Baldwin girls never say die in trying season

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, February 10, 2018 | 12:27 AM

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Chalk up the 2017-18 season as a learning experience for the Baldwin girls basketball team.

But the learning process has been a long one for the Highlanders, who compete in Class 6A and finished winless in their section.

The Baldwin hoopsters were 3-16 overall at the end of section play.

“I am proud of the way our team has scrapped and battled all season,” Baldwin coach Nikki Feathers said. “We have taken some of the best teams in 5A and 6A down to the wire and proved that we can compete at a high level. We prepared daily to stay competitive.”

Baldwin's core rotation on game nights consisted mainly of 10 players: three seniors, two juniors, one sophomore and four freshmen.

The Highlanders were led by 5-foot-10 senior guard Abbey Larkin and her 17 points per game. Larkin, who has a 3.9 GPA and is a National Honor Society member, plans to continue her basketball career and major in pre-medical studies at Mercyhurst.

“Yes, it has been a learning experience,” Larkin said. “It's taught me to never quit, no matter what the score was or what team we were playing or how much time was left in the game. It reinforced how every player needs to play to the end and push through adversity.”

Larkin certainly has been “playing to the end.” She netted a career-high 28 points in a late-season game at home versus Canon-McMillan, followed by a 27-point performance at home against Bethel Park.

Others in the team's regular rotation included senior guard Teia Swiger and senior forward Micheala Cavataio, junior guards Megan McCormick and Ashley Barker, sophomore forward Jenna Lutz and freshmen Anna Lucarelli (G), Alexia Bernotas (G), Kayla Radomsky (F) and Nina Dongilli (G/F). Radomsky and Dongilli were sidelined with injuries late in the season.

“We have thrown several freshmen into the fire, which is no easy task in our conference,” said Feathers, who was assisted by Dennis Squeglia and Alex Gensler. “Those kids have gained valuable learning experience on and off the floor.

“We always remind the girls that adversity reveals character. Our seniors have set an example of high character and perseverance to their younger teammates.”

Cavataio and Swiger are multi-sport athletes at Baldwin. Both plan to major in nursing and aim to play basketball in college.

A Chatham recruit, Cavataio has competed in soccer for three years, basketball and lacrosse for two years and this spring will participate in track for a second year.

She owns a 4.0 GPA and is a member of the National Honor Society, Math League, daVinci Society and Bridge Building program. She also is a volunteer for the Special Olympics program, and has been editor of the school newspaper, The Purbalite, for two years.

“This year has been a real learning experience because we had a new assistant coach (Squeglia), and he taught us a lot of new things and new defenses that really gave us a new perspective of the game,” Cavataio said. “We also had a lot of younger girls playing so we had new faces, and we had to learn to all come together as a team because most of us had never played with these younger girls before. It was a bit of a challenge at first to get everybody in sync, but after that we really started working together.”

Swiger has participated in basketball, track and cross country in high school. She is a three-year letter winner in basketball, and will attend either Penn State Behrend or Pitt-Johnstown.

She has a 3.9 GPA, and is a member of the National Honor Society, Math League, Spanish Club, Special Olympics program and the St. Gabriel's youth group.

“I think this season for us was rough. We played some talented teams,” Swiger said. “I know we have given 100 percent and worked our hardest each game.

“I think the mental part of it is something that the whole team, including myself, struggled with. We needed more of a winning mentality throughout the whole game but a lot of times fell short of it toward the end of games.”

Peters Township, Bethel Park, Mt. Lebanon and Upper St. Clair were the playoff qualifiers in Section 3 this season.

“We play in a really tough section. It was difficult at times, but I really learned how to not give up when facing adversity,” Cavataio said. “For me and my teammates, it wasn't about the wins or loses or the score at the end of the game. It was about the team we had in the family that we created.

“We played to the best of our abilities, and even though it didn't show on the scoreboard at times, we worked hard at every game.”

The Highlanders were slated to end the season last week with nonsection games against Montour and Thomas Jefferson. Results were unavailable for this edition.

“Even though our record doesn't show it,” Swiger said, “I think our team really competed and played hard every game.”

Ray Fisher is a freelance writer.

Tags: Baldwin