Jan 26, 2016 5 min read

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The numbers haven’t been outstanding, but South Fayette’s girls basketball team is defying logic as it tries to return to the WPIAL Class AAA championship game.

When the Lions lost junior point guard Carlee Kilgus to an injury late last month, it was difficult to imagine South Fayette continuing to roll through the competition, especially with a game against Trinity left on the schedule.

The same can be said for losing sophomore forward Jordyn Caputo, who had been key for the Lions with Kilgus out.

Well, for the third season in a row, South Fayette, which was ranked third in PIAA Class AAA by PennLive.com entering this week, has overcome injuries and is one of the most dangerous teams in heading into the postseason. A 43-40 win over the Hillers last week solidified the Lions as the team to beat in Class AAA and is the latest example of why the program has risen to the top.

South Fayette has depth and is well-coached, but how has it defeated teams such as Trinity and Mt. Lebanon without Kilgus?

“As a coaching staff, we had to sit down and figure out how we can simplify things,” South Fayette head coach Matt Bacco said. “The biggest thing, of course, is when you lose your point guard, you can’t necessarily play the way that you did. Carlee, for my money, is the best point guard in AAA and she’s truly a coach on the floor, so losing that was also crucial.”

Since Kilgus went down during a win over Gateway in the Bethel Park Holiday Tournament Dec. 27, South Fayette (9-0, 14-2) has won seven of its last nine games with the only two losses coming against Quad-A opponents.

The key has been the other four starters with some help from younger players.

Senior Mikayla Fetchet has shifted to point guard, sophomore Sam Kosmacki has added a strong transition game to pair with being the Lions’ top defensive player, senior Autumn Mozick continues to make big shots and it doesn’t hurt having senior Emily Anderson, a six-foot-four center.

The Lions are also getting quality minutes from sophomore Maddie Gutierrez, freshman Skylar Aitken and sophomore Maddie Burnside.

“Carlee was a kid that we never really took off the floor,” Bacco said. “We just kind of moved her around. When we sat down and talked about to simplify or change some things, putting the ball in the hands of our playmakers, it took a little while.”

It sure looks like it and defense has been a major factor for South Fayette’s success. The Lions are averaging the fifth-fewest points per game (40.9) in Class AAA and since Kilgus was injured, they are allowing just over 44 ppg. SF is also avering 55.8 ppg since losing Kilgus.

It’s not the prettiest basketball at times, but it’s working and Bacco has proven once again that finding out how to utilize different players’ strengths is the key to overcoming the loss of a key player.

“We’ve probably had more practice at it than I’ve cared to have,” Bacco said. “It seems like every year we’ve had a number of injuries and for whatever reasons it’s happened to us. Offensively, it was a matter of simplifying things. It’s a process of putting your kids in a position to be successful. I think you have to play a system because systems win, but you can’t be so stubborn as to fit your kids into that system.”

Anderson, a Penn recruit, isn’t putting up dominant offensive numbers, but the common misconception with high school post players is that points matter the most. When you watch South Fayette play, you’ll see many teams putting two defenders around her, which frees up guards on the perimeter.

Leave the Lions’ guards open and they’ll hit key shots. Almost every team they faced in the playoffs last season found that out the hard way. That’s why losing Anderson before the WPIAL championship game was so devastating.

She doesn’t need to score 25 points to make a major impact.

“When she’s in the game, she’s done a nice job protecting the rim and rebounding the ball,” Bacco said. “We just have to make sure that when she’s not in the game we have to play a little bit differently. We’ve probably played more defenses in the last three or four games than we had all summer, fall and in the early part of the season.”

With Trinity out of the way, it looks like South Fayette has secured the section title. The remaining section opponents (Montour, McGuffey and Keystone Oaks) have a combined section record of 8-20, but how will the Lions prepare for the playoffs without Kilgus, who may miss a bulk of the postseason if they can make a run?

Non-section games against Bishop Canevin and Canon-McMillan will help, but according to Bacco, it’s a sense of togetherness that has brought the Lions together.

“These kids are so together and every bit of adversity we face has brought them closer,” Bacco said. “You’re really seeing that. This group of kids is more like a family than a team. They’re probably as close a group as I’ve seen and the adversity kind of brings them closer together.”