Westmoreland WPIAL basketball playoff preview capsules: Games for Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Wednesday, February 23, 2022 | 5:57 PM

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GIRLS

Class 2A

Quarterfinals

5-Seton La Salle (16-6) at 4-Greensburg Central Catholic (18-4)

7 p.m. Thursday

Winner plays: Winner of 9-Apollo-Ridge (16-4)/1-Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (19-4) Monday in semifinals

Layup lines: Seton LaSalle advanced with a 48-35 victory over No. 12 Sto-Rox in the first round. The Rebels held the Vikings to four points in the third quarter. Ava Dursi had 17 points, and Mallory Daly added 14 for the Rebels, who lost in the first round last year to Sewickley Academy, 53-30. Sewickley also knocked out Greensburg Central Catholic, 38-21, in the quarters. The Rebels are seeking their first semifinal appearance since 2013-14. … Greensburg Central Catholic already owns a win over Seton LaSalle, having topped the Rebels, 61-52, just before Christmas. The Centurions did not allow Chartiers-Houston to score until two minutes into the second quarter in a 51-27 home win in the first round. Senior forward Bailey Kuhns scored 23 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, and sophomore Mya Morgan added 17 points. The pair combined for 27 in the second half. With a 31.1 average, the Centurions have one of the top scoring defenses in the WPIAL. GCC has not been to the WPIAL semifinals since 2016-17.

Class A

5-Monessen (17-5) at 4-Aquinas Academy (12-6)

7 p.m. Thursday

Winner plays: Winner of 9-St. Joseph (9-13)/1-Rochester (16-4) Monday in semifinals

Layup lines: Playing at Major Courley Court, Monessen won for the first time in the WPIAL playoffs since 2011-12, cruising past Riverview, 51-16. The Greyhounds led 25-2 at halftime and 40-4 after three quarters. Senior Mercedes Majors scored 29 points to pace the Greyhounds, who have five straight wins and have not allowed more than 38 points since Jan. 31 at West Greene. The Greyhounds are allowing 31.8 points, the second-lowest average in Class A. Coach Janine Vertacnik won a WPIAL title at Jeannette in 2010. … Aquinas Academy, the Section 3 champion, has won six of its last seven games. It sat through a first-round bye. All the team’s losses came out of section. They include South Park (3A), Eden Christian (A), Montour (4A), River Valley (District 6), Union (A), and Avonworth (3A). Aquinas is limiting teams to 33.1 points. Aquinas is located in Gibsonia.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Aquinas Academy, Greensburg C.C., Monessen, Seton La Salle