High School category, Page 315
Franklin Regional keeps rolling, beats Gateway in quarters
Cam Rowell caught the basketball on the wing, squared up and fired. His 3-pointer splashed down just before the buzzer sounded to end the third quarter, and the Franklin Regional senior guard held his shooting hand in the air, his body frozen in a shooter’s pose. “I held it up...
No. 11 Burrell grinds out win over Shady Side Academy to reach Class 3A semifinals
The rubber matchup between Burrell and Shady Side Academy in a WPIAL Class 3A quarterfinal Thursday went the way of the Bucs. But it wasn’t easy. None of the Burrell players thought it would be. In a grind of a game that went to the final seconds, the No. 11...
No. 3 Neshannock holds off No. 12 Derry in WPIAL quarters
For more than three quarters of Thursday’s WPIAL Class 3A quarterfinal, Derry’s defense kept Neshannock sophomore David Kwiat in check. But Kwiat, who averages 16 points and is the Lancers’ leading scorer, found his touch. He drained three consecutive 3-pointers, scored 12 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter...
Deer Lakes fends off Ellwood City in chaotic final seconds of overtime
With a last-second shot, Collin Rodgers kept Deer Lakes’ hopes of defending its WPIAL Class 3A boys basketball championship alive. Rodgers scored after Nathaniel Moore stole an inbounds pass in the final seconds, and the top-seeded Lancers survived an upset bid by No. 9 Ellwood City in a 39-38 overtime...
Thomas Jefferson boys use strong shooting to pull away from Kiski Area
Playoff games typically are decided by which team can make timely plays, and it was Thomas Jefferson that used a strong offensive performance to hold off Kiski Area on Thursday night, 73-57, in a WPIAL Class 5A playoff game at Gateway. The No. 4 Jaguars (21-3) advanced to the WPIAL...
Riverview girls sink Monessen in Class A, advance to semifinals
The Monessen girls basketball team wanted to avenge a 25-point loss to Riverview from earlier this season when the teams met in a WPIAL Class A quarterfinal Thursday at Fox Chapel. But No. 4 Riverview wasn’t about to let its chance to reach the semifinals fall by the wayside. Katerina...
Top-seeded Norwin girls sharp in playoff-opening rout of Seneca Valley
Norwin girls basketball coach Brian Brozeski said his team played “challenged” basketball late in the regular season. Things weren’t quite right. While the top-seeded Knights were not as sharp as the coach had hoped for heading into the postseason — they had to sit through a 14-day layoff — the...
Kiski Area’s Veronica Flanagan gets back to WPIBL girls finals, wins championship
As a sophomore last season, Kiski Area’s Veronica Flanagan came within one win of a WPIBL girls singles championship, falling in the final match. As a junior, Flanagan got back to the finals Thursday evening, and this time, she was second to none. Flanagan saved her best game of the...
Bishop Canevin aims to win elusive title in PIHL Division 2 playoffs
Sometimes the puck just doesn’t bounce your way. It doesn’t help when that unlucky shot happens on the biggest stage of the season in sudden death. That uncomfortable memory for Bishop Canevin was embedded after falling in overtime on a “fluky” shot from the point against Ringgold in last year’s...
A-K Valley WPIAL basketball playoff capsules: Games for Friday, Feb. 23, 2024
WPIAL basketball playoffs Girls Class 4A Quarterfinals 5-Laurel Highlands (19-2) at 4-Highlands (16-6) 8 p.m. Friday Winner plays: Winner of 8-Greensburg Salem (16-7)/1-Blackhawk (20-2) Tuesday in semifinals (site/time TBD) Coaches: Shawn Bennis, Highlands; Stewart Davis, Laurel Highlands Players to watch: Kate Myers, Highlands; Sierra Jenkins, Laurel Highlands Layup lines: Highlands...
Westmoreland WPIAL basketball playoff capsules: Games for Friday, Feb. 23, 2024
WPIAL basketball playoffs Boys Class 2A Quarterfinals 10-Eden Christian (12-10) vs. 2-Greensburg Central Catholic (21-2) 8 p.m. Friday at Fox Chapel Winner plays: Winner of 6-Jeannette (14-7)/3-Northgate (17-5) on Tuesday in semifinals (time, site TBD) Coaches: Aaron Smith, Eden Christian; Christian Hyland, GCC Players to watch: Nathan Garrett, Eden Christian;...
WPIAL sets playoff sites, times for Saturday’s basketball semifinals
The WPIAL has scheduled four basketball semifinal doubleheaders Saturday at Montour, Mt. Lebanon, North Allegheny and Peters Township. The classifications in action are Class 4A boys, 3A girls, 2A girls and A boys. WPIAL basketball playoffs Saturday’s semifinals Class 4A boys 1-Lincoln Park (21-3) vs. 4-Uniontown (21-3) at Peters Township,...
Short-handed Uniontown gets defensive in WPIAL quarterfinal win over North Catholic
Uniontown was missing its big man in the middle, but against a small, speedy opponent, was that a blessing in disguise? Maybe so, said coach Rob Kezmarsky, but he sure hopes center K’Adrian McLee gets back in the lineup soon. Playing without the Ivy League football recruit, No. 4 seed...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on Feb. 22, 2024: 5A rematch headlines quarterfinals Thursday
Welcome to Quarterfinals Thursday in the WPIAL basketball postseason with boys Class 5A and 3A along with girls Class 6A and A featured with Round 2 contests. Neighbors and rivals east of Pittsburgh will settle the score in the rubber game of their battles this season when No. 2 Franklin...
Trib 10: Top teams in power rankings avoid upset bug so far
Pick a word, any word: ideal, flawless, absolute, model, complete, perfect. Any of those descriptive words work when talking about the current class of Trib 10 teams. As the district playoffs began, the top teams flexed their muscles and avoided bracket-busters as the 10 boys and 10 girls teams were...
Rowan Carmichael stars again as Avonworth knocks off Montour
When Montour beat Avonworth two weeks ago, the Antelopes had a dreadful night shooting the basketball, hitting only 16% from the field in the first half of a 27-point loss. The shots were falling Wednesday from up close, mid-range and especially from downtown as No. 6 Avonworth took control early...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Feb. 21, 2024
High schools Basketball Boys WPIAL playoffs Class 6A Quarterfinals Friday’s schedule Pine-Richland (7-15) at Mt. Lebanon (18-4), 8 p.m.; North Allegheny (11-11) at Baldwin (16-6), 7 p.m.; Canon-McMillan (10-12) vs. Central Catholic (14-8) at Gateway, 7 p.m.; Butler (15-6) at Upper St. Clair (17-5), 7 p.m. Class 5A Quarterfinals Thursday’s...
High school roundup for Feb. 21, 2024: Shady Side Academy girls escape OLSH upset bid
Maggie Spell buried the go-ahead free throw with 1.6 second left to lift No. 2 Shady Side Academy to a 37-35 victory over No. 7 Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in the WPIAL Class 3A girls basketball quarterfinals Wednesday. Spell finished with nine points, while Karis Thomas and Cassie...
Greensburg Central Catholic girls use defense to beat Rochester, move into 2A semifinals
Rochester players tried repeatedly to drive the lane against Greensburg Central Catholic, but the Rams were met with constant resistance. A block here, a deflection and steal there. Denial ruled the paint at Chartiers Valley. Defense is said to win championships. It worked pretty well for the top-seeded Centurions in...
Union surges past Monessen to set up another meeting with Imani Christian
The No. 4 Monessen boys basketball team played solid defense in the first 16 minutes of action in its WPIAL Class A quarterfinal matchup with No. 5 Union on Wednesday night. But the Scotties’ two-headed scoring monster is hard to stop for a full 32 minutes. The duo of Lucas...
Lincoln Park duo of Brandin Cummings, Meleek Thomas too much for young Knoch
Knoch became the latest in a long line of WPIAL basketball opponents the last couple of years to try to stop the titan that is Lincoln Park. Led by their NCAA Power 5 recruits Brandin Cummings and Meleek Thomas, the Leopards again proved to be too tough to tame. Thomas...
State Supreme Court says PIAA is subject to open-records laws
HARRISBURG — The PIAA is a public entity and subject to the Right to Know Law, the state Supreme Court has ruled. The court’s decision was handed down Wednesday. More than two years ago, the PIAA asked the state Supreme Court to review a Commonwealth Court decision that ruled the...
Westmoreland high school basketball playoff preview capsules for Feb. 22, 2024
WPIAL basketball playoffs Boys Class 5A Quarterfinals 7-Gateway (17-6) vs. 2-Franklin Regional (21-2) 8 p.m. Thursday at Norwin Winner plays: Winner of 11-Bethel Park (12-11)/3-Shaler (21-2) on Monday in semifinals (time, site TBD) Coaches: Alvis Rogers, Gateway; Jesse Reed, Franklin Regional Players to watch: Alex Lowry, Gateway; Cooper Rankin, Franklin...
Franklin Regional’s Brandon Smith claims WPIBL boys singles title
In his three previous trips to the WPIBL boys singles championships, Franklin Regional senior Brandon Smith bowled pretty well. On Wednesday, he bowled great. Smith averaged 242.8 in five games en route to claiming the championship at AMF Mt. Lebanon. In the final match, Smith defeated Serra Catholic’s Preston Smith,...
Alle-Kiski Valley high school notes: Football teams learn new homes
Plum football coach Matt Morgan felt that when he saw which teams moved up, moved down, or remained in WPIAL Class 5A, his Mustangs would most likely be on the move out of the Big East Conference that was their home the past two seasons. “Most likely” became reality Monday...
