Senior trio set to lead Baldwin girls basketball

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, December 1, 2017 | 11:00 PM

The Baldwin girls basketball team is looking to bounce back this season.

The Highlanders barely missed qualifying for the WPIAL Class 6A playoffs last year, ending up a game behind fourth-place finisher Canon-McMillan in the section standings.

Coach Nikki Feathers and her staff are mixing and matching players from last year's team with a strong group of freshman prospects.

The Highlanders will be led by a trio of returning senior letterwinners, with Abbey Larkin and Teia Swiger in the backcourt and Michaela Cavataio in the frontcourt.

“We have a variety of experience working together this year,” Feathers said. “Abbey, Teia and Mic will be called upon to bring energy and poise to guide our younger players on both sides of the ball. We look to have several underclassmen gain immediate varsity experience early on in the season.”

Larkin, a 5-foot-10 guard, averaged 11 points and was an all-section selection last season. She is a third-year letterwinner who ranked among the team leaders in scoring and rebounding in 2016-17, and shot 72 percent from the free-throw line (61 of 84).

Larkin connected for double figures 11 times and hit for 20 or more three times. She netted a career-high 27 points against Hampton in a nonsection game.

“We've been working hard all throughout the preseason, executing new defenses and offensive sets,” Larkin said. “There's times that we lose our focus, but when we regain it, we really make progress. We really focus on our defense and make sure it's executed correctly because defensive plays make for offensive points.”

Larkin, a National Honor Society member with a 3.9 GPA, will continue her basketball career at Mercyhurst. She plans to major in pre-medical studies and hopes to go into the physician assistant program.

Cavataio and Swiger are interested in attending Chatham and Penn State Behrend, respectively.

Meanwhile, Feathers — Baldwin's third-year coach — is hoping Ashley Barker, a junior guard, and Jenna Lutz, a sophomore guard/forward, prove to be impact players for the Highlanders this season.

Also in the mix for playing time are senior forward Kyleigh Schmidt, junior guards Molly Knezevich and Megan McCormick, and sophomores Alexis Kennard (G), Nicole Luffy (F) and Ashley Wilson (F). Schmidt is planning to continue her tennis career at Waynesburg.

Top freshman prospects include guards Anna Lucarelli and Alexis Bernotas, guard/forward Nina Dongilli and forward Kayla Radomsky; along with guards Taylor Walker, Emily Meador, Cassie Pantelis and Abby Joyce.

“We are really trying to fine-tune our full- and half-court defense in the preseason,” Feathers said. “We have a little bit of length this year, so we are trying to capitalize on that by using different schemes and options to best stop the ball.

“This group has a lot of potential. If we continue to improve every day in practice, there is no reason we can't compete for a playoff spot in a tough section.”

The Highlanders tip off the season at the second annual Baldwin/Peters Township tournament, and will play Dec. 8-9 at home against Elizabeth Forward and South Park, respectively.

Ray Fisher is a freelance writer.

Tags: Baldwin