Mar 18, 2017 5 min read

WEXFORD – Momentum is a finicky treasure.

It can be lost. It can sometimes never be found. It is also something you desperately try to hold onto when you do end up capturing it.

When South Fayette High School girls’ basketball head coach Matt Bacco came into Saturday’s 5A PIAA quarterfinal game against Oakland Catholic, he was intent on keeping the momentum the Lions had built in their second chance at the postseason after being bounced from the WPIAL playoffs earlier than expected.

South Fayette hasn’t taken the new life for granted as the WPIAL’s No. 5 seed. And the Lions made sure to not allow Oakland Catholic to think it would take that momentum away.

After allowing the first basket, South Fayette scored 20 consecutive points, as it went on to defeat Oakland Catholic, 53-35, at North Allegheny High School.

The Lions won’t have to look far for their opponent.

South Fayette, which will be making its first PIAA semifinal appearance, will battle former section rival Trinity Tuesday at a site and time to be determined. The Hillers defeated Archbishop Carroll Saturday in Chambersburg.

“We won’t have to dig too deep for film,” Bacco joked of Trinity, which beat South Fayette, 50-43 in a non-section game Feb. 11.

“It will be a tough ticket. Bob (Miles) has done an amazing job over there. They are really good. I mean really, really good. It will be a heck of a basketball game.”

The 20-0 run for South Fayette, which began with a Maddie Gutierrez three-pointer with 3:36 remaining in the first quarter, featured a fast Lion’s defense that forced Oakland Catholic (24-5) into uncharacteristic turnovers.

“Oakland Catholic has played a certain way all year,” Bacco said of the WPIAL runner-up. “They have a certain system and that is their identity. We just prepared. Our kids did a great job of executing.”

With both playing on just one day’s rest, it looked as if South Fayette (20-6) had weeks to prepare for the Eagles. They forced 26 turnovers – 11 in the first quarter – to take control early.

Gutierrez’s three-pointer was followed by another three that grazed the top of the backboard from Maura Castelluci and another nine points from Gutierrez, who scored a game-high 16.

“We just told our kids they have to be mentally tough to come out and play hard on short rest,” Bacco said. “We talk about grit, guts and mental toughness all the time. The kids did a real good job at executing the game plan. They communicated. I felt like we gave (Oakland Catholic) difficult looks and slipped in different defenses to keep them out of rhythm.”

The Eagles couldn’t find any semblance of offense in the first half with more turnovers than points, as their 16 giveaways had them trailing, 27-13, at halftime.

“We were just turning the ball over,” said Oakland Catholic head coach Shannon Boyle. “It’s my pet peeve to turn the ball over, especially against a zone defense. We talk about it all the time.”

That dominance continued as South Fayette maintained a sizeable lead that failed to dip into single digits despite what seemed to be a last gasp from the Eagles at the end of the third quarter when Alexis Sestric hit a straightaway three-pointer and scored on consecutive possessions to cut the lead to 38-26, heading to the final eight minutes.

But South Fayette went on a 7-1 run to push its lead to 45-27 midway through the fourth quarter.

The Lions also made seven of their nine free throws in the final eight minutes.

“If we got a second chance we believed something could be done with it,” Bacco said. “We just believe in our kids. We know how hard they work. We know how big their hearts are. We asked them after getting bounced from the WPIAL tournament if they would want to be champions of that again to get bounced in the state tournament or make it to Hershey? They said go to Hershey instantaneously. We have a chance to make that a reality.”

Jordyn Caputo added 12 points for South Fayette, seven coming in the fourth quarter. Castelluci and Carlee Kilgus finished with nine and eight points, respectively.

Sestric scored 11 points for Oakland Catholic, which was held to its second lowest point total of the season.

“I’m just so proud of our kids,” Bacco said. “You can never play the scoreboard, whether we are ahead by 10 or behind by 10. We just tell our kids to compete for four quarters and will let the scoreboard dictate who’s moving on at the end. When you get up, you do get concerned about coasting. Sports are funny that way. Momentum is a very real thing and you have to make sure to do whatever it takes to not let it out of your grasp.”