High school roundup for March 2, 2021: Pine-Richland girls rally past Peters Township

By: Tribune-Review
Tuesday, March 2, 2021 | 11:24 PM

Kaili Doctor and Sophie Catalano scored 14 points each as Pine-Richland mounted a second-half surge and defeated Peters Township, 54-45, in a WPIAL Class 6A girls basketball first-round matchup Tuesday night.

The No. 10 Rams (7-10) outscored Peters Township 21-10 in the third quarter. Sarah Pifer added 12 points, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter, for Pine-Richland, which will meet No. 2 Upper St. Clair in Friday’s quarterfinals. Journey Thompson led No. 7 Peters Township (6-8) with 25 points.

Class 4A

Beaver 59, Burrell 20 – Payton List scored 24 points and Emma Pavelek added 17 as No. 1 Beaver (17-0) moved into the Class 4A quarterfinals. Kate Myers led No. 16 Burrell (9-10) with 11 points. Beaver will meet Elizabeth Forward on Friday.

Elizabeth Forward 47, Central Valley 40 – Brooke Markland scored 15 points, Anna Resnik added 12, and No. 8 Elizabeth Forward (8-5) rallied from eight points down at halftime for a Class 4A first-round win. Elizabeth Forward will meet No. 1 Beaver in Friday’s quarterfinals. Alyssa Gillin led No. 9 Central Valley (8-12) with 15 points. Paige Elmer had 12.

Knoch 69, Hopewell 33 – Led by 17 points from Hattie McGraw, 16 from Madilyn Boyer and 15 from Nevaeh Ewing, No. 4 Knoch (9-1) rolled to a Class 4A first-round win. The Knights will meet No. 5 Blackhawk in Friday’s quarterfinals. Ava Miller and Lauryn Speicher scored 12 each for No. 13 Hopewell (4-11).

Blackhawk 61, Highlands 19 – Alena Fusetti scored 15 points and Jolie Strati added 14 to help No. 5 Blackhawk (13-5) past No. 12 Highlands (8-13) in a Class 4A first-round game. Alivia Thompson added 12 for the Cougars, who will meet No. 4 Knoch in Friday’s quarterfinals.

Montour 53, Belle Vernon 52 – Olivia Lyscik and Raegan Kadlecik scored 21 points each as No. 7 Montour (12-9) advanced in Class 4A. Viva Kreis and Grace Henderson scored 11 each for No. 10 belle Vernon (9-8), which rallied after trailing by 12 at halftime. Montour will face No. 2 Quaker Valley in Friday’s quarterfinals.

Southmoreland 53, Deer Lakes 24 – Behind 15 points from Olivia Cernuto, 13 from Maddie Moore and 11 from Gracie Spadaro, No. 3 Southmoreland (15-4) rolled into the Class 4A quarterfinals. Cameron Simurda and Reese Hasley scored seven each for No. 14 Deer Lakes (6-6). The Scotties will meet No. 11 Mt. Pleasant on Friday.

Class 2A

Neshannock 70, Aliquippa 40 – Neleh Nogay and Addi Watts scored 17 points apiece as top-seeded Neshannock (14-2) moved into the Class 2A quarterfinals. Meghan Pallerino added 15 and Mairan Haggerty had 12. Angel Henry scored 13 and Mahogany Shegog contributed 10 for No. 16 Aliquippa (6-12), which led by a point after one quarter. Neshannock will meet No. 8 California on Friday.

California 50, Fort Cherry 43 – Makayla Boda scored 23 points and Rakiyah Porter added 15 to help No. 8 California (11-3) to a Class 2A first-round win. Annika Rinehart led No. 9 Fort Cherry (10-9) with 16 points. California will meet No. 1 Neshannock in Friday’s quarterfinals.

Sewickley Academy 53, Seton LaSalle 30 – Kamryn Lightcap scored 14 points and No. 4 Sewickley Academy (12-5) didn’t allow a point in the first quarter of a Class 2A first-round win. Desirae Nance added 11 points and Bre Warner had 10. Ava Dursi led No. 13 Seton LaSalle (6-6) with 12 points. Sewickley Academy draws No. 12 Greensburg Central Catholic in the quarterfinals.

Greensburg Central Catholic 52, Burgettstown 39 – Bailey Kuhns scored 16 points, Mya Morgan added 15 and No. 12 Greensburg Central Catholic (9-4) knocked off the fifth seed in the Class 2A first round. Laura Kondas added 12 points for the Centurions, who will meet No. 4 Sewickley Academy in Friday’s quarterfinals. Jill Frazier led Burgettstown (15-3) with 19 points. Madeline Newark had 12.

Serra Catholic 53, South Side 35 – Chloe Pordash scored 16 points and Nicole Pawlowski added 15 as No. 2 Serra Catholic (14-0) took its undefeated record into the Class 2A quarterfinals. Savannah Bailey led No. 18 South Side (5-13) with 13 points. Emily Bailey had 10. Serra Catholic will face No. 10 Carlynton on Friday.

Winchester Thurston 31, Chartiers-Houston 14 – Maya Roberts scored 11 points and No. 3 Winchester Thurston (11-3) allowed two points in the first quarter and none in the third quarter of a Class 2A first-round win. Zamierah Edwards led No. 14 Chartiers-Houston (9-7) with 11 points. Winchester Thurston will meet No. 6 OLSH in Friday’s quarterfinals.

OLSH 60, Apollo-Ridge 31 – Emily Schuck scored 15 points and Katie Hoff added 14 for No. 6 OLSH (13-5) in the Class 2A first round. Brinley Toland led No. 11 Apollo-Ridge (7-5) with 11 points. The Chargers will meet No. 3 Winchester Thurston in Friday’s quarterfinals.

Regular season

Saltsburg 55, Derry 37 – Ellen Plowman scored 18 points and Abbie Dickie added 15 to lead Saltsburg to a nonsection win. Tiana Moracco led Derry (3-11) with 21 points.

Boys basketball

Class 6A

Upper St. Clair 54, Canon-McMillan 39 – Luke Banbury scored 20 points as No. 1 Upper St. Clair (16-1) defeated No. 16 Canon-McMillan (1-14) in a Class 6A first-round matchup. Upper St. Clair will meet No. 9 Seneca Valley in Friday’s quarterfinals.

Butler 59, Norwin 46 – Devin Carney scored 23 points, including four 3-pointers and a 5-for-6 night from the free-throw line, to lead defending champ Butler (11-8) in the Class 6A first round. Raine Gratzmiller added 12 points and Mattix Clement had 10 for No. 5 Butler. Michael Fleming scored 19 points for No. 12 Norwin (7-14), hitting five 3-pointers. Tanner Krevokuch scored 11 points, including 7 for 7 free throws. Norwin led by a point after three quarters. Butler will meet Penn-Trafford in Friday’s quarterfinals.

Fox Chapel 63, Bethel Park 44 – Jake DeMott scored 28 points and Eli Yofan added 20 to lead No. 2 Fox Chapel (18-2) to a first-round win in Class 6A. Dolan Waldo and Ben Guffey scored 18 points apiece for No. 15 Bethel Park (8-10).

North Allegheny 45, Central Catholic 41 – Greg Habib scored 12 points and North Allegheny 15-6) pulled out a Class 6A first-round win in a tight 7-10 matchup that was tied at halftime. Anderson Cynkar led Central Catholic (12-9) with 13 points. The Tigers will face No. 2 Fox Chapel in Friday’s quarterfinals.

Pine-Richland 79, Peters Township 67 – Luke Shanahan scored 22 points and No. 6 Pine-Richland (11-5) pulled away in the fourth quarter for a Class 6A first-round win. Joey Petcash and Joey Dudkowski added 17 points and Andrew Alexander had 13 for the Rams, who will meet No. 3 Hempfield on Friday. Julian Mascio led No. 11 Peters Township (6-9) with 24 points and five 3-pointers. Gavin Cote had 10 and Pat McDonnell 10.

Class A

Imani Christian 64, Nazareth Prep 52 – Behind 21 points from Avery Wesley, 16 from Aidan Betsill and 12 from Senique Jenkins, No. 4 Imani Christian advanced in a Class A first-round game. Anthony Jagers and Isaiah Thomas scored 14 points each for No. 13 Nazareth Prep (3-15). Nahum Brazil had 12. Imani Christian will meet No. 5 Union in Friday’s quarterfinals.

Union 97, Aquinas Academy 54 – Matt Stanley scored 29 points and Mark Stanley added 14 as No. 5 Union (8-4) rolled into the Class A quarterfinals. WPIAL leading scorer Vinnie Cugini had 37 for No. 12 Aquinas Academy (7-8). Union will meet No. 4 Imani Christian on Friday.

Rochester 55, West Greene 32 – Led by 18 points from Devon Hemer, 16 from Parker Lyons and 14 from J.D. Azulay, No. 2 Rochester won in the Class A first round. Caleb Rice scored 12 and Chase Blake added 10 for No. 15 West Greene (2-13). Rochester will face No. 10 Western Beaver on Friday.

Western Beaver 54, Geibel 53 – Thad Gray scored 17 points and Levi Gray added 15 as No. 10 Western Beaver (11-4) held off No. 7 Geibel (9-7). Xander LeFebvre had 10 for Western Beaver, which will take on No. 2 Rochester in the quarterfinals. Zach Alloman scored 12 and Trevon White had 11 for Geibel.

Eden Christian 62, Propel Montour 26 – Elijah Manges scored 19 points to lead No. 3 Eden Christian (11-1) to a decisive Class A win. Eden Christian will meet No. 6 Leechburg in Friday’s quarterfinals. Chiyeh Green led No. 14 Propel Montour (2-12) with nine points.

Regular season

Allderdice 57, Perry Traditional Academy 33 – Cam Butcher and Kiere Henning scored 12 points each to lead Allderdice (8-4, 7-0) to a City League win. Jeremiah Davis scored 10 for Perry (1-7, 0-7).

Tags: Pine-Richland