Feb 26, 2016 4 min read

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When the WPIAL released the playoff brackets three weeks ago, it was difficult to imagine the Class AAA title game would not include Trinity and South Fayette.

The Lions’ road to the title game was actually a bit more difficult, but everyone will get their wish Saturday when they play the Hillers (21-3) for the championship.

If you were to pick a winner based on how both teams played in the semifinals, you’d have to go with Trinity. The Hillers looked dominant against Mars with Mary Dunn and Sierra Kotchman both having big games.

South Fayette (21-3), meanwhile, struggled with turnovers and couldn’t seem to find an answer for Hampton’s relentless offense. Despite playing with point guard Carlee Kilgus for much of the season, the Lions looked like a title contender with Maddie Gutierrez and Skylar Aitken adopting bigger roles.

“We’ve seen a lot of kids step up who aren’t afraid because of their role like Maddie Gutierrez who stepped into the starting lineup or Skylar Aitken who has come off the bench and isn’t afraid to make plays,” South Fayette head coach Matt Bacco said. “You don’t see kids like that every day. They’ve done a really good job seizing the moment and doing what’s required to get back to this point.”

Both were strong on defense against the Talbots Wednesday night, but the inexperience showed. The Lions can’t afford any slip ups against the Hillers, who have a strong guard tandem of Sierra Kotchman and Alayna Cappelli.

You’ll likely see the Lions use their trap defense to prevent Kotchman and Mary Dunn from getting the basketball. It’s no secret that South Fayette will pay particular attention to Kotchman. Expect Sam Kosmacki to be the one tasked with stopping Kotchman, who had 21 points in the semifinal win.

“Our point of emphasis in practice has been to find ways to get Sierra the ball and running some different things at her to see how she’ll handle it,” Trinity head coach Bob Miles said. “The other key is (Abbey) O’Connor stepping up. She played well in the semifinal game and maybe Natalie Cappelli’s contributions on defense will come through on offense as well.”

Yes, the Hillers’ role players are going to have to make shots and handle the Lions’ pressure defense. Kilgus is expected to be back and so is sophomore forward Jordyn Caputo, so both teams will both have plenty of depth.

Another key is which team’s post player can avoid foul trouble. Trinity is a different team without Dunn on the floor and the same goes for South Fayette with Emily Anderson. You’ll see the Lions driving to the basket early and often to draw fouls. The same probably goes for the Hillers.

There is plenty of talk about the rivalry, which South Fayette swept during the regular season, but Trinity will have to continue to play with a certain swagger that has led to this run.

“You have to get the players to understand that this is a one-game thing,” Miles said. “The past doesn’t matter. It’s like we’re starting over. We know each other very well. The biggest thing for us is to keep that air of confidence we’ve built the last couple of weeks and not feel intimidated.”

South Fayette won’t be intimidated. The Lions know what it’s like to play in a championship game and what it feels like to leave with a loss.

They’re back after losing two seniors – only one that played in the title game – and instead of focusing on the rivalry, the Lions just want to leave The Pete with a title.

“We’re grateful for the opportunity to get back and try to make it right,” Bacco said. “When we were walking out of the building last year, (Kosmacki, senior guard Autumn Mozick) and I looked at each other, and we said we’d be back. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy, we knew no one was going to hand it to us and there was an awful lot of work to be done, but it was a process of working extremely hard to not let each other down.”