Upper St. Clair Hosts Baldwin In Tonight’s Game of the Week
In tonight’s MSA Sports & Quad-A Conference Girls Basketball Game of the Week, the Baldwin Highlanders (9-6, 3-5) visit the Upper St. Clair Panthers (10-4, 5-3) in a Section 4-AAAA battle. The Highlanders have won 10 of the last 12 games in this series, but it was the Panthers who won the earlier meeting this season by a 53-50 final. The Panthers currently sit in third place in the section while Baldwin is tied with Canon-McMillan for fourth place.
Tonight’s game is important for both teams but perhaps even more so for the Highlanders who are teetering on the edge of the playoff race. Baldwin is loaded with experience and brought back every player from a team that reached the post-season a year ago, including leading scorer Mandi Johnston and veteran guard Nikki Corcoran. With the addition of freshman dynamo Lauren Gilbert, the Highlanders have the talent to compete with just about anyone in the Quad-A. They proved that with a 45-34 victory on January 13 over then-unbeaten Bethel Park. It was Gilbet who led the way past Bethel with a career-high 18 point effort. While talented, Baldwin has been enigmatic, dropping their most recent section game to four-win Chartiers Valley.
Upper St. Clair is coming off a 48-43 victory over Char Valley on Tuesday night and is hoping for a deep run in the playoffs this season. The Panthers are just two years removed from an appearance in the WPIAL semifinals and have many key players from that team remaining. Juniors Rachel Mazzie and Madison Serio have been starters since their freshman year and are amongst the top scorers for the Panthers. Madison Serio, and older sister Mandi Serio, are the daughters of Olympic gold medalist and current coach of the Pitt Women’s Basketball Team, Susie McConnell-Serio. Mazzie, the Serio sisters, and junior Diandra Conwell make up a formidable team that is looming over the shoulders of Mt. Lebanon and Bethel Park in the section standings.
Tip-off for tonight’s MSA Sports & Quad-A Conference Girls Basketball Game of the Week is slated for 7:30 pm from Upper St. Clair High School. The pre-game show will hit the air at 7:15 pm with Don Rebel and Randy Gore calling all the action. Listen to tonight’s game by clicking here!