Westmoreland high school basketball playoff preview capsules for March 15, 2024

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Thursday, March 14, 2024 | 6:20 PM

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PIAA basketball playoffs

Boys

Class 5A

Quarterfinals

Franklin Regional (25-3) vs. Shaler (25-3)

7:30 p.m. Friday at Gateway High School

District seeds: Franklin Regional 7-2; Shaler 7-3

Winner plays: Winner of 7-6 Bethel Park (15-13)/7-1 Moon (25-3) on Monday in semifinals (time, site TBD)

Players to watch: Cooper Rankin, Franklin Regional; Brandon London, Shaler

Layup lines: Franklin Regional moved into the state quarterfinals for the first time in 27 years with a 56-45 victory against Selinsgrove in the second round as Colin Masten went for 21 points and key reserve Drew Devola added 12. The WPIAL runner-up Panthers, who average 62.5 points, scored 32 in the second half. This will be the third matchup of the season against Shaler, the third-place team from the WPIAL. Franklin Regional won both previous meetings, 72-62 in double-overtime during the regular season, and 68-40 in the WPIAL semifinals. In the first game, Cam Rowell scored 28 for the Panthers, and London had 18. In the second matchup, seven players scored in double figures, five from Franklin Regional led by Fin Hutchison with 16. Keegan Smetanka had 15 for the Titans, who fell behind 17-5 after one quarter. … Shaler cruised past Mechanicsburg in the second round 68-48 behind three double-figure scorers. Kaden Orga and Julian Vizzoca had 16 points each, and London added 14. Vizzoca made four 3-pointers, and Orga hit three shots from deep. Shaler hasn’t been to the state quarters since 2012. Two of the Titans’ three losses are to Franklin Regional. The other came against Woodland Hills. Titans coach Rob Niederberger was hired in 2015. He won two games his first season but has made the WPIAL playoffs six straight years. The last time Shaler made the PIAA playoffs was three years ago.

Girls

Class 6A

Quarterfinals

Norwin (23-3) vs. Spring-Ford (23-5)

6:30 p.m. Friday at State College High School

District seeds: Norwin 7-1; Spring-Ford 1-2

Winner plays: Winner of 1-6 Garnet Valley (23-5)/1-4 North Penn (24-4) on Monday in semifinals (time, site TBD)

Players to watch: Bailey Snowberger, Norwin; Aaliyah Solliday, Spring-Ford

Layup lines: Norwin returned to the PIAA quarterfinals by squeaking past Chartiers Valley in the second round 56-47. It was the Lady Knights’ closest game in the playoffs so far and the only contest settled by single digits. Norwin trailed 31-20 late in the first half. Lauren Palangio scored 16 points despite sitting out briefly with an ankle injury. Kendall Berger added 15 points, and Bella Furno had a career night in the playoffs with 12. Norwin is on a 14-game winning streak. … Spring-Ford is responsible for one of Norwin’s three losses. The Rams beat the Lady Knights, 51-46, at the State College Tournament in Norwin’s third game of the season. Solliday is a talented shooter who can score in bunches. She put up 12 of her 25 points in the fourth quarter of a 74-53 win over Peters Township in the second round. The Rams held Peters, which led by seven in the second quarter, scoreless for seven-plus minutes. Spring-Ford scored 19 straight points during the drought. Katie Tiffan scored the last 12 points of the first half and finished with 21 for the Rams. Kareena Preuss (13) and Mackenzie Pettinelli (10) also scored in double figures. Spring-Ford, located in Royersford about 32 miles north of Philadelphia, made the state final in 2021 and lost to North Allegheny, 55-40.

Class 2A

Quarterfinals

Greensburg Central Catholic (22-6) vs. Everett (20-7)

7 p.m. Friday at Forest Hills High School

District seeds: GCC 7-1; Everett 5-1

Winner plays: Winner of 6-3 Bishop McCort (26-2)/10-1 Kennedy Catholic (22-4) on Monday in semifinals (time, site TBD)

Players to watch: Mya Morgan, GCC; Cloe Price, Everett

Layup lines: GCC returns to the state quarterfinals following a 54-45 victory over West Middlesex, the third-place team from District 10. Morgan had 15 points, Jayla Peterson added a playoff career-high 14 and Avery Davis scored 12 for the Centurions, who moved to 6-0 in the playoffs. Morgan also had six rebounds and six blocks. Division I prospect Erica Gribble (20.9 ppg) was limited to two points but helped to get her teammates involved. GCC’s other five postseason wins were by a margin of 35.4 points a game. The Centurions made the semifinals last year. They made the finals in 1996 and ’97. … Price had 21 points to pace Everett to a 48-40 win over South Side in a second-round game played at Greensburg Salem. Price is a 5-foot-8 senior guard. Everett pinched past defending champion Windber, 38-37, to win the District 5 championship. Price had 17 points and 12 rebounds in that game. Everett reached the state semifinals in 2019, falling to West Middlesex, 51-33. The Lady Warriors never have won a state title in girls basketball.

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

Tags: Franklin Regional, Greensburg C.C., Norwin, Shaler