Westmoreland County girls basketball notebook: Elite few teams remain unbeaten

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Wednesday, December 18, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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There were only nine undefeated teams in WPIAL girls basketball at the start of the week. Two of them were from Westmoreland County: Penn-Trafford (7-0) and Hempfield (6-0).

The others were Woodland Hills (3-0), South Fayette (6-0), Peters Township (5-0), Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (5-0), Deer Lakes (6-0), Shady Side Academy (6-0) and Union (5-0).

Hempfield on a roll

Hempfield will take serious momentum into its first section game.

The Spartans have been a surprise out of the gates, starting 6-0 with a much-improved defensive approach and balanced offense.

Hempfield hasn’t started 7-0 since the 2003-04 season. That team went 10-0 before losing its first game.

The Spartans’ first Section 2-6A test will be Thursday night at No. 3 Mt. Lebanon, which should give them a true barometer on the extent of their improvements.

Fresh game

Belle Vernon has one of the WPIAL’s promising freshman players. Aubrey Brown, a 6-foot-1 forward, plays for the reputable Western PA Bruins’ AAU program.

Brown showed her ability to command the post earlier this week when she had a double-double in a 48-32 win over Yough with 19 points and 13 rebounds.

Scotties match wins

Southmoreland finished 3-18 last season, but the Scotties are in position to keep a turnaround going.

Their 62-58 victory over Ringgold gave them three wins this season, tying last year’s total.

Lanie Moore had 21 points, Olivia Aumer added 20 and Ashley Seder chipped in 10.

Rank and file

There was no movement for local teams this week in the TribLive HSSN rankings.

Norwin remained No. 2 in Class 6A, Penn-Trafford is holding steady at No. 3 in 5A and Greensburg Central Catholic is still No. 2 in 3A.

Rettger winners

Each year, the Mike Rettger Foundation awards two Franklin Regional seniors with a $2,000 scholarship in the late Panther athlete’s name.

This year’s winners were recognized during recent basketball games. Angelina Brush and Fin Hutchison were the latest recipients.

Both graduated last June and took their basketball talents to the college level, Brush at Westminster and Hutchison at Seton Hill.

Layups

Ligonier Valley’s Sydnee Foust produced a double-double in Monday’s 51-43 win over Steel Valley, collecting 13 points and 18 rebounds. … Franklin Regional is 2-0 and in first place in Section 1-5A. … Hempfield at West Mifflin was postponed Monday because of a fire in the West Mifflin auditorium. The teams were trying to reschedule.

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

Tags: Belle Vernon, Franklin Regional, Greensburg C.C., Hempfield, Norwin, Penn-Trafford