What to watch for in WPIAL sports on Feb. 21, 2023: Longtime rivals meet in 5A girls basketball

By: Don Rebel
Monday, February 20, 2023 | 11:57 PM

The curtain falls on the first round of the 2023 WPIAL playoffs Tuesday.

Thirty-four years ago, the Penn Hills girls program was in the midst of one of the most impressive championship runs in WPIAL history.

The Indians won seven straight WPIAL Class 4A crowns from 1986-1992.

In the 1989 title game, Penn Hills defeated rival McKeesport, 56-46, to win the 1989 WPIAL championship.

Now they meet again; however, the power has shifted in this 2023 first-round matchup.

The Tigers are 18-4 and the No. 3 seed in the Class 5A postseason.

The Indians finished 10-11 overall and in a three-way tie with Plum and Kiski Area for third place in Section 1-5A.

Penn Hills lost to McKeesport in the opening game of the season, 51-29, at the North Allegheny Tipoff Tournament.

The other seven 5A first-round girls hoops games are:

• Top-seeded South Fayette (20-2) hosting Plum (13-10) at 8 p.m. The Mustangs earned the No. 16-seed with a 46-38 preliminary round victory over visiting Montour.

• No. 2 seed and Section 3 champion Oakland Catholic (19-3) will battle Kiski Area (9-12) in a 6 p.m. game at Fox Chapel.

• Section 1 champion Indiana (15-7) is the No. 6 seed and will face Hampton (14-8) in the 8 p.m. game at Fox Chapel.

• Section 2 had co-champions in Armstrong (19-3) and Mars (15-6). One will be home Tuesday while the other is at a neutral site. The No. 5-seeded River Hawks will host Woodland Hills (11-11) at 7 p.m. while the No. 7-seeded Fightin’ Planets take on Lincoln Park (18-4) at 8 p.m. at Mt. Lebanon.

• No. 4 seed Trinity (15-6), which finished second behind top-seeded South Fayette in Section 4, will host Latrobe (14-8) at 7 p.m.

• In the 8-9 game, Penn-Trafford (15-7) will host Shaler (16-6) at 8 p.m.

4 girls 4A frays

With only 12 playoff teams, Class 4A has four teams enjoying first-round byes.

Blackhawk, North Catholic, Elizabeth Forward and Quaker Valley will open up their postseasons in the quarterfinals Friday.

That leaves only four first-round games Tuesday in 4A.

• Greensburg Salem (14-8) visits Belle Vernon (14-8) with the winner moving on to visit top-seeded Blackhawk.

• Hopewell (10-12) travels to Knoch (14-8) with the victor heading to No. 4 Quaker Valley on Friday.

• Beaver (13-8) hosts West Mifflin (11-9) with the winner heading to the quarters to visit No. 2 North Catholic.

• Laurel Highlands (11-11) travels to Highlands (14-7) to see who advances to play No. 3 Elizabeth Forward.

Boys 2A first round

When the brackets were released last Monday, all of the Class 2A boys basketball teams knew who they were playing with the big exceptions of the top two seeds.

Following Thursday’s preliminary round games, No. 1 Aliquippa (16-6) and No. 2 Bishop Canevin (18-4) now know who is coming to their respective houses.

The Quips will host Laurel (7-16), a 56-46 winner over Bentworth in the pigtails.

The Crusaders will be home to South Side (8-15). The Rams rolled past Carmichaels in the prelims, 69-47.

The six other first-round games in the tournament with the most teams in the 2023 WPIAL basketball playoffs include:

• Section 3 champion Greensburg Central Catholic (15-5) will face Propel Braddock Hills (10-12) at 6 p.m. at Penn-Trafford.

• Section 4 champion Fort Cherry (20-2) hosts Clairton (10-12) at 6 p.m. at South Fayette.

• Eden Christian Academy (16-5), which had an eight-game winning streak end before splitting its final six games, will face Burgettstown (13-9) at 6 p.m. at Mt. Lebanon.

• Fifteen years after winning the 2008 2A district crown, Jeannette (13-7) visits Northgate (16-6) at 7 p.m.

• Fifteen years after winning the 2008 Class A district title, Serra Catholic (13-9) hosts Nazareth Prep (9-8) at 7 p.m.

• The 8-9 matchup has Shenango (14-8) hosting Chartiers-Houston (16-6) at 7 p.m.