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Lions shut down McGuffey

4 min read

McDONALD – Any win is a big win during the duration of the regular season but entering the final week, the South Fayette girls basketball team picked up their biggest one to date.

On a night where they honored their two seniors, Lauren Crites and Mia Wells, the Lady Lions moved a half-game behind second-place McGuffey in Section 5-AAA after beating the Lady Highlanders 59-51 in front of their home crowd.

“We knew it was a big game,” South Fayette head coach Matt Bacco said. “The kids always play for each other, not just on Senior Night. Tonight is no different. They stepped up and got a big win.”

Not to be confused on the notion that it was Senior Night, it was a sophomore and junior who stole the show for South Fayette (6-4, 14-5).

Carlee Kilgus recorded a game-high 21 points and Emily Anderson had a double-double with 13 points and 15 rebounds off the bench.

“Carlee is always big,” Bacco said. “She didn’t play particularly well when we played at McGuffey. Tonight was some redemption for her. The kid is only a sophomore but it is hard to tell when you look at her. When we needed a big play we put the ball in her hands and she made it.

“Emily (Anderson) is a kid we rely on to rebound the ball and hold teams to one shot. When we played at their place, they shot the lights out. Tonight, when they didn’t make shots, we held them to one shot per possession.”

It took the Lions a while to get started as McGuffey jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first two minutes of the game. After that, the Highlanders (7-4, 15-5), who are tied with Trinity for second place in the section, went ice cold from the field.

South Fayette outscored McGuffey 18-7 over the rest of the quarter to take a four-point advantage.

“We had open shots,” McGuffey coach Amanda Burchett said. “We went a little cold last game and we didn’t put the ball in the hoop this game. That is what cost us in the last game (a loss at Chartiers Valley). We typically score a lot of points. We shoot the ball a lot. It is a difference when the foul shots aren’t there.”

South Fayette continued to build their lead in the second quarter after the Highlanders didn’t score for the first 3:21. The cold spell is unusual for a team that is the highest-scoring in the section at 63.5 points per game.

“We typically shoot a lot of free throws by going to the basket, and we rely on that for a lot of points,” Burchett said. “So when that doesn’t happen, it takes away a huge chunk of our basketball game. We usually shoot like 81 percent at the free-throw line as a team.”

McGuffey was 9 of 16 (56 percent) from the line against the Lions.

With a 14-point lead heading into the final quarter, South Fayette looked like it had this one locked up, but four straight free throws by McGuffey’s Rachel Czulewicz to start the quarter cut the Highlanders’ deficit to 10.

McGuffey crept to within five at 53-48 following Sarah Sushel’s third three-pointer of the game, but it was too much Kilgus and Anderson in the end. The duo scored the final six points of the game to seal the victory for South Fayette.

“They showed that they have trust with how they responded in the end,” Bacco said. “That is big this time of year, when you can show that.”

Also reaching double figures for the Lions was Mikayla Fetchet with 13 points.

McGuffey’s Sammie Weiss, who entered the game as the third-leading scorer in the WPIAL with 26.1 points per game, was held to 15. Katei Demi chipped in with 13.

The loss was the second straight for McGuffey, which hosts Trinity Thursday night.

“I just think we need to head back to basics,” Burchett said. “We need to do what got us here in the first place. We worked really hard for a long time.”

South Fayette is heading in the other direction after picking up its fifth-straight win and fourth in the section.

“I don’t think we peaked yet,” Bacco said. “We have had our eyes on the tournament all year. That’s what our mantra is – just get into the tournament. These kids last year went one-and-done and they aren’t happy about it. I think we are moving in the right direction, and hopefully we haven’t peaked.”

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