Baldwin Defeats Plum, 50-23, to Open WPIAL Playoffs

For the second year in a row on Friday night, Feb. 18, the  varsity girls basketball team defeated in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs.

The Highlanders (17-5 overall) trounced the Mustangs (12-10), 50-23, in a neutral-site game at North Allegheny High School on Friday night and will now face Oakland Catholic High School in the second round on Friday, Feb. 25, at an exact time and place to be determined. Oakland Catholic (15-8) topped a section opponent of Baldwin's –  (9-13) – also on Feb. 18, 57-44.

UPDATE: The Baldwin girls will play Oakland Catholic at North Allegheny High School on Friday night at 6:30 p.m.

Baldwin's Head Coach Dan Thayer said that the win over Plum Borough in last year's WPIAL tournament helped his team through a long playoffs run, and he's hoping that this year is the same.

"We played Plum last year in the first round and won pretty convincingly," Thayer said, "and it did give us a lot of momentum going forward. Hopefully, [that] does the same thing this year."

Baldwin's senior Belma Nurkic, a Duquesne University recruit, led all players with 23 points – enough to match Plum's final score on her own – in just her second game back after missing time due to a concussion.

Nurkic said that she felt more comfortable than her last game and that the win was exciting.

"It's a confidence booster for all of us," she said, "especially the freshmen who have never experienced it."

Because of early foul trouble and to keep players fresh, Thayer said that he played more freshmen than he usually would.

"Normally, we don't play the kids if they get two fouls in the first half," he said, "so we were a little worried."

The Mustangs trailed by 11 points at halftime before allowing the Highlanders to score 28 points in the second half to their 12.

Plum's Head Coach Bernie Pucka said that his team looked comfortable at times in the first half but wasn't able to sustain that.

"They [Baldwin] got after it in the second half," Pucka said. "We were a little passive on offense, and we were exposed."

Senior Lindsay Deemer led the Mustangs with nine points, while teammate and junior Karleigh Weichler chipped in eight.

Despite the final score, Nurkic wasn't surprised that Plum didn't go down without a fight, and she expects more challenges from future opponents. 

"Its going to be like that every game in the playoffs," she said. "Every team is good."

Plum had only two seniors on its roster, and Pucka said that this game will serve his team well for next season.

"I think you can play an entire season and not get the experience you gain from one game in the playoffs," Pucka said.

Baldwin draws a tough opponent for next week in Oakland Catholic. The Eagles entered the WPIAL AAAA playoffs this year as the fourth-ranked team in the bracket.