Heading into girls basketball season last fall, Salisbury coach Joe Mladosich was happy to have one of the Colonial League’s best players returning to his team. However, he also knew it would be difficult to replace the four graduates that started around Lindsay Bauer the previous year, including 1,000-point scorer Meagan Eripret who was off to Lehigh University.

Bauer led an inexperienced Salisbury team to league and district playoff appearances this season before the Falcons’ season came to an end last Friday in a District 11 Class 2A quarterfinal game against Marian Catholic.

The Fillies used pressure defense and dominated under the basket for a 46-28 win Friday at Blue Mountain High School.

“They’re a good team,” said Mladosich. “They have good size. They’re well coached. Their two seniors are outstanding players.

“They’re better than we are. But we have to play harder and play smarter.”

Marian senior Savanna Kurzinsky scored 19 points and pulled down 10 rebounds in the game. She dominated in the paint in the first half with 10 points in the first quarter and 14 by halftime as her team opened a 27-11 lead by intermission.

“She did a nice job,” said Marian head coach Paul Brutto. “She did her usual great job on the boards at both ends. She’s a very capable offensive player.”

The Fillies out-rebounded Salisbury 14-8 in the first half while also forcing 12 turnovers. The Falcons turned the ball over on four of their first five possessions while falling behind 6-0.

Bauer scored all 12 of her team’s points in the first half and finished with a team-high 16. She finishes her career with 1,089 points.

Marian stretched its lead to 37-18 after three quarters and the Falcons just couldn’t claw their way back in the fourth quarter.

“We didn’t play our best but we put the ball in the basket, came down with big rebounds and fought through it,” said Kurzinsky.

The Fillies out-rebounded Salisbury 31-22 for the game.

Salisbury started 12-6 this season but lost its final six games, including a league playoff game and Friday’s district game, to end the season at 12-12. The Falcons started 7-0 in Colonial League play and finished at 11-5 as the No. 5 seed for the league tournament.

“We lost the last six games but they were all the playoff teams,” said Mladosich.

Salisbury’s final six opponents included Palisades, Notre Dame (Green Pond), Northwestern twice, Southern Lehigh and Marian.

While Bauer led the team in scoring, averaging 19.6 points per game, which is nearly half of the team’s average (39.6), some other returning seniors were a big part of this year’s team and some underclassmen also picked up experience and will return next year.

This year’s graduating class includes Bauer, Kristen Bucchin, Sydney Utesch and Victoria Tramonte.

“All of them will be missed,” said Mladosich. “I’ve known Lindsay for a long time and to say goodbye is tough. Four years.”

Overall, Mladosich was pleased with his team’s season.

“We [graduated] 80 percent of our scoring and 80 percent of our starters,” he said. “They did a good job to get [to the district quarterfinals]. They worked hard. They should be proud of that.”

SALISBURY

H. Bruns 0-0-0-0, Donaldson 0-0-2-0, Burkhardt 0-0-1-0, Gardus 0-1-2-1, Von Holden 0-0-0-0, Meikrantz 3-1-3-10, Bauer 6-4-7-16, Bucchin 0-0-0-0, Nicholas 0-1-6-1, K. Bruns 0-0-0-0, Utesch 0-0-0-0, Tramonte 0-0-0-0. TOTALS 9-7-21-28.

MARIAN CATHOLIC

Joseph 0-0-0-0, Erb 0-0-0-0, Whitecavage 3-0-2-7, Correale 0-0-0-0, Schwabe 0-0-0-0, Agosti 3-0-0-7, Kurzinsky 7-5-8-19, Raabe 0-3-4-3, Karnish 3-4-6-10, Stoyer 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 16-12-20-46.

Salisbury 8 3 7 10 – 28

Marian 18 9 10 9 – 46

Three-pointers: S – Meikrantz 3; M – Whitecavage 1, Agosti 1.