Kosmacki has South Fayette locked in
As South Fayette celebrated its first WPIAL championship following a victory over arch-rival Trinity, head coach Matt Bacco sat in the postgame news conference sounding tired and congested.
He wasn’t the only one fighting through a cold. Sophomore guard Maddie Gutierrez had a temperature of 102 degrees while starting in place of junior guard Carlee Kilgus, who was returning after missing two months because of broken foot.
Sophomore forward Jordyn Caputo, a key player off the Lions’ bench, also missed more than a month and did not return until the WPIAL title game.
Injuries and illness aren’t new for South Fayette (23-3), which will face Mercyhurst Prep (19-7), the District 10 runner-up, Wednesday at Sharon High School (6 p.m.) in the second round of the PIAA Class AAA playoffs.
The Lions were without senior center Emily Anderson for the PIAA first-round playoff loss to McGuffey last season and lost the key to their defense, guard Min Wells, in the first game last season.
Mixing and matching to find the best fit, Bacco had to replace Wells’ disruptive presence on the perimeter. His choice has helped propel the program toward back-to-back trips to the Petersen Events Center.
Then a freshman, Sam Kosmacki, a 5-11 guard/forward who can play a finesse or physical style, filled in as the Lions’ defensive stopper. Now, she’s the key for a defense that has allowed just 41 points per game during its five playoff wins.
“Sam Kosmacki is arguably our most valuable player,” Bacco said. “She tends to be a bit of a match up problem because she’s 5-11, can shoot the three and can get to the basket to create shots for her teammates. She can guard other teams’ guards, she can guard the other team’s best player. She’s extremely versatile and really valuable.”
Kosmacki also has been a key for South Fayette’s offense, filling in for Kilgus on the perimeter, mixing the ability to both drive to the basket and make outside shots.
She scored 24 points in the Lions’ WPIAL first-round playoff win over Ringgold and chipped in 15 for the Lions last Saturday in the state playoff win over Ambridge.
“I think about it as the next opponent I have up and I try to keep them in front of me and hold them to the least amount of points I can,” Kosmacki said of guarding an opponent’s top player. “I look at their strengths and their weaknesses and see what I can do to stop them.”
When Wells was lost, Bacco didn’t know to whom he would turn. It ended up being a girl who did not practice with the team during the summer or fall because she was playing soccer.
Now, the Lions can’t afford to not have Kosmacki as a defensive presence to compliment Anderson in the lane.
Bacco and his staff thoroughly scout opponents by watching film and taking notes. He points out strengths, weaknesses, top players and their tendencies. The Lions often use 3-to-5 different defenses in a game, but the one adjustment he rarely has to make is who will guard the opponent’s top player.
“If it’s a guard that we feel Sam can use her length on to wear her down, that’s a matchup we like a lot,” Bacco said. “She’s a kid who has a tremendous motor and has rarely asked to come out of a game. She’ll chase you around defensively and offensively she gets out in transition and runs.”
There are many uncertainties in the state playoffs. Strengths and weaknesses can be a mystery and there are often long bus rides, but Bacco is confident that defense and the efforts of players such as Kosmacki will help the program move closer to winning a PIAA title.
It helps that for the first time in, well, years, South Fayette is at full strength for the postseason. Kilgus scored seven points, including a key three-pointer in the third quarter against Ambridge, Gutierrez and Caputo both played, and Kosmacki was a key component of a defense that forced seven turnvoers in the final 10 minutes.
“Knowing the coaches had confidence in me and my teammates had confidence in me knowing I could do it helped last year,” Kosmacki said. “That confidence has grown ever since. As a team, we focus on what we’re doing and what we can control. We’re working to keep our defense together, push the ball up the court and play together. There’s more gold to play for.”