Latrobe ready to make noise
Latrobe girls basketball coach Mark Burkardt isn’t the type to get overly emotional during or after games, but last Thursday’s regular- season finale against Woodland Hills was no ordinary contest.
After losing to the Wolverines, 56-43, one week earlier, the Wildcats (12-2, 9-1) needed a victory on their home court to clinch their first section title since 2007. They entered the final quarter trailing by five, but roared back to win, 46-44, behind 14 points from junior forward Anna Rafferty.
“We’ve battled them the last few years and we’ve always come up a little short,” Burkardt said. “So for us to be able to come out on top was very meaningful with that being the game that decided the title.”
After the game, players cried tears of joy as they stood on the court and took turns cutting down the nets to celebrate an achievement 14 years in the making.
“That was a lot of our seniors’ goal coming into the season,” Burkardt said. “They wanted to win the section title. Even though the playoffs were already chosen, it was probably the biggest game we’ve played this year.
“The raw emotion of the whole thing was just very touching to me.”
Burkardt even admitted to getting a bit choked up himself during the postgame ceremony, but like any coach worth his salt, he had to make sure the team put the groundbreaking victory behind them to refocus on the start of the playoffs. Despite winning the section title, the WPIAL released playoff seedings two days before the season finale, and Latrobe had to settle for the No. 6 seed in Class 5A.
That leaves the Wildcats with a surprisingly tough first- round matchup against South Fayette (14-5, 5-2) on Thursday. The Lions spent some time ranked in the Post-gazette’s top five earlier this season, and they’ve gotten hot again at the right time, winning four games in a row and eight of their last 10.
“Whoever was going to win the section — one of us was going to win it, so I wasn’t sure why the seed wasn’t a little higher,” Burkardt said. “But sometimes in Westmoreland County we don’t get the benefit of the doubt, so we were very happy we did get a bye in the [preliminary] round.”
If Latrobe is able to get past South Fayette and make a deep run in the postseason, the twin towers of Rafferty (6 feet 2) and sophomore forward Emma Blair (6-1) will likely be at the center of the Wildcats’ success.
Both players are averaging a double- double for Latrobe this year — an extremely rare feat for two players on the same team at the high school level. Rafferty is scoring a team-leading 12.3 points per game while pulling down 10.3 rebounds per game, while Blair is averaging 11.3 points and a team-leading 12.1 boards per contest.
Although Rafferty Blair are likely the and first names that come to mind when opponents start preparing to face the Wildcats, Burkardt said senior guard Rachel Ridilla is the unquestioned leader of the team.
“Her strength is her shooting,” Burkardt said. “It has been her whole career. She gives us the outside [scoring] when they take away the inside.”
Ridilla has taken a backseat to the two 6-footers when it comes to doing most of the scoring this year, but Burkardt said she has had no problem taking on more of a supplemental role as a senior.
“Rachel got a lot of attention her first two years, so I don’t think she feels slighted by it at all,” Burkardt said. “She was the first one that stated that winning the section is the goal, and she’s sort of instilled that in the rest of the team.”
Along with Rafferty, Blair and Ridilla, Latrobe has a lineup that can go eight-deep at times, with senior guards Ava Vitula and Lexi Weatherton joining the rotation along with junior guard Bailey Watson, sophomore forward Camille Dominick and freshman
With unmatched size in the post and quality depth in the frontcourt and backcourt, the Wildcats have most of the pieces in place to contend for a WPIAL title, even if they lack a true go-to star player. The top two teams in Class 5A — Trinity and Chartiers Valley — are loaded with future Division I players, and Burkardt agreed that the Hillers and Colts are heavy favorites to win it all.
Still, he reiterated that anything can happen in a one-game scenario — and even if they come up short, it has still been a historic season for him and his players.
“We’re happy right now,” Burkardt said. “We just want to go out and play against whoever we have next and do the best we can. We always talk about worrying about one game at a time. We’re just going to worry about that next one.
“No matter what happens from here on out, this season was highly successful.” guard
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