Basketball
Obama Claims 4th Straight City League Girls Hoops Crown
February 19, 2017
The seniors of Obama Academy's girls basketball team have become accustomed to winning championships, dating back to their time in middle school. They continued that trend on Sunday in the City League Championship at the Petersen Events Center, as the Eagles defeated Taylor Allderdice 64-53. In the process, Obama Academy captured its fourth-consecutive title. To score the triumph, Obama (16-8) used a strong second half, paced by senior Michaela Porter, the two-time reigning City League MVP. Porter, who is committed to the University of Cincinnati, netted a game-high 22 points, including 18 in the second half. Porter had plenty of support, however, including Taylor Stewart, who provided 19 points and was named the game's Most Valuable Player.WPIAL Basketball Playoff Summaries for Saturday 2/18
February 18, 2017
Day Two of the opening round of the district hoop postseason was similar to what we saw in Day One with hardly any surprises and the higher-seeds all winning and advancing. While this does nothing for the shock value of the boys and girls tournaments, it is making for what should be a must see Quarterfinals Weekend coming up. Here are ALL the recaps from the First Round of Boys 3-A, Girls 4-A and Girls 1-A games from Saturday afternoon in the WPIAL Basketball Playoffs. A special thanks to Bob Orkwis, James Dotson, Brian Mroziak, Andy Stanko, Mark Schaas, Rob Longo, Mike Azadian, Sean Meyers, Steve Nagler, Lanny Frattare, Bob Gregg, Bob Barrickman and Donny Chedrick for their help on these recaps. BOYS WPIAL CLASS 3-A First Round:WPIAL Basketball Playoff Summaries for Friday 2/17
February 17, 2017
Twelves girls and six boys district postseason games got the ball rolling on this expanded version of the Path to the Pete. 8 Girls Class 5-A, 4 Girls Class 2-A and 6 Boys Class 1-A opening round games tipped off the WPIAL Basketball Playoffs on Friday night. Once again this year, any night there is playoff hoops, we have postseason recaps. A special thanks to Kyle Dawson, Dennis Fischer, Bob Gregg, Cory Campano, Mike Azadian, Paul Paterra, Brian Mroziak, James Dotson, Bob Orkwis, Bob Barrickman, Kevin Zielmanski, Josh Rowntree and Nate Regotti for their help on these recaps. BOYS WPIAL CLASS 1-A First Round:Scholastic Notebook – 02/17/2017
For the second consecutive season, the West Greene boys and girls teams are both headed to the WPIAL playoffs. History says that is downright shocking. The Pioneers are making noise on the hardwood that has never been heard before from the tiny school in Greene County. This is the first time in school history that both teams have made the playoffs two years in a row. Heck, the boys team had been to the postseason only four times before – 2016, 1992, 1991 and 1989. The girls team actually won a section championship this year and heads to the playoffs with an 18-4 record. The West Greene boys finished in third place in Class 1A Section 2 with a 13-7 record.FINAL 2016-2017 WPIAL Boys Basketball Standings
February 13, 2017
Here are the FINAL WPIAL boys basketball standings for the 2016-2017 regular season...including the FINAL WPIAL playoff clinchings. The standings will be updated daily throughout the rest of the regular season here on the MSA Sports Network. Don't forget weekly WPIAL boys hoops rankings are released each Tuesday along with boys basketball talk every Wednesday during the WPIAL Roundball Report at 6:00pm and live and archived broadcasts only here on the MSA Sports Network. Click on the team name for the schedule and results for that team.FINAL 2016-2017 WPIAL Girls Basketball Standings
Here are the FINAL WPIAL girls basketball standings for the 2016-2017 regular season...including the FINAL playoff clinchings. The standings will be updated daily throughout the rest of the regular season here on the MSA Sports Network. Don't forget weekly WPIAL girls hoops rankings are released each Monday along with girls basketball talk every Wednesday during the WPIAL Roundball Report at 6:00pm and live and archived girls hoops broadcasts only here on the MSA Sports Network. Click on the team name for the schedule and results for that team.
WPIAL Alum Q&A – Lauren Wolosik
While injuries are an unfortunate reality in sports, an athlete suffering two severe injuries is extremely rare, and often devastating. Lauren Wolosik has not been deterred, however, by two season-ending injuries in a three-year span. In the midst of a stellar basketball season at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Wolosik, a former champion at North Catholic, is this week's feature. Wolosik enjoyed incredible success during her time at North Catholic. She and the Trojanettes appeared in three straight WPIAL championship games, beginning in her freshman year in 2009-10.MSA Sports Top Ten – WPIAL Boys Basketball Playoff Rankings 2017
February 12, 2017
Every week during the regular season, we put together the MSA Sports Top Ten WPIAL Boys Basketball rankings. With the regular season behind us and 80 teams preparing for the district postseason, we now present our Boys Basketball Playoff seedings. This is our two cents in the process of building the basketball brackets in which the district uses the 1 vs 16, 2 vs 15, 3 vs 14, 4 vs 13, 5 vs 12, 6 vs 11, 7 vs 10 and 8 vs 9 format using the rule of thumb of avoiding teams from the same section playing in Round One. Keep in mind they are NOT a straight ranking because you have to fiddle to avoid section teams playing each other in the opening round. There are plenty of byes and NO Preliminary Round games in this postseason.MSA Sports Top Ten – WPIAL Girls Basketball Playoff Rankings 2017
Every week during the regular season, we put together the MSA Sports Top Ten WPIAL Girls Basketball rankings. With the regular season behind us and 76 teams preparing for the district postseason, we now present our Girls Basketball Playoff seedings. This is our two cents in the process of building the basketball brackets in which the district uses the 1 vs 16, 2 vs 15, 3 vs 14, 4 vs 13, 5 vs 12, 6 vs 11, 7 vs 10 and 8 vs 9 format using the rule of thumb of avoiding teams from the same section playing in Round One. Keep in mind they are NOT a straight ranking because you have to fiddle to avoid section teams playing each other in the opening round. There are plenty of byes and NO Preliminary Round games in this postseason.
WPIAL Coaches Corner – Zach Skrinjar
In this feature titled “Coach’s Corner”, I will be interviewing a different coach every week and asking them questions about their personal life and about coaching. Hopefully their answers will not only shed some light on how they coach their respective teams, but also allow readers to get to know the men behind the fields/courts. This week highlights Fox Chapel boys basketball coach Zachary Skrinjar. Coach Skrinjar is in his 8th season as head coach of the Foxes, after four years as an assistant. Also a social studies teacher in the North Hills school district, Coach Skrinjar is hoping to bring Fox Chapel their first WPIAL title in 40 years. Let’s take a look inside Coach Skrinjar’s corner:This Week on the MSA Sports Network – 02/11/2017
February 11, 2017
Love is in the air because of Valentine's Day and because ALL fans love our exclusive coverage of EVERY district playoff game which tips off this week on the MSA Sports Network. Our postseason coverage begins with the WPIAL Playoff Pairings Show and continues with First Round boys and girls hardwood action along with District 6 boys and girls basketball playoff games, District 9 regular season high school basketball and college hoops featuring Carlow University.Scholastic Notebook – 02/10/2017
February 10, 2017
For the second consecutive year, Latrobe’s Austin Butler is one of the best scorers in the WPIAL. It’s a rare two-year scoring run. In the latest scoring statistics, Butler leads the WPIAL at 29.8 points a game. Last season, he finished the regular season second in the league in scoring at 25.7 points. Only Waynesburg’s Darton McIntire (25.8) averaged more. No one else in the WPIAL is averaging more than 27 this year. Latrobe has one regular-season game left Friday night against Penn Hills, which means Butler will probably finish as the league’s leading scorer.MSA Sports Top Ten – WPIAL Boys Basketball – 02/07/2017
February 7, 2017
Here are the latest MSA Sports Top Ten WPIAL Boys Basketball rankings for the 2016-2017 season...including NEW #1 teams in Class 6-A, Class 5-A and Class 4-A. Check out the weekly boys rankings every Tuesday, along with boys hoops talk during The WPIAL Roundball Report every Wednesday night at 6:00pm and boys basketball broadcasts throughout the regular season with exclusive coverage of every boys WPIAL playoff game in February all here on the MSA Sports Network. WPIAL CLASS 6-A: 1. FOX CHAPEL FOXES (18-1) (Last Week #2) 2. PINE-RICHLAND RAMS (19-1) (Last Week #1)
WPIAL Alum Q&A – Dale Clancy
February 6, 2017
While Seton-LaSalle has a strong basketball tradition on the girls' side, the boys' team has won just one title since the 1980s. That triumph came in 2014, with point guard Dale Clancy leading the way for the Rebels. Clancy, who is now a star for the University of Pittsburgh Johnstown, is under the microscope for the WPIAL Q&A. Prior to claiming gold, the Rebels enjoyed a very successful campaign in 2012-13, as Clancy helped the team go 21-3, including a perfect mark of 12-0 in section play. Seton-LaSalle bested Mohawk in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs, as well, before falling to Quaker Valley in the quarterfinals.MSA Sports Top Ten – WPIAL Girls Basketball – 02/06/2017
Here are the latest MSA Sports Top Ten WPIAL Girls Basketball rankings for the 2016-2017 season. Check out the weekly girls rankings every Monday, along with girls hoops talk during The WPIAL Roundball Report every Wednesday night at 6:00pm and girls basketball broadcasts throughout the regular season with exclusive coverage of every girls WPIAL playoff game in February sponsored by Carlow University all here on the MSA Sports Network. WPIAL CLASS 6-A: 1. NORTH ALLEGHENY TIGERS (19-1) (Last Week #1) 2. PINE-RICHLAND RAMS (19-1) (Last Week #2) 3. PENN HILLS INDIANS (17-2) (Last Week #3)
WPIAL Coaches Corner – Chris Minerd
February 5, 2017
In this feature titled “Coach’s Corner”, I will be interviewing a different coach every week and asking them questions about their personal life and about coaching. Hopefully their answers will not only shed some light on how they coach their respective teams, but also allow readers to get to know the men behind the fields/courts. This week spotlights California girls basketball coach Chris Minerd. This is Coach Minerd’s 7th season as the Trojans head coach. He has led his team to the playoffs in 5 of the last 6 years, including a WPIAL Semifinal berth in 2014. Let’s take a look inside Coach Minerd’s corner:This Week on the MSA Sports Network – 02/05/2017
The regular season comes to an end in district high school basketball while the team wrestling postseason switches from the district to the state this week on the MSA Sports Network. We have section coverage of WPIAL, District 6 and District 9 boys and girls high school basketball, college hoops featuring Carlow University, postseason mat action with the PIAA Team Wrestling Playoffs and plenty of pucks with more audio and video coverage of PIHL high school hockey, plus we have The WPIAL Roundball Report, The PIHL Power Play Show and Inside the WPIAL Wrestling Circle ALL here at MSAsports.net Monday, February 6th:Scholastic Notebook – 02/03/2017
February 3, 2017
The spirit of 66 ended for one WPIAL girls team. But one boys team is close to getting into the same spirit. The subject is section winning streaks. The Quigley Catholic girls had what was the longest section winning streak in the WPIAL at 66, but it ended Thursday night after a 56-48 loss to Cornell. Turn to WPIAL boys basketball and look at Lincoln Park. The Leopards have a 64-game section winning streak. Lincoln Park has two section games remaining, and if the Leopards win both, they will finish the regular season with a 66-game streak. Lincoln Park plays Riverside and Ellwood City in its final two section games.MSA Sports Top Ten – WPIAL Boys Basketball – 01/31/2017
January 31, 2017
Here are the latest MSA Sports Top Ten WPIAL Boys Basketball rankings for the 2016-2017 season...including NEW #1 teams in Class 5-A and Class 4-A. Check out the weekly boys rankings every Tuesday, along with boys hoops talk during The WPIAL Roundball Report every Wednesday night at 6:00pm and boys basketball broadcasts throughout the regular season with exclusive coverage of every boys WPIAL playoff game in February all here on the MSA Sports Network. WPIAL CLASS 6-A: 1. PINE-RICHLAND RAMS (18-0) (Last Week #1) 2. FOX CHAPEL FOXES (16-1) (Last Week #3) 3. PENN HILLS INDIANS (15-2) (Last Week #2)
WPIAL Alum Q&A – Sydney Bordonaro
Sydney Bordonaro might be considered the best girls basketball player in Burrell history, as she helped establish the Bucs as a championship contender in each of her four varsity seasons. Now on the west coast, Bordonaro's success has translated to the college level at Pepperdine. She's the focus of this week's WPIAL Alum Q&A. As a high-school freshman in 2011-12, Bordonaro made a big impact, averaging in double figures in scoring, and contributing to Burrell's 18-5 campaign, which included an 11-3 mark in section play, and a playoff win in a preliminary round contest.
