WPIAL basketball brackets unveiled, team rifle finals set for Tuesday

By: Don Rebel
Monday, February 10, 2020 | 11:19 PM

The Path to the Pete officially begins Tuesday as the WPIAL unveils brackets to the six boys and six girls basketball playoff tournaments.

Some of the questions heading into the big reveal:

• How far will Fox Chapel fall in boys Class 6A after losing for the first time Friday?

• Where will Laurel Highlands and hotshot freshman Rodney Gallagher end up in Class 5A?

• Who will be the top-seed in boys Class 4A?

• How will the committee seed the top four teams in girls Class 6A?

• Where will undefeated Southmoreland be seeded in girls Class 4A?

• Which team will be the top seed in girls Class 3A?

Find out Tuesday night during the HSSN Playoff Pairings Show at 7 p.m. only at TribHSSN.TribLive.com

Shooting for gold

The WPIAL will be handing out gold to the team with the best shots Tuesday.

The 2020 WPIAL team rifle championships are set for the Dormont/Mt. Lebanon Sportsmen’s Club in Canonsburg.

Hempfield will be trying to earn a third straight district title.

The Spartans finished in second place in Section 3, two games behind section champion Penn-Trafford.

The other two section champions are Waynesburg in Section 1 and Bethel Park in Section 2.

Of this year’s section winners, the Warriors and Raiders have never won a WPIAL title and the Black Hawks have won six, with the last coming in 2000.

More rifle gold Thursday

While the team rifle title is set for Tuesday, the individual championship will be Thursday at the Dormont/Mt. Lebanon Sportsmen’s Club.

A new champion will be crowned after the graduation of 2018 and 2019 champion Selena Phillips from Waynesburg.

Phillips was the first athlete to win back-to-back rifle titles since Robbie Gagliani of Avella won three straight from 2007-09.

Alayna Walther of Avella was the runner-up a year ago, finishing 0.3 points behind Phillips.