Baldwin Buries USC In First Half For Road Win, 61-48
The Baldwin Highlanders raced to a 21-point lead in the first half on their way to a 61-48 road victory over the Upper St. Clair Panthers in the Quad-A Girls Basketball Game of the Week. Baldwin lit up the scoreboard in the first quarter and poured in five 3-pointers in the opening stanza for a 23-7 lead. Sophomore Lauren Gilbert buried three shots from the outside and scored 11 points in the first quarter outburst.
Gilbert’s outside shooting, along with the passing of senior guard Amanda Larkin, opened up the inside for 6-1 sophomore Amanda Wood who totaled 16 points on the night. Larkin finished with 10 points to go along with numerous assists.
Baldwin held a 35-14 lead at intermission, but the Panthers clawed to within single digits on three separate occasions in the second half thanks in large part to the shooting of Diandra Conwell and Alley Steve. The duo combined for 21 second half points and three 3-pointers to inch USC back. Senior Rachel Mazzie scored a game-high 22 points and was the steady hand for the Panthers throughout, especially during the first half. Mazzie had 12 of USC’s 14 points in the first half and kept the Panthers afloat. Conwell finished with 11 points and Steve tallied 10.
With about three minutes to go in the fourth quarter, USC crept the score to 55-46, Baldwin. However, the Highlanders kept the Panthers at arm’s length and held off their foe with solid shooting from the free-throw line. Gilbert did the majority of the work at the charity stripe and finished with a team-high 19 points. For her efforts, Gilbert was named the Player of the Game by Quad-A Sports.
Garnering a quality road win, the Baldwin Highlanders improve to 7-5 overall and 4-1 in Section 4-AAAA play. Upper St. Clair falls to 6-4 overall and 3-2 in the section. Baldwin hosts Moon on Thursday night while USC hosts Peters Township. Both games are slated for 7:30 pm.
To listen to our pregame interview with Baldwin head coach Gavin Prosser, click here. To listen to our pregame interview with Upper St. Clair head coach Pete Serio, click here.
Upper St. Clair vs. Bethel Park Game Summary
SCORE BY QUARTERS | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | FINAL |
Upper St. Clair | 10 | 9 | 8 | 20 | 47 |
Bethel Park | 14 | 10 | 6 | 22 | 52 |