Highlands girls stay busy during undefeated start to season

By: Michael Love
Tuesday, December 14, 2021 | 8:43 PM

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The Highlands girls basketball team took advantage of the opportunity to get on the court in game action starting last Friday against Fox Chapel at the Freeport Tip-Off Tournament through Tuesday evening’s game against neighboring St. Joseph.

The Golden Rams played four games in five days — Sunday was a day of rest for the team — and they produced a 4-0 record.

Coach Jason Kerr, while excited for the undefeated start, also sounded the bell of cautious optimism with a number of things his young but experienced team can work on at both ends of the court before Thursday’s Section 1-4A opener at Burrell.

“As good as it is to have these games, it will be nice to have a little down time (in practice Wednesday) to talk about some of the things we need to improve on and build on some of the things we’ve been doing well,” Kerr said during a shoot-around Tuesday before I the matchup with the Spartans.

Highlands — which defeated Fox Chapel, 44-23, in the opener Friday, topped Plum, 45-34, in the second game of the Freeport tournament Saturday and upended North Hills, 34-24, on Monday — averaged 41 points in those games.

“We are still going through some growing pains with this being a new group, especially with our scoring,” Kerr said. “I am a little surprised with how much we struggled at times offensively, only because we played so much together over the summer and fall.

“But it is a different animal now with all the teams being at full strength and how these games are refereed a little differently. It will be nice to take a look at a number of things with that, and I am confident we will be able to turn it around.”

While the offense looks to kick into a higher gear, Kerr said the defense played lights out, surrendering an average of 27 points through the first three games.

“When you average 41 points and still win by an average of double digits, that’s a nice thing to have and to know with some tough section games coming up,” Kerr said. “The section will be a battle every night, and we are going to have to be able to defend.”

Senior Maria Fabregas scored a game-high 19 points against Fox Chapel and was named to the Freeport all-tournament team. She scored a team-best 10 points against North Hills.

Fellow senior Jocelyn Luzier led the way against Plum with 10 points.

Fabregas led four players in double figures with 18 points in a 60-31 win over St. Joseph.

“While being undefeated so far is nice, we know we still have things to work on, so we can’t be satisfied with what we’ve done,” said sophomore starter Jocelyn Bielak, who scored eight points against Fox Chapel.

Kerr said fresh legs were a little bit of a concern with the four games in five days to start the season.

“But we put an emphasis on conditioning, and I know they are better conditioned than they have been in the past,” he said. “I am a little more concerned for Thursday and how their legs will hold up, but I think they will be fine. They are a fairly young group, so that helps.”

After Thursday against Burrell, the Golden Rams host section foe Derry on Monday and then will have a week to rest and gear up to host their holiday tournament Dec. 28-29.

“It will be nice break to be able to look at film and break down the first six games,” Kerr said.

Thursday’s matchup with Burrell holds extra special meaning for sophomore guards Kate Myers and Shelby Wojcik. Both were starters for the Bucs last year before transferring to Highlands in the offseason.

“I am pretty excited for the game,” Wojcik said. “I’m also a little nervous because I want to play really well.”

Myers and Burrell senior Allison Fisher led the Bucs in scoring last year at 12.4 points a game, while Wojcik averaged five points in a Burrell uniform.

“I am really looking forward to Thursday and the competition against some people that I know really well,” Myers said. “The atmosphere is going to be really competitive. There probably will be some nerves, but I am really excited. We just really want to get that win to start section play.”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

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