The WPIAL basketball title games all take place at the A.J. Palumbo Center on the campus of Duquesne University.

With the mind-set the Mt. Lebanon girls brought to the game, you might have thought they were headed to the A.J. Palumbo School of Business Administration instead.

The defending WPIAL and PIAA champions headed to the title game not distracted by the championship game atmosphere but rather focused on one goal, taking care of business.

"It really was a businesslike approach," Mt. Lebanon coach Dori Oldaker said. "We have goals and it was one of our goals to get there and not be satisfied with that."

The Blue Devils defeated section rival Baldwin, 59-43, to bring home another WPIAL championship trophy.

"We would never ever be satisfied even thinking about just getting there and then losing," senior guard Jess Babe said. "It was like a business trip, we just wanted to get it done."

By "getting it done," Mt. Lebanon possibly disproved an often used sports cliché that it is hard to beat a team three times in the same season. Mt. Lebanon did it twice in five days, first blowing past Peters Township, 61-34, in the WPIAL semifinals and then beating Baldwin. It was the third meeting against both of the teams, who were also Section 4-AAAA representatives.

"I still think it is tough [to do that]," Oldaker said. "The team with nothing to lose, the lower-seeded team, has an advantage because all the pressure is on the top-seeded team. They really get to know our personnel so well and hopefully, we used that to our advantage, too, because we knew them."

While they may have disproved the notion of how hard it is to beat a team three times, last year they proved another sports cliché true -- how defense wins championships. There was no letdown with their defense this season, but Mt. Lebanon showed it can win championships with its offense, too.

A year after averaging 51 points per game in the WPIAL playoffs, the Blue Devils averaged 65 points per game in their latest WPIAL title run.

"We pride ourselves in playing team defense but I think we are pretty offensive-oriented this year as well," Oldaker said.

Along with the stingy defense and an offense that has improved from last year, this is also one of the most senior-dominated teams in the WPIAL.

There are nine seniors on the team with Lauren Arbogast, Angele Hagy, Chelsea Apke, Sarah Nydes and Jess Babe all seeing considerable minutes. It is the most experienced team Oldaker has had since her first year at Blackhawk in 1999.

"We have nine seniors on the team and they are all outstanding role models," Oldaker said. "We don't have worries of kids being jealous of others, especially at this level."

Even with all the seniors, Mt. Lebanon is still getting plenty of contributions from underclassmen, including 5-foot-11 junior Madison Cable, one of the premier players in the WPIAL. Junior Anna Kestler also starts and sophomores Kelly Johnson and Emma Pellicano are two of the first reserves off the bench.

The Blue Devils focus now moves on to the PIAA playoffs where opponents can expect the same businesslike approach from Mt. Lebanon.

"We are already thinking about our next game," Oldaker said.

"We are done with celebrations and we are ready to move on and start working. I don't think we ever reflect on the season until it is over."

The Blue Devils will open play in the PIAA tournament Friday at 6 p.m. at North Allegheny against Fox Chapel, which defeated Hollidaysburg, 63-45, Tuesday in a play-in game. Lebo defeated the Foxes, 73-45, in the WPIAL quarterfinals on Feb. 26,

Last season Mt. Lebanon carried a perfect record all the way to Penn State and finished 31-0. This year it has already suffered a pair of losses in tournaments outside of the state that pitted Mt. Lebanon against some of the top teams in the country.

Oldaker is just as happy with her team's 24-2 record moving forward as she was with their perfect mark last year.

"Those were the most high-pressure situations any of us have been in," Babe said. "It taught us to keep our cool and stay on the same level. We know what is ahead now."

What could be ahead for Mt. Lebanon is history. If they can repeat as PIAA champions, they will become the first WPIAL Class AAAA team to accomplish the feat.

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