Laurel Highlands girls won’t be intimidated by Hempfield’s height
First-round opponents in the WPIAL playoffs provide each other with videotapes of two recent games, so each team knows a little bit about the other. Laurel Highlands girls basketball coach Rick Hauger didn’t need to see film of Hempfield, though.
And it’s a fairly safe guess that Lady Spartans coach Gene Brisbane didn’t spend much time reviewing the Fillies. These teams know each other well enough, thank you.
“You get to see some tendencies,” Hauger said after watching film of Hempfield, “but that was about it.”
Hauger’s Fillies bring a 15-8 record and second-place finish in Section 3 into
Monday’s 6:30 p.m. match-up against Brisbane’s 19-4 Lady Spartans, who won Section 1 with a 14-0 slate. The Class AAAA first-round game will be played at Ringgold.
“Over the summer, we got to see a lot of Hempfield,” Hauger said.
“We’re fairly familiar with them. Their starting line-up is tall (6-0, two 5-11s and a 5-9), but their best all-around player is 5-7. They play solid man-to-man defense. They are not only big, but also physical and fundamentally sound. Gene does a good job with them.”
And, speaking of familiarity, don’t expect the Fillies to be intimidated by Hempfield’s size. “I haven’t found any teams smaller than we are,” Hauger said. So the Fillies are at least accustomed to going against taller teams.
“I’m not sure we do match-up with them because of their size,” Hauger said. “The key for us is we’re going to have to shoot the ball well and force them into turnovers and get baskets in transition.”
Hauger’s team, though, is battle tested. They lost a pair of close games to Section 2 champion Albert Gallatin and have given all they had all season.
“I don’t think I’d have any right to ask for any more than what they’ve given us,” Hauger said. “These kids battle. We’ve been in every game but one this season.
“Our kids will be ready to play. I’m sure we’ll play hard and we’ll give a good effort. I think we have a chance to beat this team. Our team has always found a way to hang in there.”
The Fillies get the perceived benefit of playing this game at Ringgold, where they annually do battle with the Lady Rams in section play.
“It’s never been a benefit before,” Hauger said. “Four years ago, we lost there to North Allegheny and two years ago we lost there to Butler. Hopefully, the third time’s a charm.”
If the 12th-seeded Fillies get by the fifth-seeded Lady Spartans and Albert Gallatin (fourth seed) wins its opener against Mt. Lebanon (13th seed), the two Section 2 foes would meet in the quarterfinals.
“I’d love to play Albert Gallatin again for the obvious reason,” Hauger said.
“If we meet each other, that would mean we’d both have a win under our belts and we’d both be in the states. Obviously, though, our focus has to be with the task at hand.”
The Lady Spartans are a formidable opponent, but at least the Fillies have familiarity.