Baldwin girls grab playoff spot, eliminate Hempfield from contention

By: Ashley Chase
Monday, February 3, 2020 | 11:14 PM

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Coming off a devastating loss, with a playoff spot on the line, the Baldwin girls basketball team came ready to play.

The Highlanders raced out to a 7-0 lead and never trailed en route to a 65-46 victory, eliminating Hempfield from postseason contention in the WPIAL Class 6A playoffs.

The scenario coming into Monday night’s game at Baldwin was win and in for the host Highlanders, win and play a must-win game Thursday for Hempfield with chips still needing to fall in its favor.

Baldwin was balanced from the start, effortlessly transitioning from its starters to its bench players, all of whom rotate throughout the game. The Highlanders took a 16-5 lead in the first quarter with five players on the scoresheet.

Morgan Altavilla scored 10 points in the first half and that’s the amount her Highlanders led by, 36-26 at the break.

But Hempfield knew what was on the line and came out in the third quarter scoring the first five points of the frame. Just like that, it was a five-point game.

A perfectly placed timeout by Baldwin after hitting a field goal to go back up by seven led to a reminder from head coach Kyle DeGregorio: “Smile.”

That’s because his Highlanders were coming off a heartbreaking 54-53 loss at Upper St. Clair where they held a 14-point lead and lost on a shot at the buzzer.

“We got off to a good start, but in the second half, we looked a little bit tight,” DeGregorio said. “I called that timeout and said, ‘What are we doing? Smile. You’re OK. Just play.’”

“It was our mentality: Let’s get the next two stops, let’s score, and let’s get it back again,” said Morgan Altavilla, who led Baldwin with 13 points.

As quickly as Hempfield came back to cut the Baldwin lead to five, the Highlanders increased their lead. With 11 seconds to play in the third, Alexis Bernotas hit an and-one to put Baldwin ahead by 17 to end the quarter and it felt like the dagger.

But Baldwin knew it was far from over, and its defense had to remain stout.

“Our energy on defense, communication is key. We know what gets the job done,” said Altavilla.

“We’ve played meaningful games now for a month in a very difficult section and they’ve never done that before. I’ve got a bunch of juniors and sophomores out there, and they’ve never been in this environment before. The only way to learn is to play in it, and you’ve got to take the good and the bad that comes with it,” said the veteran coach DeGregorio in his second season at the Baldwin helm.

There wasn’t much bad for Baldwin down the stretch, hitting 85% of its free throws as Hempfield worked to find a way to come back in the fourth. It wasn’t in the cards for the Spartans, who despite another solid night of scoring from Sarah Liberatore, who put up 18, couldn’t find a way to win.

It wasn’t for lack of effort. Olivia Persin showed what kind of dedication she had to leaving it all on the floor, diving directly into the bleachers to save an offensive possession, hitting her legs, midsection and face into the stands.

Persin was checked out by the medical staff and returned to the game with a visible contusion on her right cheek, playing much of the rest of the game.

Baldwin, despite being an incredibly young team, closed out the night with a nice moment for its lone senior, Jenna Lutz, who started the game on her senior night and was back in the lineup to close the contest with the ball in her hands.

Lutz was cheered on by her teammates to shoot in the closing seconds but made the smart basketball move and dribbled out the clock before the Highlanders rushed the court to celebrate clinching the final playoff spot in Class 6A.

Next up for the Highlanders is a playoff tune-up at Section 2 leader Bethel Park, while Hempfield travels to face Connellsville in the final section contest for both squads.

Tags: Baldwin, Hempfield