If you thought an undefeated powerhouse looming in the state semifinals was going to stop the Blackhawk girls from getting back to “Chocolate Town” for a shot at redemption, you must not know these Cougars.
After dispatching District 3 champion Wyomissing with its top-notch defense in a 47-31 upset win on Tuesday, Blackhawk will get one more chance to play for the ultimate prize at Giant Center in Hershey, Pa., at noon Saturday. The Cougars will face red-hot District 2 champion Scranton Prep (23-5) in the PIAA Class 4A title game, nearly one year to the date of their heartbreaking 53-45 defeat against Lansdale Catholic in last year’s state final. This is their sixth appearance in the PIAA title game, holding an all-time record of 4-1, while Scranton is making its state championship debut.
“I don’t ever think the moment is too big for them,” said first-year coach Greg Huston, a 2000 Blackhawk grad who played in two state championships for the Cougars and won one. “One thing we’ve talked about is, there are challenges in front of us, and making sure we rise up to them all the time. I expect nothing less in this game.”
Blackhawk went into last year’s championship tilt against Lansdale as a massive underdog in the eyes of many, and that will likely be the case once again against a Scranton team that has won its first four PIAA playoff games by a combined total of 106 points — including an 83-50 beatdown against District 12 champ Universal Audenried in the semifinal round. But the Cougars have grown more and more comfortable playing the underdog role as of late — a surprising twist for one of the WPIAL’s premier programs.
“I’m OK with it,” said senior captain Alena Fusetti. “It’s fun. We just play our game. Our biggest thing is, no what-ifs or regrets at the end. Saturday is my last game here. It’s our last game of the season. We can’t look back and regret anything.”
In the 2021-22 season, Blackhawk won its first 26 games on its way to claiming a WPIAL Class 4A title before its season ended abruptly via a crushing 27-point loss to mighty Cathedral Prep in the PIAA quarterfinals. The Cougars have since lost back-to-back WPIAL championship games against North Catholic, yet both times Blackhawk responded by storming through the Western Region bracket with a vengeance.
“I feel like sometimes it just doesn’t feel real,” Fusetti said. “When you’re in fifth grade and everyone talks about going to Hershey, and now it’s my senior year and we’ve been there once and we have a chance to end it on a win — it’s great.
“Obviously losing three championship games in a row, that gut feeling just stinks. It really just gives you so much more [motivation] and makes you want to go. Now that this is the end, there’s no more. We’ve got to do it here.”
Leading the charge for the Cougars on their way to back-to-back PIAA championship games, Fusetti and sophomore forward Aubree Hupp comprise one of the area’s most dynamic duos. A 5-9 guard, Fusetti averages a team-high 15.8 points to go with 4.5 rebounds and 3 assists per game, while Hupp averages 13.6 points with a team-leading 7.6 rebounds per game.
With a career tally of well over 1,000 points, Fusetti has made a name for herself as one of the top guards in the WPIAL ever since her arrival as a freshman starter at Blackhawk. The Mercyhurst recruit certainly knows how to score at will, but she is always looking to make the right play at the right time while also spearheading the Cougars’ No. 1-ranked scoring defense (28.3 ppg allowed).
“We know what Alena is all about,” Huston said. “She’s a been-there, done-that type of kid.”
An elite defender at 5 feet 11 with the ability to step outside and knock down 3-pointers, Hupp poured in a game-high 22 points in the PIAA semifinal win, outdueling star 6-1 forward Amaya Stewart, who finished with 18 points for Wyomissing. Together, Hupp and Fusetti provide a frontcourt-backcourt duo few teams can match.
“When [Hupp] is scoring at all three levels, it’s pretty tough to deal with her,” Huston said. “That [3-point] shot has gotten more and more consistent as the year has gone on. She’s really challenging teams. How do you want to defend her and how do you want to stop her? And that’s a credit to her work ethic. She’s really putting the time in.”
Blackhawk also has twins Piper and Haley Romigh back in the fold, giving the Cougars four returning starters after last year’s WPIAL and PIAA runner-up finish. Rounding out the starting five is junior guard Andrea Kinger, who ranks third on the team with 6.3 ppg and is tied with Fusetti for the team lead with 3 assists per game.
For Scranton, juniors Julia Hillebrand and Bella Dennebaum figure to be the top two targets for Blackhawk’s defense to key on. Hillebrand went for 30 points in the semifinal win against Universal Audenried, while Dennebaum tacked on 19.
“They’re a completely different team than the one we just faced,” Huston said. “It’s more of a guard-oriented offense. A lot of movement, a lot of motion, and they’ve got some shooters, too. We’ve got to work really hard to defend that 3-point line.
“They present some challenges, but I think our girls will be ready for it.”
With another year of experience under their belts and a new coach leading the way, these still very much resemble the Cougars of recent years. From the collective team-first mentality to the suffocating defense and infectious energy, this is a Blackhawk team with all the makings of a champion.
Now, the only thing left to do is finish the job.
“This is it,” Fusetti said. “I’m confident in us. We’ve been here before. We just need to finish it.”
Steve is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at srotstein@unionprogress.com.
