A-K Valley girls basketball teams jockeying for playoff position

By: Michael Love
Wednesday, February 1, 2023 | 7:27 PM

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It is crunch time with one week left in section play, and several girls basketball teams in the Alle-Kiski Valley have either safely secured their spot in one of the six WPIAL tournaments or are fighting to join the party over their final section games.

Several key section matchups Thursday will go a long way in working out those teams’ fate.

Freeport sits at 3-7 in Section 1-4A but remains alive. It needs to take care of business and get some help.

“The girls know what they need to do,” Freeport coach Fred Soilis said after Monday’s loss at Highlands. “They have the opportunity in front of them.”

To grab a share of the fourth spot from the section, the Yellowjackets need to beat Derry on Monday and have Greensburg Salem (5-4) lose Thursday at home against Knoch (7-2) and at Highlands (6-3) on Monday.

That would set up a scenario where if the Yellowjackets would go to Greensburg Salem for the section finale Feb. 9 and win that game, they would forge a tie for fourth place with the Golden Lions.

A split in the season series — Salem won the Jan. 16 matchup — means both teams would qualify. Freeport is hoping for a seventh straight trip to the playoffs.

Third-place Highlands and second-place Knoch split their season series.

The Golden Rams, who had four players score in double figures in the big win over Freeport, hope to keep pace with the Knights as they visit Derry (2-8) on Thursday, host Greensburg Salem for senior night Monday and play at Valley on Feb. 9.

“It’s the basic thing for us of improving each game and controlling what we can control in the section,” Highlands coach Shawn Bennis said.

“If we can win out, there’s a chance we could get second by ourselves, depending on what Knoch does the rest of the way (vs. Greensburg Salem, Valley, North Catholic). As the season has gone on, we’ve had some peaks and valleys. But lately, with facing some tough competition, we’ve gotten better each game. That’s all I can ask.”

Plum, in third place in Section 1-5A at 5-4, hopes to protect its position starting Thursday with a home game against Penn Hills (4-6). The Indians won the first meeting 43-42 on Jan. 10.

The Mustangs, who got 25 points from Megan Marston in an 11-point setback to Woodland Hills last week, swept Franklin Regional (4-6), winning both by a combined five points.

Kiski Area remained firmly in contention for fourth place in Section 1 with a crucial 44-40 victory over Franklin Regional on Wednesday.

The Cavaliers, 4-5 in the section, added the win over the Panthers to a 40-35 win over Gateway on Jan. 27.

Kiski, which has Woodland Hills, Plum and Penn Hills left to face, also avenged a 40-37 overtime loss to FR from Jan. 5.

St. Joseph has proven to be the class of Section 3-A, and the 5-0 Spartans, No. 3 in this week’s Trib HSSN WPIAL rankings, return to section play Monday at Leechburg (2-3).

St. Joseph, 14-3 overall, took care of business against Jeannette, 54-26, on Monday despite not having leading scorer Julie Spinelli for most of the game after she left in the first quarter because of injury.

But potent scoring threat Gia Richter, a sophomore guard, was strong with 16 points, and juniors Anna Kreinbrook and Emma Swierczewski added nine points apiece.

Riverview, 5-1 in the section and 9-8 overall, hopes to keep pace as it visits Jeannette (1-4) on Thursday, and the Blue Devils seek to even their section mark with a Thursday matchup against Hillel Academy.

Apollo-Ridge, at 5-2 in Section 3-3A, is one win away from clinching a spot in the WPIAL playoffs. The Vikings, behind the scoring of seniors Brinley Toland and Sydney McCray and junior Sophie Yard, can do that Thursday at home against Deer Lakes.

The Lancers (3-4) hung with the Vikings in their first meeting Jan. 9 before falling 50-43.

Mt. Pleasant, at 4-3, is in good position to snag one of the section playoff berths. Deer Lakes is in the fourth spot, one game ahead of Burrell (2-5).

The Bucs host Ligonier Valley (0-7) on Thursday.

The battle for the final playoff spot could come down to Deer Lakes at Burrell on Feb. 9.

Fox Chapel is chasing a better spot in the Section 2-5A standings and also hoping to defend its position.

The Foxes, paced by senior forward Elsie Smith, sit in fourth place in the section at 6-4, one game behind Armstrong (7-3) for third.

Fox Chapel hosts the River Hawks on Thursday. The Foxes hope to snap a two-game losing skid after a stretch where they won five in row.

Smith scored 16 points in a tough 50-47 loss to section co-leader Mars (7-2) on Jan. 27 when Fox Chapel rallied from an early double-digit deficit.

Fox Chapel also is one-half game ahead of Shaler (5-4), and the Foxes host the Titans on Monday.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Apollo-Ridge, Freeport, Highlands, Kiski Area, Knoch, Riverview, St. Joseph