Beaver, Neshannock to meet in Section 1-3A girls basketball showdown in Thursday’s 3 things to watch in HS sports

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, January 16, 2019 | 8:48 PM

The second half of section play in WPIAL girls basketball tips off for many teams Thursday with the focus on a key Class 3A matchup in Beaver County.

The first half of section play ended with Beaver, Neshannock and Avonworth all tied for the lead in Section 1-3A with 6-1 records.

On Thursday, Beaver will host Neshannock with both teams sporting impressive 11-2 overall records.

It’s the second meeting of the season; the Bobcats won a December thriller at Neshannock, 47-46. Emma Pavelek led Beaver with 16 points.

Beaver has won four straight while Neshannock has won seven in a row.

A year ago, both teams were section champions in different classifications. Beaver finished tied with Blackhawk for the Section 2-4A title with a 16-5 overall record while Neshannock finished 19-3 and won the Section 1-3A championship.

Listen to the game at 7:30 p.m. on the TribLive High School Sports Network.

Beasts of the east

Things are tight at the midway point in girls’ Section 2-5A with two teams tied for first place and two games separating the top five teams.

The two teams deadlocked for the top spot, just ahead of Mars, Plum and Armstrong meet for the second time this season on Thursday when defending champion Gateway visits Franklin Regional.

Both the Gators and Panthers are 5-1 in section play with Gateway at 11-3 and Franklin Regional at 9-3.

The first meeting between the two schools was a one-sided affair.

Gateway jumped out to a 17-7 lead after one quarter and coasted to a 57-34 victory.

The game can be heard at TribHSSN.TribLive.com.

Two for the show

While there are seven WPIAL boys basketball games set for Thursday, only two of them are section contests. They involve three teams in the hunt for a playoff spot in their respective sections.

Both games are from Class 3A.

In Section 2, Keystone Oaks hosts Fort Cherry. While it has been a tough season for the Rangers, who are in the basement at 0-6, the Golden Eagles sit in fourth place at 3-3 behind Seton LaSalle, North Catholic and Avonworth.

In Section 3, Valley visits Steel Valley. The Vikings are 4-2 and in second place, a game behind frontrunning Deer Lakes. The Ironmen are 3-3 and tied for third place with Shady Side Academy and Burrell.

Don Rebel is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Don at drebel@tribweb.com or via Twitter @TheDonRebel.

Tags: Beaver, Fort Cherry, Franklin Regional, Gateway, Keystone Oaks, Neshannock, Valley