Highlands girls find rhythm, shake off West Mifflin in WPIAL Class 4A 1st round

By: William Whalen
Tuesday, February 22, 2022 | 9:39 PM

It’s a difficult task to try to trace the history of the Highlands girls basketball team.

But it didn’t matter. These Golden Rams are making history of their own.

After playing a tense first three quarters, Highlands settled down and play true to form in the final eight minutes.

Backed by an 18-point fourth-quarter run and Kalleigh Nerone’s game-high 19 points, No. 7 Highlands knocked off No. 10 West Mifflin, 51-33, in the first round of the WPIAL Class 4A playoffs Tuesday night at Highlands.

“It took too long (to settle), and they have to get over that now,” Highlands coach Jason Kerr said. “It was nothing that we couldn’t control. It was just that everything was too fast. We were making mistakes. We weren’t aggressive, and we were timid and finally it clicked there and we loosened up some.”

Highlands (19-4) advances to the quarterfinals Friday at No. 2 Southmoreland (17-3).

“I’m really proud of my team,” said West Mifflin coach Loren Jones said, whose team finished 7-16. “They really put their heads down towards the end of the year and shifted how they play basketball. It was like a light went off, and it clicked for them. I knew what we were capable of coming into the game.”

Holding a 33-23 lead at the end of the third quarter, everyone was still waiting for the Rams team that performed so well during the regular season to show up. And it finally happened.

Jocelyn Bielak scored on layup to start the quarter, and Nerone scored on a drive through the paint to extend Highlands’ lead to 37-23 with 5:41 remaining. Bielak finished with 12 points.

It was at that point the Rams started to just play basketball.

“Nerves. It was nerves,” Nerone said. “It was the first playoff game. It was the mindset, and Kerr said to lock in.

“We were all in, and we all expected it. We just didn’t expect it to be as long.”

Nerone and Bielak combined for a 10-point run to start the final quarter before West Mifflin junior guard Emily Beck scored on a layup with 4:14 on the clock. Beck scored on another layup soon after before the Rams got back to work. Maria Fabregas scored on a turnaround jumper to get Highlands rolling again and extend the lead to 47-29.

Highlands forward Jocelyn Luzier came off the bench and steadied her team in the paint throughout the game. The 6-foot-2 senior recorded eight blocks and was a force on the glass.

“Luzier came off the bench and played well,” Kerr said. “She deserves a lot of credit in keeping them off the glass and no second-chance shots.”

The Highlands attack sputtered in the first quarter. West Mifflin managed to keep the Rams scoreless before sophomore Bielak scored on a layup in the paint with 3:15 on the first-quarter clock.

Kate Myers drilled a 3-pointer from the left elbow to give the Rams the lead for good at 5-3, but the Titans stayed close until the fourth.

Tori Carr scored a layup off a steal to cut the Highlands lead to 15-11 with 5:15 remaining in the second quarter. Carr led the Titans with 10 points.

“Two or three years ago, we won three games combined in two seasons,” Kerr said. “This program hasn’t won a playoff game outside of the preliminary round. It’s a big win for the program.”

William Whalen is a freelance writer.

Tags: Highlands, West Mifflin