Feb 19, 2025 By Joe Smeltzer 3 min read

MCDONALD — The Fort Cherry girls basketball team didn’t have much of a problem Tuesday night in its playoff opener against California on the surface.

But even after a 59-29 win, Lady Rangers coach Clarence Edwards knows it could have been better.

“It was a little sloppy at the beginning,” he said. “Actually, it was sloppy as a whole. Bad passes, not finishing layups. We weren’t playing like we normally do … but if you can win the game when you’re not playing your best, then that’s a plus.”

The playoffs are, of course, a different animal.

Was this a cause for Fort Cherry (18-3) being flat at times?

Perhaps.

“It could have been the nerves,” Edwards said. “We have a few girls that were here last year, so a lot of times … it’s the playoffs. You don’t want to make the mistakes, you don’t want to lose. So we were doing too much thinking and not playing, which hurt us. Normally, we just play the game … at the end of the day, it’s just ‘play basketball and be smart.’ We were over-thinking today.”

The game got off to a slow start, with Fort Cherry leading 6-4 at the three-minute mark of the first quarter. FC kept control for the rest of the period and led 16-8 going into the second quarter. By the three-minute mark of the first half, Fort Cherry had opened up a 15-point lead that ballooned to 20 by halftime.

Lady Trojans coach Brandi Sutherland thought a lack of ball security was her team’s downfall.

“We definitely had too many turnovers,” said the first-year coach who guided California to an 11-8 overall record and a second-place finish in Section 3-2A. “I wanted more shots from my players and more rebounding.

“I thought we played a good defensive game but definitely struggled with shutting down their 3-point shooting.”

Fort Cherry held California (11-8) to three points in the second quarter, and Edwards felt the team got stronger as the game went on.

“I think we just made a few changes,” he said, “a few subs here and there. We started to flow well. We started to not be so aggressive. Again, I think it was just the nerves of the first half. We weren’t being as aggressive, we were playing smart. “

For Fort Cherry, Julia Klose led the scoring with 16 points, Olivia Kemp added 15 and Jazlyn Martino added 12.

Hayley Gibson scored seven points to lead the way for the Lady Trojans, who also got six points apiece from Addison Gregory and Madyson Morton.

Fort Cherry will next play at South Fayette at 6 p.m. Friday against No. 4 South Side, which defeated No. 13 The Ellis School, 54-16.

“We have a very diverse team,” Kemp said. “Everybody has something to bring to the table. Everybody has something strong. We have bigs, we have shooters, we have people who can take the ball, dribble the ball. So all around, it’s great.”

Sutherland is confident California can be a playoff contender again next year.

“We are a young team, only losing one senior (Gregory),” Sutherland said. “So the future of this team looks bright.”

(Herald-Standard Sports Editor Rob Burchianti contributed to this story.)