WPIAL basketball tournament: Freeport girls proud of growth after first-round exit vs South Park
SOUTH PARK, Allegheny County — Moments after Jaisa Gaillot and Nia DiSanti saw the book close on their high school basketball careers, they posed for pictures and took turns scooping junior Macy Stivenson off her feet and laughing.
As they head out the door, No. 10 Freeport’s only two seniors have figuratively lifted the Yellowjackets’ program and underclassmen this season.
“There’s a bunch of ups and downs in a program, but I think we’re on an up,” Gaillot said of the program after a 49-18 WPIAL Class 4A first-round playoff loss to No. 7 South Park. “There’s people that are gonna fill our shoes and the program’s just gonna keep growing. We’ve got upcoming people that are just gonna make us better.”
DiSanti and Gaillot both fouled out in the fourth quarter, with the former objecting to the call that sent her to her seat and the latter following with a resigned smirk on her face minutes later.
“After Nia fouled out, I was like, ‘Might as well,’” Gaillot said. “I was already at four, so I might as well come out with my fellow senior.”
By the time DiSanti was disqualified, Freeport (13-10) trailed by 26, in large part because the host Eagles’ hounded them on the defensive side of the ball all night. The ’Jackets shot 4 for 21 in the first half and trailed 25-9 at the midway point.
“We didn’t do a good job of identifying their double teams and getting it out into space,” Freeport coach Jason Kerr said. “We talked a number of times about where to be, how to support. We just didn’t do it enough, and we just turned the ball over too much.”
As their postgame smiles indicated, DiSanti and Gaillot won’t allow the defeat to define the campaign.
“We did well this year in the section,” DiSanti said. “We made playoffs. We had more of a game at playoffs. … Overall, we just had more wins, we did better and we were a better team.”
Gaillot was happy to sweep neighboring rival Knoch this season.
“There’s definitely a lot more room for them to grow and them to be able to build on so many more things,” Gaillot said. “Especially with the upcoming talent that there is, the program is definitely gonna go off.”
Kerr, who completed his second season as coach, also believes the trajectory is on an upward slope. The ’Jackets went 6-17 last season and lost to Beaver Area 62-28 in the same district playoff round.
“We expected this to be, obviously, a much more competitive game. That’s the disappointing part,” Kerr said. “Obviously, losing is disappointing, but had we come and been more competitive, and we had played better, that’s what we’re looking for.
“It’s still a building block. … We’re on the way up. Sometimes it goes fast, sometimes it doesn’t. I would say we’re in the middle. We’re getting there.”
South Park (15-8) advances to play No. 2 Oakland Catholic on the road Thursday.
FREEPORT 18
Nia DiSanti 31-2 7, Macy Stivenson 2 1-2 5, Jaisa Gaillot 0 3-4 3, Lillian Holloway 1 0-0 2, Maggie Conger 0 1-6 1, Sydney Reiser 0 0-0 0, Kealey Reiser 0 0-0 0. Totals: 6 6-14 18.
SOUTH PARK 49
Nika Contakos 7 1-2 20, Hayley Bennett 2 5-8 12, Bella Stromberg 4 2-2 10, Gianna Cardillo 3 1-2 7, Andrea Kuczma 0 0-0 0. Totals: 17 9-14 49.
Freeport 3 6 6 3 — 18
South Park 13 12 14 10 — 49
3-point goals: South Park 6 (Contakos 5, Bennett 1)
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Freeport’s Kealey Reiser, right, tearfully hugs Nia DiSanti after losing to South Park 49-18 in a WPIAL Class 4A girls basketball first round game Monday, Feb. 16, 2026, at South Park High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Freeport’s Sydney Reiser (22) shoots the ball against South Park in a WPIAL Class 4A girls basketball first round game Monday, Feb. 16, 2026, at South Park High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Freeport’s Sydney Reiser (22) and South Park’s Bella Stromberg (22) battle for possession of the ball in a WPIAL Class 4A girls basketball first round game Monday, Feb. 16, 2026, at South Park High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Freeport’s Nia DiSanti (14) looks for an opening to pass the ball over South Park’s defense in a WPIAL Class 4A girls basketball first round game Monday, Feb. 16, 2026, at South Park High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
