Basketball
Scholastic Notebook – 04/25/2015
April 25, 2015
It opened some eyes in October when Bailey Parshall accepted a scholarship from the Penn State softball team. Parshall is a freshman and when she accepted the scholarship, she had yet to pitch an inning in high school. But after a month of the WPIAL softball season, it has become clear why Penn State went after Parshall. Parshall already has established herself as one of the WPIAL’s top pitchers – as a ninth-grader. In the latest WPIAL statistics published by the Post-Gazette, Parshall leads the WPIAL in strikeouts with 115 and she is tied for the WPIAL lead in wins. She has a 10-1 record. Chartiers-Houston’s Kaitlyn Dittrich also is 10-1.Scholastic Notebook – 04/17/2015
April 17, 2015
Life in Section 1 of WPIAL Class AAAA baseball is full of close calls. The WPIAL season is a little less than a month old and it’s remarkable how many close games there are in Section 1. Heading into Friday’s action, there have been 12 games played in the section. Two-thirds were decided by two runs or less and five had been decided by one run. The close games certainly reflect the balance of the section. But they also reflect the strength of the section. This should tell you the strength of Section 1: It includes four teams – Moon, North Allegheny, Pine-Richland and Seneca Valley – that have made 17 WPIAL championship appearances in either Class AAAA or AAA over the past 11 years. The other members of the section are North Hills and Butler.Scholastic Notebook – 04/10/2015
April 10, 2015
Beaver Falls High School is trying to make sure the school’s 1975 baseball team won’t be forgotten. At a baseball game in two weeks, the ’75 team that won a WPIAL title will be honored before a Beaver Falls game. No one is quite ready to call this year’s Beaver Falls team championship caliber, but the Tigers are doing a pretty good job of grabbing some attention for themselves. It’s still extremely early in the WPIAL baseball season, but Beaver Falls is 3-0. That might not sound like much, but considering the past few years, it is a gigantic step forward for Beaver Falls.
WPIAL Hall of Fame Class of 2015
April 9, 2015
Four athletes who would later go on to professional careers, several multi-sport athletes, four coaches who won nearly 40 WPIAL championships between them, an old-school baseball player whose son continued his Major League Baseball legacy and a team that won nine WPIAL and PIAA playoff games en route to a state basketball title by an average margin of victory of 25.8. Those are some of the headliners of the WPIAL Hall of Fame class of 2015. The WPIAL held a news conference Thursday morning to announce its ninth annual class. You can watch the video stream archived here on MSA Sports. All inductees will be honored at a banquet June 12 at the Doubletree Hotel in Greentree.Scholastic Notebook – 04/03/2015
April 3, 2015
Look at the list of WPIAL tennis champions over the past decade and you’ll see the name Kissell at various places on the girls side. But Chad Kissell is on the cusp of proving that this championship stuff is not just a girl thing in the Kissell family. Kissell is a senior at Latrobe High School and is the No. 1 seed for the WPIAL Class AAA boys tournament Tuesday and Wednesday. The tournament starts Tuesday at North Allegheny and lasts through the semifinals. The championship matches in Class AAA and AA will be Wednesday at Norwin.Scholastic Notebook – 03/28/2015
March 28, 2015
The best distance runner in WPIAL history might not compete in track this season because of an illness and injuries. That leaves the door open for someone. Madeleine Davison has her foot in the door. Davison is a junior at North Allegheny. While Shaler’s Brianna Schwartz was running her way to records last year, Davison was often close behind, sometimes just a second or two away. Now, Davison could gain a reputation as one of the best distance runners in the WPIAL in recent history.This Week on the MSA Sports Network – 03/22/2015
March 22, 2015
We have said so long to the winter sports season and a gradual hello to the high school and college spring sports season all this week MSA Sports Network. While we still have some postseason women's college basketball action featuring California University of Pa, we also have the debut of WPIAL baseball, WPIAL softball, WPIAL boys volleyball and WPIAL boys and girls lacrosse, plus we have more college baseball with the Geneva Golden Tornado ALL here at MSAsports.net Monday, March 23rd:
Roman Cath, Neumann-Goretti, Conwell-Egan & Constitution Bring 2015 PIAA Boys Hoops Titles Home to Philly
Last year, the WPIAL sent three boys teams to Hershey where two of them came home with gold. This year, there was only one District 7 team playing in Chocolate Town. That team was Aliquippa and the WPIAL champs were undefeated and looking to make perfect history, until they tasted defeat for the first time with a loss to Conwell-Egan Catholic, leaving the Quips with silver and a final record of 29-1. Here are ALL of the results from the 2015 PIAA Boys Basketball Playoffs. All of the games with (MSA) after the result can be heard archived here on the MSA Sports Network. 2015 PIAA CLASS AAAA BOYS BASKETBALL STATE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME:
Blackhawk and Vincentian Academy Repeat as 2015 PIAA Girls Basketball Champs
Two out of three ain't bad. In 2014, Blackhawk in AAA, Seton-LaSalle in AA and Vincentian Academy in A not only won WPIAL championships, but also added PIAA state crowns to their trophy case. The golden girls once again captured another WPIAL crown last month before winning four games to advance back to Hershey and the state finals. While Seton-LaSalle fell shot in Class AA, both Blackhawk in AAA and Vincentian Academy in A were successful in winning another PIAA state championship. Here are all of the results from the 2015 PIAA Girls Basketball Playoffs. All results marked with (MSA) after the score can be heard archived on MSA Sports. 2015 PIAA CLASS AAAA GIRLS BASKETBALL STATE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME:
Blackhawk Girls Golden Again In Hershey
March 21, 2015
It was truly a team effort as the Blackhawk Cougars (28-3) rallied from a first half deficit to defeat the Archbishop Wood Vikings, 46-40, in the PIAA Girls Class AAA Championship Game on Saturday evening at Giant Center in Hershey. The win gives Blackhawk back-to-back PIAA Championship Game victories over Archbishop Wood (26-5), as the Cougars won 51-43 in last year’s title game. Blackhawk has now won four girls state titles, going back-to-back in 1999 and 2000 as well. The Cougars missed their first six shots and trailed 7-0 and 14-4 in the opening quarter. But Duquesne University recruit Chassidy Omogrosso led the comeback with 23 points, while Courtney Vannoy, a Loyola (Md.) recruit, added 17 points for Blackhawk.
Quips Quest For Perfection Ends With Loss in PIAA AA State Title Game
Aliquippa won its first 29 games of the 2014-15 season, but the Quips suffered their lone defeat to Conwell-Egan Catholic 62-51 in the PIAA Class AA Boys Championship at the Giant Center in Hershey. After falling behind by double digits in the first half, Aliquippa staged a furious comeback bid in the second half, frequently trimming the deficit to two points. The Eagles never relinquished their lead, though, and capitalized from the charity stripe to seal the victory. The Quips (29-1) started the contest strong, scoring six straight points to take an 8-2 lead. Conwell-Egan responded with a run of its own, however, as the Eagles scored the final eight points of the stanza to take a four-point lead through the first quarter.
Vincentian Academy Bombs Old Forge to Defend Girls Class A State Title
The Vincentian Academy girls secured their place in history, as the Lady Royals turned in a dominant performance en route to an 86-38 victory over Old Forge to repeat as PIAA Class A champions at the Giant Center in Hershey. In a rematch of last year’s championship tilt, the Lady Royals were keyed by suffocating defense and a stellar performance by senior forward Brenna Wise. Wise, the two-time MSA Sports girls’ player of the year, recorded a triple-double, as she netted 30 points, 11 rebounds and 13 steals. Wise’s defensive effort epitomized the contest, as Vincentian Academy forced 45 Blue Devils’ turnovers. Junior forward Lexi Griggs also provided a memorable contribution for the Lady Royals, as she scored 24 points by shooting 9-12 from the field.
2014-2015 MSA SPORTS BOYS ALL-NETTERS
March 20, 2015
If there would be a catch phrase that would describe the boys All-Netters team, it would be “On Guard.” The All-Netters team is made up of the top 10 players in the WPIAL, as selected by the MSA Sports staff. This year’s first team is made up of five guards. The second team has three guards. Nine seniors make up this year’s team. The only two Division I college signees in the WPIAL this year also are on the team. Here is a look at the All-Netters teams as well as the Player of the Year. FIRST TEAM PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Matty McConnell, Chartiers Valley 6-1, Sr., G
2014-2015 MSA SPORTS GIRLS ALL-NETTERS
Most of the girls on the All-Netters team are going places. The All-Netters team is the top 10 players in the WPIAL and is picked by the MSA Sports staff. This year’s team has seven players going to Division I colleges, including one who is going for softball. The team includes three players who scored more than 2,000 points, and all four WPIAL champions are represented. Here is a look at the player of the year, and the first and second teams of the All-Netters. FIRST TEAM PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Brenna Wise, Vincentian Academy 6-1, Sr., G-F
PIAA Basketball Recaps for Boys AAAA, Boys AAA, Boys A and Girls AAAA
All the action is complete in Hershey as eight state champions were crowned. Here are recaps of all of the games not involving WPIAL teams: Quad A Boys: Roman Catholic Cahillites 62 – Martin Luther King Cougars 45 Leading 30-29 at the break, Roman Catholic held Martin Luther King to just 4 points in the third quarter and a 4 of 34 shooting performance in the second half to claim their first ever PIAA Quad-A boys championship. This game was a rematch of the District 12 final, a two point win for Roman Catholic, the Catholic League champion. Rider recruit Gemil Holbrook led with 20 points including 12 in the final two quarters.
Unbeaten Neumann-Goretti Too Much For Seton-LaSalle in PIAA Girls AA Finals
Eight minutes and ten seconds was all it took to undo the reign of the Seton-LaSalle Rebels as PIAA Champions. The Rebels went without a field goal from the 4:30 mark of the opening quarter to 4:20 of the second as the Neumann-Goretti Saints pulled away to take a 20-point lead during that stretch and finish a 30-0 undefeated season with a 79-34 victory in the Class AA girls title game at Hershey’s Giant Center. {Left: The seven seniors from Seton-LaSalle girls team hold silver basketball trophy as runner-up after falling to Neumann-Goretti}This Week on the MSA Sports Network – 03/15/2015
March 15, 2015
After a loooong four months, the winter high school sports season is finally coming to a golden end this week on the MSA Sports Network.Scholastic Notebook – 03/13/2015
March 13, 2015
This is the time of year in basketball where coaches often look to their seniors or experienced players for leadership and to make key plays in playoff games. But for a few teams in the WPIAL, “fresh” faces can be seen on the court. The New Castle and Mars boys, and also the Chartiers-Houston girls have made it to the PIAA quarterfinals and freshmen have fueled their runs. * For New Castle, 6-foot freshman forward Marcus Hooker is averaging 10 points and seven rebounds a game for a team that will play Archbishop Carroll tonight in the Class AAA elite eight. Hooker is the younger brother of Malik Hooker, a former New Castle star who is now a freshman football player at Ohio State. Marcus also plays football.This Week on the MSA Sports Network – 03/08/2015
March 8, 2015
The state basketball playoffs head into rounds two and three while the high school hockey postseason heads into the giving up The Cup this week on the MSA Sports Network. We have Second Round and Quarterfinals action in the PIAA Basketball Playoffs along with Semifinals and Championship play from the PIHL Penguins Cup high school hockey playoffs. We also look forward to spring with a week full of college baseball from Florida featuring Geneva College, plus we have the season finale of Inside the WPIAL Wrestling Circle, the WPIAL Roundball Report and the PIHL Power Play Show on a special night ALL here at MSAsports.netScholastic Notebook – 03/06/2015
March 6, 2015
Chassidy Omogrosso is Blackhawk’s Energizer bunny. The senior guard on the Blackhawk girls basketball team seemingly never stops on the court. Her motor is stuck on overdrive. While Comcast has bundle deals for cable television, Blackhawk has a bundle full of energy in Omogrosso. Omogrosso’s “run” through the recent WPIAL tournament was one to behold. She was close to unstoppable in the Class AAA playoffs, leading the Cougars to a second consecutive WPIAL title last Saturday at Pitt’s Petersen Events Center. No one has records for what is the greatest playoff run – scoring wise – for WPIAL girls basketball. But Omogrosso has to be somewhere near the top.
