Jan 22, 2015 3 min read

CLAYSVILLE – McGuffey’s enrollment placed its girls basketball program in WPIAL Class AAA when realignment was announced last spring.

Though the number of female students dictated the move, the Highlanders’ seven-player varsity roster was not built to face some of the classification’s largest programs.

No one told McGuffey that.

Entering Thursday, the Highlanders had defeated three Class AAA playoff teams from last season and sat in second place in Section 5-AAA.

McGuffey made it four wins over playoff teams with a 59-45 victory over Belle Vernon in a non-section game at home Thursday night.

Despite using a seven-player rotation, the Highlanders (13-3) contained the Leopards (10-6) with every player filling a role. Senior forward Sammie Weiss scored a game-high 30 points and grabbed nine rebounds, and all six players who received extended playing time scored in the win. It is the fourth most points the Leopards have allowed this season.

“We practice hard and we’ve learned how to utilize those seven players to use their greatest strengths,” McGuffey head coach Amanda Burchett said.

“We always talk about if you do your job, the team will thrive. Everyone did their job tonight. They know what it takes to win.”

After facing two future Division I post players, South Fayette’s Emily Anderson and Trinity’s Mary Dunn, McGuffey was tasked with stopping a third Thursday night – Belle Vernon senior forward Kaitlyn Slagus, a Bucknell recruit.

Slagus led the Leopards with 22 points and 10 rebounds, but was contained using a zone defense. McGuffey deployed junior Carae Wagner (6-0), senior Lauren Crimm (5-9) and junior Sarah Sushel (5-5) to stop the 6-3 forward. The trio forced Slagus into foul trouble during the third quarter, while Weiss, senior Rachel Czulewicz and junior Katie Demi pressured the Leopards’ guards into turnovers.

The Highlanders were also difficult to stop offensively as they made six three-pointers and outrebounded Belle Vernon during the first 16 minutes.

McGuffey led 15-10 at the end of the first quarter before going on an 11-3 run. The Leopards fought back using Slagus, who scored on three consecutive possessions in under a minute.

The Highlanders led by seven points at the half and built their lead to 10 points, but Slagus once again bailed out Belle Vernon with six points in two minutes to narrow the deficit to four points. The work in the lane by all seven players forced the Leopards into foul trouble, allowing McGuffey to attempt 10 free throws in the final three minutes of the quarter.

The Highlanders, who shoot 78 percent from the line, made 20 of 29 free throws.

“They’re a good team. They have some nice outside shooters,” Belle Vernon head coach Lisa Fairman said. “We switched from a zone to man-to-man, which worked for a bit in the third, but unfortunately, we were foul trouble.”

McGuffey led by 11 points at the end of the third quarter when Fairman adjusted to a man-to-man full-court press. The strategy worked as McGuffey turned the ball over six times in the fourth quarter, but Weiss scored 10 fourth-quarter points and the defense held the Leopards to nine points in the final eight minutes to seal the win.

Czulewicz and Wagner both added seven points. Though Demi finished with four points, she added four steals.

“We got in a groove shooting and we decided to take it to Slagus inside,” Weiss said. “They went to man-to-man, but we adjusted and held on. We’ve always lost to them in the past, so it’s great we picked up a team win like this. It’s exciting.”