contest. The Rams, however, outscore the Lady Hawks on average, 55.3 to 53. Amanda Kalin paces Pine, averaging 20 points per game.

“Amanda is very skilled and poised. She finds ways to get to the hoop,” said Burke. “It will take a team effort to try to slow her up a bit.”

Team effort is what Bethel Park is all about. In fact, three players registered double digits in the Lady Hawks’ playoff opener. Against Hempfield, Justina Mascaro led with 18 tallies, three above her season average. Mia Mattes and Shannon Conely accumulated 13 markers each. Paige Kochka-Puskar and Kaitlyn Chess are also offensive threats for Bethel Park as is Christina Didiano off the bench.

The Lady Hawks, which rides a 16-game winning streak into the quarterfinals, exhibited their trademark defense during the final four minutes of play against the Spartans. They outscored Hempfield, 13-0.

In facing Pine-Richland in what is expected to be a close contest, BP will employ much of the same strategy it used to knock off Hempfield.

“We have to continue to play strong defensively and stay balanced offensively,” Burke said. “But most importantly we need to stay mentally tough and do all of the little things, and make hustle plays that are often the difference in tight games.”

Psychology played a role in BP’s win against Hempfield because the Spartans beat the Lady Hawks in last year’s quarterfinals. Plus, despite their 14-9 record, they were hardly a No. 13 seed said Burke. Hempfield finished third in Section 1.

In the Elite Eight round, however, there is more at stake for the Lady Hawks.

“Getting the first win under your belt is always a bit of a relief in the playoffs, but we know the second round is even more important because with a win we qualify for the state playoffs,” Burke said.

USC girls fall

For Upper St. Clair, there is no PIAA tournament berth because the Lady Panthers dropped a 63-38 decision to Shaler (19-4).

Poor shooting did in the Lady Panthers. They failed to score a point in the second stanza. And, after Rachel Mazzie and Diandra Conwell opened the second half by burying 3-point field goals, USC went on another eight-minute dry spell without a field goal. From 6:08 in the third quarter to 6:26 when Madison Serio sank a 3-pointer in the final frame, the Panthers managed just four points, all on free throws.

“If we don’t make shots, then we are in trouble,” said USC head coach Pete Serio, “and we did not make shots. We couldn’t put the ball in the hoop. We need to shoot well in order to be successful.”

Gia Thorpe shot particularly well for the Titans. The freshman, whose brother, Geno, is a sophomore guard at Penn State, scored 15 of her game-high 26 points in the third quarter as Shaler’s lead swelled to 38-17. Thorpe’s 3-point play with 4:50 left in the game afforded the Titans their biggest advantage, 59-25.

“Thorpe played excellent,” said Serio. “She had an unbelievable game.”

Andi Lydon and Liz Kline had good games, too, for the Titans. Both finished in double figures with 12 and 10 tallies respectively.

Ally Steve played well enough to vault USC into an early lead, 7-4. With 3:20 to go in the first, the junior knocked down her second 3-pointer. She added another later and finished with a team-high 11 points.

Serio followed with 10 tallies. She knocked down a pair of long-range field goals and two free throws in the final frame. Mazzie finished with eight markers before fouling out of the contest.

The Lady Panthers finished 13-10 overall.

USC loses four starters from its line-up: Mazzie, Serio, Conwell and Sarah McMurtry. The Panthers also graduate Katie White and Olivia Hutton.