Baldwin H.S. Girls Have Shot at State Playoffs on Friday Night

The time and place are set.

's varsity girls basketball team will play Shaler Area High School at neutral-site Fox Chapel Area High School on Friday night at 6:15 for a shot at the PIAA (state) playoffs. (Tickets costs $6 each.)

With a win in this WPIAL AAAA championships quarterfinal, Baldwin High would secure a spot in the WPIAL's "final four" and one of the WPIAL's five bids to the state tournament.

The only other way for Baldwin to enter the state playoffs would be for Shaler Area to go on to win the WPIAL tournament after defeating Baldwin in the quarterfinals. That would make Baldwin the WPIAL's fifth-place team.

In fact, that's exactly how Baldwin got into the state playoffs in 2009. The Highlanders lost to Mt. Lebanon High School in the WPIAL quarterfinals that year, but thanks to Mt. Lebanon's win in the WPIAL title game, Baldwin went on to play in the PIAAs.

The Highlanders drew Mt. Lebo in their second state playoff game that year, though, and lost to the Blue Devils again. Mt. Lebo went on to win the 2009 PIAA title.

Baldwin returned to the WPIAL and PIAA playoffs in 2010, losing to Mt. Lebo both in the WPIAL title game and in the state quarterfinals before the Blue Devils earned another state championship.

In the 2011 WPIAL quarterfinals, Baldwin . And unfortunately for the Highlanders,  to Mt. Lebanon, which was on its way to yet another state title.

Shaler Area is the defending WPIAL AAAA champion after upsetting Mt. Lebanon in the 2011 WPIAL championship game. The Titans eventually fell to Mt. Lebanon in the state quarterfinals, though.

Shaler earned its spot in the WPIAL quarterfinals this year with a 42-41 upset win over Penn-Trafford High School in the first round. The Titans are 14-9 this season.

Baldwin is 16-6 this season after beating Kiski Area High School, 46-41, in the first round.

The winner of the Baldwin-Shaler quarterfinals game will face the winner of the Oakland Catholic-Bethel Park High School quarterfinals game in the WPIAL semifinals on Tuesday, Feb. 28, at an exact time and place to be determined. Oakland Catholic and Bethel Park square off at neutral-site on Friday night, also at 6:15.

AAAA is the WPIAL and PIAA's highest classification.

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