For much of her time, Pitt-Greensburg sophomore Jocelyn Bielak has been playing basketball and loving every minute of it.
Even when times have been tough.
An injury-ravaged season came to a halt earlier this month for Bielak and the Bobcats when UPG was unable to fill out a lineup, the team’s roster having dwindled to four healthy players.
“I never imagined something like this,” said Bielak, a 5-foot-9 guard/forward from Highlands and UPG’s leading scorer. “It’s one of those things you can’t control.”
With eight UPG players sustaining season-ending injuries, including four resulting in ACL surgeries, second-year coach Julie Bolden has added a pair of players at midseason, giving the Bobcats six healthy bodies and enabling the team to resume its schedule.
On Saturday, a week after UPG’s mounting injuries forced the postponement of a road game against Carlow, the Bobcats were back on the floor.
UPG battled back from a 15-point third-quarter deficit to take the lead against Hilbert before falling 48-45 at Chambers Hall in an Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference game involving one-win teams.
Hilbert (2-14, 2-5) led 36-21 during the third quarter before Bielak’s buzzer-beating layup gave UPG (1-13, 1-4) some momentum heading to the fourth.
The Bobcats unleashed their best stretch of the game and briefly took the lead but couldn’t hold it and came up short, despite outscoring the Hawks, 20-13, over the final eight minutes.
Bielak scored 20 points to go with eight rebounds and senior forward Abby Henise finished with 12 points and a game-high 15 rebounds for UPG. They joined sophomore forward Ca’Mari Walden (California) to form a trio who played all 40 minutes.
“That fourth quarter just goes to show you this team is never down, and they’re going to come out and give you 100% every time,” Bolden said. “The bench was great today, bringing the energy and enthusiasm. The players on the court? That’s a tough situation. They were tired and exhausted.”
UPG’s two newcomers — freshman guard Addison Musto (Franklin Regional) and senior guard Laura Vittone (Bentworth) — also saw action Saturday, and they were needed.
“Laura is a cross country runner, and Addison has been blessed with good genes,” Bolden said. “She worked hard this week and got her wind up. She’s going to do great.”
Musto was recruited by Bolden but decided late not to play and Vittone played one season for UPG in 2022-23 before dropping off the team. Both were instrumental Saturday in helping the Bobcats resume play.
Senior guard Phoebe Snyder (Hempfield) rounds out UPG’s healthy players.
A total of 10 players got minutes for Hilbert, which was led by Mia Aldaya’s 12 points.
In spite of the loss, Bolden said she couldn’t be more pleased with her team’s spirit.
“It’s been phenomenal. It’s been on behalf of the kids who are stepping in, the athletic training staff, the compliance people that we’re able to keep this thing going,” she said. “As a coach, as a team, we’ve just kind of learned to roll with the punches. It’s how we keep chugging forward.”
Weary as they may be, the Bobcats will have just one day to catch their breath before returning to action Monday night at Mt. Aloysius in an AMCC game postponed from an earlier date.
The other postponed game, at Carlow, has yet to be rescheduled.
“You’ve just got to try to take it as it is,” said Bielak, whose 12.9 scoring average and 38 assists lead UPG. “Even though games got (postponed), they’re going to get rescheduled. It’s a chance for us to play them and build up to that point. It’s nothing in our control. You can’t get frustrated. This is what we have. This is what we need to do. You just do the best you can.”