Westmoreland PIAA basketball playoff capsules: Games for March 14, 2023

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Monday, March 13, 2023 | 3:55 PM

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PIAA basketball playoffs

Girls

Class 6A

Second round

Norwin (22-4) vs. Lebanon (26-2)

5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Bald Eagle Area High School, Bellefonte

Tickets: Upcoming Events | PIAA Box Office (hometownticketing.com)

District seed: Norwin 7-3; Lebanon 3-5

Winner plays: Winner of 7-1 North Allegheny (21-5)/7-4 Mt. Lebanon (18-8) Friday in quarterfinals (time, site TBD)

Players to watch: Kendall Berger, Norwin; Aaliyah Ferrer, Lebanon

Layup lines: Norwin used — what else? — sound defense to defeat Central Dauphin, 34-19, in the first round at Harrisburg. While the score wasn’t pretty, Norwin’s approach worked as the Knights gang-guarded point guard Lauren Cavoli and held her scoreless. Central Dauphin did not have a field goal for the final 11 minutes. Freshman Ava Christopher led Norwin with 10 points, and Lauren Palangio added eight points and nine rebounds. Norwin had not won in the state tournament since 2019 when it reached the quarterfinals. The Knights’ 33-point defensive average is one of the lowest in the state bracket. Another rematch with rival North Allegheny could lie ahead in the next round. … Lebanon pulled past District 1 runner-up Haverford, which came in with one loss, 48-41, to advance. Ferrer and Kailah Correa each scored 16 points, and Zariah Whigham added 12 for the Cedars, who built a 30-18 lead at the half. Correa is a 1,000-point scorer. Lebanon had a 24-game winning streak heading into the District 3 playoffs but lost two in a row.

Class 2A

Second round

Greensburg Central Catholic (22-5) vs. Maplewood (21-5)

7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Slippery Rock University, Slippery Rock

Tickets: Upcoming Events | PIAA Box Office (hometownticketing.com)

District seed: Greensburg Central Catholic 7-5; Maplewood 10-2

Winner plays: Winner of 7-1 Shenango (23-4)/10-3 Lakeview (19-7) Friday in quarterfinals (time, site TBD)

Players to watch: Mya Morgan, Greensburg Central Catholic; Sadie Thomas, Maplewood

Layup lines: Greensburg Central Catholic was sharp after a slow few opening minutes in the first round. The Centurions missed their first six shots and turned the ball over a few times before ramping up their defense and toppling Windber, 55-33. It was their first PIAA win since 2016. Freshman Erica Gribble continued to look fearless on a big stage, scoring 25 points in her state debut. Juniors Morgan and Avery Davis added 12 and 10 points. Coach Chris Skatell stretched his bench and played 10 girls. … Maplewood won for the first time in the state tournament since 1994 with a 65-47 victory over Aliquippa, the WPIAL’s fourth-place team. Bailey Varndell hit a couple of early 3-pointers to spark the Tigers. She finished with 14 points and six rebounds and made four 3s. Thomas had a game-high 23 points to go with seven rebounds and seven assists. The Tigers were, however, 19 of 32 from the foul line. Maplewood lost to Seton LaSalle in the first round last year 54-51. Seton LaSalle beat GCC in the WPIAL tournament.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Greensburg C.C., Norwin