High School category, Page 336
Penn Hills starts, finishes strong in Class 5A win over Thomas Jefferson
Penn Hills played a picture-perfect road game in the first half Friday on opening night of the WPIAL girls basketball playoffs at Thomas Jefferson. Then the Indians nearly flushed it away with a rough third quarter, only to answer the bell in the fourth to take control back and beat...
Montour boys pull away to defeat Southmoreland in WPIAL 4A 1st round
Montour coach Bill Minear said his team works on end-of-the-quarter possessions. That extra work paid off big time Friday in his team’s WPIAL Class 4A first-round game against Southmoreland. The third-seeded Spartans (20-3) scored in the final second of every quarter and defeated the Scotties, 71-44. Montour will face Avonworth,...
South Allegheny surges past Belle Vernon in 2nd half of Class 4A 1st-round clash
With the teams neck and neck entering halftime, No. 10 Belle Vernon and No. 7 South Allegheny both went to the locker room with the belief that they could move on to the second round of the Class 4A WPIAL playoffs to take on No. 2 Hampton. It was the...
With senior guard back from injury, Greensburg Central Catholic girls rout Northgate
While she was cleared to return and was going to need ice treatment after the game, Cara Dupilka wasn’t sure how much she could give Greensburg Central Catholic in the first round of the playoffs after missing three games with a bone bruise in her left foot. “I’m thinking maybe...
Rowan Carmichael’s 32 points lift Avonworth past Highlands in Class 4A 1st round
Highlands’ size can be an advantage, just not against a deceptively sturdy guard who made one big shot after another. Avonworth’s Rowan Carmichael plays bigger than his lean 5-foot-11 frame might suggest. The junior scored a game-high 32 points with five 3-pointers Friday night as the sixth-seeded Antelopes defeated No....
Young Knoch rallies to defeat Beaver in Class 4A boys first round
Knoch coach Alan Bauman bristled when it was suggested his team’s first-round playoff opponent, Beaver Area, was coming into the Knights’ gym Friday night having played a highly challenging regular-season schedule. The Bobcats competed in Section 2-4A along with top-ranked Lincoln Park and No. 5 North Catholic. “We’re pretty good,...
Kiski Area wrestler Gray eager for postseason after being sidelined by shoulder injury
Kiski Area’s Mark Gray made his season debut last Saturday at the Pine-Richland Duals. The junior wrestled just one out of a planned schedule of three matches in his return from a torn labrum in his left shoulder suffered in a match at the Tussle Duals in West Virginia in...
A-K Valley high school basketball playoff preview capsules for Feb. 17, 2024
WPIAL basketball playoffs Girls Class 3A First round 9-Burrell (16-4) vs. 8-Keystone Oaks (15-6) Noon Saturday, South Park High School Winner plays: Winner of 16-Apollo-Ridge (8-13)/1-Avonworth (19-1) Wednesday in quarterfinals (time, site TBD) Section finish: Burrell 2nd, Section 3; Keystone Oaks, T-2nd, Section 2 Players to watch: Julianna Fisher, Burrell;...
Allderdice boys take aim at 4th straight City League crown
Allderdice coach Devin Crummie didn’t care if only five or six players could make it. If there was an opportunity during the summer to get the Dragons some time on the court together, he was willing to enter his squad in any available tournament. Allderdice entered this season with two...
Westmoreland County high school basketball playoff preview capsules for Feb. 17, 2024
Girls Class 3A 12-Mt. Pleasant (14-7) at 5-South Park (15-6) 2 p.m. Saturday Winner plays: Winner of 13-Brownsville (12-9)/4-Neshannock (15-7) Wednesday in quarterfinals (time, site TBD) Section finish: Mt. Pleasant 3rd, Section 3; South Park T-1st, Section 4 Players to watch: Grace Arrigo, Mt. Pleasant; Hayley Bennett, South Park Layup...
Obama Academy girls chasing 3rd straight championship against Allderdice
Obama Academy girls basketball coach Monique McCoy impresses on her players the importance of playing in the City League championship game. The Eagles shouldn’t take anything for granted. If Obama Academy beats Allderdice at noon Sunday at Duquesne’s UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, the Eagles will have won their seventh City League...
HIgh school scores, summaries and schedules for Feb. 15, 2024
High schools Basketball Boys WPIAL playoffs Class 6A Quarterfinals Feb. 23 schedule Times TBA Pine-Richland (7-15) at Mt. Lebanon (18-4); North Allegheny (11-11) at Baldwin (16-6); Canon-McMillan (10-12) vs. Central Catholic (14-8) at TBA; Butler (15-6) at Upper St. Clair (17-5) Class 5A Preliminary round Friday’s schedule Woodland Hills (8-13)...
High school roundup for Feb. 15, 2024: Union prevails in Hillel Academy’s 1st WPIAL playoff game
Lucas Stanley scored 23 points and No. 5 Union pulled away in the second half to secure a 67-43 victory over Hillel Academy in the WPIAL Class A first round Thursday night. It was the first WPIAL playoff game for Hillel Academy (7-10), a small Orthodox Jewish school in Squirrel...
Plum bowlers finish strong to get past Norwin, win WPIBL girls team championship
In a championship match that came down to the final frames of the final game, Plum bowlers threw strikes on their last five balls to win the WPIBL girls team championship Thursday at AMF Belle Vernon. Norwin, which finished third in qualifying, won the first game of the best-of-three Baker...
A-K Valley girls wrestlers ready for shot at WPIAL gold, spots in regionals
Ava Golding is undefeated against WPIAL opponents this season. The Kiski Area sophomore, 21-4 overall, has earned the No. 1 seed at 136-pounds for the inaugural WPIAL girls wrestling championships set for Saturday at North Allegheny High School. “You never know what to expect until you see your name there,”...
Latrobe duo among wrestlers eager to hit mat for 1st WPIAL girls tournament
Latrobe junior Lili Maxwell didn’t start wrestling until two years ago. A torn labrum while swimming convinced her to try the sport. Now the 17-year-old is preparing to compete in her first WPIAL individual wrestling championship. It’s a first for all 185 girls set to compete in the inaugural tournament...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on Feb. 16, 2024: Breaking down the 1st full day of WPIAL playoff action
Let the games begin! Opening night of the 2024 WPIAL basketball playoffs shines a spotlight on first-round games in Boys Class 4A and A along with openers in girls 2A along with two 5A preliminary round contests. One of the dark horses in the Class 4A boys basketball postseason is...
After close calls past 2 years, Kiski Area boys seeking elusive playoff victory
The bitter disappointment of the heartbreaking first-round loss to North Hills last season is something Isaiah Gonzalez and the rest of his Kiski Area boys basketball teammates have not forgotten. It wasn’t just that their season had ended, but it was how they lost. As a double-digit seed, the Cavaliers...
PIHL scoring leader Ryan Saginaw among January players of month
League scoring leader Ryan Saginaw of undefeated Bishop Canevin was among the four senior forwards selected as the PIHL’s players of the month for January. Saginaw, who has 70 points on 46 goals and 24 assists, was the top pick for Division 2. The other top players are Evan Benscoter...
A-K Valley high school basketball playoff preview capsules for Feb. 16, 2024
WPIAL basketball playoffs Boys Class 4A First round 16-Freeport (7-14) at 1-Lincoln Park (19-3), 7 p.m. 7 p.m. Friday Winner plays: Winner of 8-Knoch (14-8)/9-Beaver (12-10) Wednesday in quarterfinals (time, site TBD) Section finish: Freeport 4th, Section 1; Lincoln Park 1st, Section 2 Players to watch: Brady Sullivan, Freeport; Meleek...
Westmoreland County boys basketball notebook: Franklin Regional could be headed for rematch
A third meeting between neighboring districts could be on the horizon. Franklin Regional (20-2), the No. 2 seed in WPIAL Class 5A, could face No. 7 Gateway (16-6) if the teams advance to the quarterfinals. Both play at 7 p.m. Monday. Franklin Regional hosts No. 15 Mars (10-12), while Gateway...
Westmoreland County high school basketball playoff preview capsules for Feb. 16, 2024
WPIAL basketball playoffs Boys Class A First round 13-Summit Academy (4-13) at 4-Monessen (17-4) 7 p.m. Friday Winner plays: 5-Union (13-10) Wednesday in quarterfinals (time, site TBD) Section finish: Summit Academy T-4th, Section 3; Monessen 1st, Section 2 Players to watch: Austin Hindman, Summit Academy; Lorenzo Gardner, Monessen Layup lines:...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Feb. 14, 2024
High schools Basketball Boys WPIAL playoffs Class 6A Quarterfinals Feb. 23 schedule Times TBA Pine-Richland (7-15) at Mt. Lebanon (18-4); North Allegheny (11-11) at Baldwin (16-6); Canon-McMillan (10-12) vs. Central Catholic (14-8) at TBA; Butler (15-6) at Upper St. Clair (17-5) Class 5A Preliminary round Friday’s schedule Woodland Hills (8-13)...
High school roundup for Feb. 14, 2024: Allderdice takes place in City League title game
Logan Golle and Ma’ayan Kohai each scored 15 points to lead Allderdice to a 76-46 victory over Carrick in the City League semifinals Wednesday. Keiylan Walden added 10 points for the Dragons (19-4). Ray Saunders scored 16 points and Brayden Fisher added 12 for Carrick (9-14). Allderdice will meet Obama...
WPIAL playoff berth means a lot to Hillel Academy, a tiny Orthodox Jewish school in Squirrel Hill
As the boys basketball coach at Hillel Academy, Yoni Eglash has fielded a number of questions since his team joined the WPIAL two years ago. Questions like, “What is Hillel Academy?” “No one knows, unless you talk to the Jewish kids at Allderdice,” Eglash said with a laugh. “They know.”...
