Feb 22, 2020 4 min read

BALDWIN – The WPIAL’s Class 5A girls basketball quarterfinal matchup Saturday between Trinity and Gateway had so many people talking about tempo that you’d think the Baldwin High School gymnasium had turned into a drummers convention.

Trinity wanted to go fast and force the pace with its full-court press. Gateway, however, is adept at dropping the pace of play to that of your average chess match.

In the end, Trinity was able to get enough out of its press to make Gateway uncomfortable, and the Hillers scored 10 of their 18 fourth-quarter points from the free-throw line for a 47-38 victory.

The victory has Trinity (18-4), the No. 3 seed, running in the fast lane as the Hillers have clinched a berth in the state tournament and will play second-seeded Woodland Hills (19-4) in the WPIAL semifinals Wednesday at a site and time to be determined. Woodland Hills edged Moon 62-59 in the quarterfinals.

It was only the second time all season that Trinity has won while scoring fewer than 50 points.

“If you look at Gateway’s scores, they’re comfortable playing in the 30s,” Trinity coach Kathy McConnell-Miller said.

Gateway (17-6) defeated Penn-Trafford 37-36 in the first round and much of its offense is looking for ways to get the basketball inside to 6-4 center Lexi Jackson, a Kent State recruit. Jackson was a thorn in the Hillers’ side as she scored 14 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, but the Hillers led for almost the entire game and eventually forced the Gators out of their comfort zone on offense.

Trinity’s Riley DeRubbo scored nine of her game-high 16 points in the first quarter, which ended with the Hillers leading 14-8.

Trinity scored only seven points in the second quarter, but Gateway was unable to take advantage as the Hillers led 21-16 at halftime. Jackson had only six points in the first half.

In the third quarter, Trinity changed its plan of attack against Gateway’s defense, which matched up on the Hillers’ perimeter players and gave a triangle-and-two look.

“We were stagnant offensively so we went with a 4-out, 1-in offense,” McConnell-Miller explained. “It worked in that we were able to get some dribble drives that led to easy layups.”

Courtney Dahlquist, who sat out much of the first half with two fouls, was the beneficiary of several of those daring drives through the defense by the Trinity guards. Somehow, Dahlquist was able to consistently work free under the basket. She took nifty passes from Alyssia Clutter twice in the quarter and converted them into baskets, the last one giving Trinity a 27-23 lead.

“That was good penetration by our guards,” Dahlquist said. “Their driving left me wide open. That was all guards.”

Dahlquist said Gateway’s defense gave Trinity trouble but the Hillers eventually figured out that the best way to attack the Gators was to drive.

“It was different. We usually like when a team plays us man-to-man,” she said. “Once we figured it out, we had to take our time and get penetration.”

DeRubbo drove for a basket that gave the Hillers a six-point lead, but Gateway pulled to within 29-27 early in the fourth quarter after two free throws by Dynasty Sherogg, who had 10 points and nine rebounds before fouling out.

Dahlquist, however, made another layup, this time off a pass from Ashley Durig, who followed with a basket off an assist from DeRubbo. After a basket by Jackson cut Trinity’s lead to 33-29, the Hillers lived at the free-throw line. Trinity scored nine of its final 11 points on foul shots. The only field goal for Trinity was a fast-break layup by Clutter, who scored five of her eight points in the fourth quarter.

“Ultimately, we were able to control tempo in the second half,” McConnell-Miller said. “It was important that we didn’t turn the ball over and made free throws. … We took care of the ball and controlled tempo in the second half and made enough free throws.”

Trinity was 13-for-20 at the free-throw line. The Hillers forced 15 Gateway turnovers.

“Gateway is a really talented team,” McConnell-Miller said. “Their strength is the front line. They have some nice interior players and size.”