WPIAL Girls Basketball Championship Previews

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, March 1, 2013 | 2:38 AM

The WPIAL girls basketball championships are tonight and tomorrow, but only two of the No. 1 seeds have made it to the title games.

Class AA No. 1 seed Seton-LaSalle and Class A No. 1 Vincentian have made it to the championships. Two No. 1 seeds were defeated in the semifinals – Mt. Lebanon (AAAA) and Blackhawk (AAA). Blackhawk was the only undefeated team in the tournament.

Of the eight teams in the championship, three have never won a title in their school history. They are Bethel Park, Chartiers Valley and Bishop Canevin. Two of the title games (Class AA and A) match teams that play in the same section.
Here is a look at the WPIAL championships.

CLASS AAAA:

The game: Bethel Park (22-3) vs. Chartiers Valley (19-6) at Duquesne’s Palumbo Center, Saturday at 7 p.m.

The statistics: Junior guard Megan Marecic leads Bethel Park in scoring at 15.3 points a game. She has 1,051 career points. But Marecic has been held below 10 points three times in the past five games. Sami Simpson has helped pick up the slack, scoring 14, 10 and 11 the past three games. … Mariah Wells is Chartiers Valley’s leading scorer. … The team’s statistics are very similar. Bethel Park averages 52 points a game and allows only 37. Chartiers Valley averages 49 and allows 37. … Both teams play in Section 3 and Bethel Park won both previous meetings (46-33 and 37-36).

What to look for: Looking at the playoff scores of both teams and also the defense of both teams, this game might not get out of the 30s. Bethel Park has scored 36 and 43 points the past two games. Chartiers Valley has scored only 31 twice in the postseason. If Marecic is scoring, Bethel Park is tough to beat. Chartiers Valley needs to shoot the ball well from outside.

History lesson: Neither team has ever won a WPIAL title. … It was 15 years ago that McKeesport’s Swin Cash tied the WPIAL Class AAAA championship game record for most points when she had 40 in a victory against North Allegheny.

CLASS AAA:

The game: Elizabeth Forward (23-2) vs. South Park (22-2) at Duquesne’s Palumbo Center, Saturday at 3 p.m.

The statistics: South Park has won three WPIAL playoff games by 16, 32 and 20 points. South Park hasn’t been tested much all season, outscoring teams by 64-38. … South Park has a nice one-two scoring punch in Shelby Lindsay (18.1 ppg) and Halie Torris (15.8). … Dana Buck leads Elizabeth Forward in scoring and went over 1,000 career points a few weeks ago. … Elizabeth Forward has defeated all three postseason opponents by at least 14 points. The big surprise was the 78-64 victory against No. 1 seed Blackhawk.

What to look for: Should we expect a similar game to the one that concluded the regular season on Feb. 11? South Park won that contest, 60-35. Obviously, Elizabeth Forward can play much better and beating Blackhawk proved it. The Warriors will need one of their best defensive efforts of the season, but their confidence has to be sky high after beating Blackhawk.

History lesson: Fifteen years ago, South Park won the WPIAL title with a 61-45 victory against Pine-Richland. … South Park is coached by Reggie Wells, who guided the South Park boys team to the AAA title game in 1997 and 1998. Both years, South Park lost to Chartiers Valley. … The last time Elizabeth Forward won a championship was 1975 when it defeated Baldwin, 49-39. For EF, Donna Minteer scored 13 points and 6-foot-6 Terry Vogt 10.

CLASS AA:

The game: Seton-LaSalle (24-1) vs. Bishop Canevin (21-4) at Duquesne’s Palumbo, today at 5 p.m.

The statistics: Seton-LaSalle has won 66 consecutive games against WPIAL teams. The last time Seton-LaSalle lost to a WPIAL team was to Vincentian on Dec. 28, 2010. … Seton-LaSalle does not have a scorer averaging more than 14 points a game. Natalie Piaggesi has scored 17 and 18 points the past two games. … Seton-LaSalle is the top scoring team in the entire WPIAL, averaging 71 points a game. The Rebels give up only 36. … Bishop Canevin’s Erin Waskowiak averages 15.9 points a game. She averaged 20 last year. … Bishop Canevin has lost twice this season to Seton-LaSalle by scores of 66-35 and 66-58. … Celina DiPietro had eight 3-pointers in the quarterfinals, which ties for second in WPIAL Class AA playoff history.

What to look for: This is a rematch of last year’s title game, won by Seton-LaSalle. If Bishop Canevin does not take care of the ball against Seton-LaSalle’s pressure, and if Bishop Canevin does not shoot well from the outside, it could be a long night. … Naje Gibson could have a big night for Seton-LaSalle. … Did you know there will be three players in this game that will call Duquesne University home in the future? Waskowiak, a senior, and Seton-LaSalle senior Angela Heintz have signed with Duquesne. Also, Seton-LaSalle sophomore Cassidy Walsh has made a verbal commitment to Duquesne.

History lesson: Thirty years ago, Seton-LaSalle won its first WPIAL title and the Rebels had a standout, pint-size point guard named Suzie McConnell. … Seton-LaSalle is trying to win its third consecutive WPIAL title. The last team to do that was Oakland Catholic, which won four in a row from 1999-2002.

CLASS A:

The game: Vincentian (24-1) vs. Serra (23-2) at Duquesne’s Palumbo Center, Saturday at 11 a.m.

The statistics: Brenna Wise is only a sophomore at Vincentian, but she already has 1,038 career points. She averages 22 a game this season. … Vincentian’s only loss is to Gateway, 70-48, in the final game of the regular season. … Serra doesn’t have a big scorer, but sisters Megan and Katie Sieg are both capable scorers. … These two teams met in the second game of the season and Vincentian won, 67-59.

What to look for: Wise could be the “X” factor. Serra might have trouble matching up with her because of her versatility. Can Serra run with Vincentian? Serra is averaging 67 points in three postseason games. Ally Bartoszewicz could be a key for Vincentian.

History lesson: Vincentian is trying to win its third title in four seasons. … Serra’s last championship came in 2005 and it was the Eagles’ second in three seasons. … It was 30 years ago that Mount Alvernia became the first WPIAL team to ever go through an entire season undefeated. The Lions went through the WPIAL and PIAA playoffs with a perfect record.