WPIAL Class A girls basketball championship breakdown: Rochester vs. West Greene

By: Bill Hartlep
Sunday, March 14, 2021 | 3:35 PM

Purchase Photo Options

WPIAL Class A girls basketball championship

No. 1 Rochester vs. No. 2 West Greene

5 p.m. Monday at Peters Township’s AHN Arena

On the air: 1230 AM, 99.3 FM, 1460 AM, 1450 AM; TribHSSN.TribLive.com (video stream)

Winner plays: Wednesday’s winner of District 5 champion Shanksville-Stonycreek (20-4) and District 10 champion Kennedy Catholic (18-0) in PIAA quarterfinals, March 20

How they got here: After a first-round bye, Rochester defeated No. 8 Avella, 75-22, in the quarterfinals; and No. 4 Aquinas Academy, 75-34, in the semifinals. West Greene had a first-round bye and then beat No. 7 Bishop Canevin, 55-36, in the quarterfinals; and No. 3 Eden Christian, 54-49, in the semifinals.

Starting lineups

Rochester (14-3)

Coach: CJ Iannini

No., Player, Pos., Ht., Yr.

3, Alexis Robison, G, 5-7, Sr.

11, Corynne Hauser, G, 5-8, Jr.

23, Makenzie Robison, G, 5-6, Jr.

33, Alysha Martin, F, 5-10, Sr.

35, Kallista Seybert, G, 5-4, Sr.

West Greene (18-3)

Coach: Jordan Watson

No., Player, Pos., Ht., Yr.

1, Katharine Lampe, G, 5-1, Jr.

3, Jersey Wise, G, 5-3, Sr.

4, Elizabeth Brudnock, G, 5-5, Sr.

5, Anna Durbin, G/F, 5-4, Jr.

40, Brooke Barner, G/F, 5-5, Jr.

Title-game history: Rochester has two WPIAL titles, both in the past two seasons (2019, ‘20). West Greene is searching for its first title.

Notable: These teams have met for the WPIAL title the past two seasons, with the Rams winning both. Rochester won 62-56 in 2019 and 59-43 last year. … The Rams were Trib HSSN’s preseason No. 1 team and have held strong throughout, will their only losses to Class 6A Seneca Valley and Bethel Park and Class 3A champion Mohawk. A trio of guards returned this season for the Rams in Alexis Robison, Corynne Hauser and Mekenzie Robison. Hauser averages more than 20 points, while Alexis Robison pours in 19. Rochester is riding a 12-game winning streak while averaging a Class-A best 64.5 points per game. … West Greene has been the WPIAL runner-up three straight seasons. The Pioneers have Class A’s third-best defense at 34.0 ppg. They also played a tough nonsection slate, with their three losses coming against Class 3A champ Mohawk, Class 2A semifinalist Sewickley Academy and Class 5A finalist Chartiers Valley. They have won five straight section titles and posted 40 straight wins on their home court. Jersey Wise is one of the top guards in the class and averages more than 16 points. Anna Durbin, Elizabeth Brudnock, Kaytlynn Walls and Brooke Barner also returned from last year’s runner-up team.

Bill Hartlep is the TribLive sports editor. A Pittsburgh native and Point Park graduate, he joined the Trib in 2004, covering high school sports. He held various editing roles before assuming his current position in 2019. He can be reached at bhartlep@triblive.com.

Tags: Rochester, West Greene