NA girls basketball looks ahead after rough season

By: John Grupp
Sunday, March 2, 2025 | 11:01 AM

On paper, the North Allegheny girls basketball team had its worst season in 37 years.

On the court, it was a different story.

“I think there are other ways to win outside of the wins and losses on paper,” said first-year coach Gabby Baldasare, whose Tigers (9-14) lost to top-seeded Norwin, 52-30, in the WPIAL Class 6A first round Feb. 21. “We just improved so much from the beginning of the year. I inherited some really raw talent and some kids who were young and inexperienced and a little bit nervous to step into new roles. I think they won in the sense of gaining confidence and emerging in those roles and just developing themselves into more confident basketball players.”

The Tigers (5-5 in Section 1-6A) made their 18th consecutive WPIAL playoff appearance, but endured a losing season for the first time since the 1987-88 team went 3-16.

“Obviously, it wasn’t the outcome that we wanted,” junior all-section guard Vange Balouris said. “It was a year of transition for a lot of people. A lot of people grew into their roles toward the end of the season. We learned a lot.”

North Allegheny, breaking in four new starters, went 7-3 during a month-long midseason surge, but it was sandwiched by an early five-game losing streak and a late four-game skid.

It was a steep drop for a program that had gone 222-29 with five WPIAL titles and one PIAA championship in the previous nine seasons under former coach Spencer Stefko, who stepped down after last season. But it wasn’t completely unexpected. The Tigers had only three seniors on their 21-girl roster — with 11 freshmen — and had to transition to a new coaching staff with a new style of play.

“It was a lot to get used to,” Balouris said. “I think getting more comfortable as the year went on, we improved on that. … It was a fun year. We are all very close. We were positive. Whatever we went through, it brought us closer and we went through it together.”

Baldasare, a former Pine-Richland coach, said the players grew after taking some early lumps.

“We definitely expected growing pains,” she said. “I had two years of head coaching experience coming in, but in the grand scheme of things, that’s really not a lot. … I think all of us went through some growing pains. But I think the important part is that we did it together.”

The Tigers will graduate a trio of seniors — guard Leah Skweres, point guard Natalie Kinross and forward Bella Williamson.

They return everyone else, including Balouris, who averaged 13.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.6 steals and 3.2 assists on the way to being named Big 56 all-Section 1-6A first-team, and sophomore guard Rosalia Varlotta, who averaged 10.2 points and 6.5 rebounds and was named second-team all-section.

Other returnees will include junior forwards Cate Pingpank (6-0) and Rae Shanahan (6-1) and junior guard Maddie Williams.

The 2024-25 season featured some memorable highlights, including a 58-48 senior night win over rival North Hills, a come-from-behind 43-42 victory at West Allegheny, a 52-30 rout of eventual section runner-up Butler and an impressive 51-39 win at Section 2-5A runner-up Indiana.

The No. 8-seeded Tigers led WPIAL defending champion Norwin, 13-11, after the first quarter in last month’s playoff meeting, but got outscored 17-4 in the second quarter and trailed the rest of the way in a rematch of last year’s WPIAL Class 6A championship game.

Baldasare said the priority next season will be protecting the basketball. She estimated the Tigers averaged “about 20 turnovers” per game this season.

“We need a ball-handler to emerge for us next year,” she said. “Taking care of the ball is probably going to be our No. 1 focus next year.”

The Tigers will have a long offseason to work on getting better.

“We know what we need to do to improve,” Balouris said. “Now it’s just time to prove ourselves.”

Tags: North Allegheny