What to watch for in WPIAL sports on Feb. 18, 2023: Class 3A girls get Saturday spotlight

By: Don Rebel
Friday, February 17, 2023 | 11:59 PM

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It used to be the busiest day in the WPIAL basketball postseason.

The first Saturday of the district hoops playoffs had afternoon doubleheaders, and in some cases, tripleheaders of preliminary or first-round contests.

However, lately, the district has tried to avoid Saturday games as many of the top officials also do small college basketball on Saturdays.

Thus, the spotlight shines only on Class 3A girls basketball on this February Saturday.

There are eight opening-round games with all but one tipping off at noon.

There is one 3A girls doubleheader scheduled for Peters Township.

One of the top scorers in the WPIAL, senior Tiffany Zelmore, leads Mt. Pleasant (14-8) against Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (16-6) at noon, followed by South Park (11-11) taking on Keystone Oaks (15-7) at 2 p.m.

All five section champions will be home for the first round.

• Top seed and Section 3 champion Shady Side Academy (20-2) continues its turnaround story when it hosts Beaver Falls (10-11), a preliminary winner Thursday over Yough.

• Section 4 champion Waynesburg (19-3) fell all the way to the No. 8 seed as it battles Seton-LaSalle (13-9) in the lid lifter.

• Avonworth (15-5) won its last eight regular season games to win Section 2. The Lady ‘Lopes will host McGuffey (15-7) in the opener.

• Lawrence County rivals Laurel (20-2) and Neshannock (16-6) shared the Section 1 crown. On Saturday, the No. 2-seeded Spartans host Burrell (10-12) while the No. 3-seeded Lancers (16-6) are home to Charleroi (11-9).

• 2020 and 2021 Class 3A champions Mohawk (14-8) open up the playoffs with a trip to play 1991 Class 2A champion Apollo-Ridge (19-3), winner of 11 of its last 12 games.

All eight games can be seen or heard on Trib HSSN.

WPIAL 2A wrestling

The WPIAL will finalize the field for the Class 2A individual wrestling championships with three sectional tournaments Saturday.

The Section South tournament will take place at Burgettstown and consist of schools from Sections 1 and 2 in 2A. The wrestlers will represent Albert Gallatin, Belle Vernon, Bentworth, Beth-Center, Burgettstown, Chartiers-Houston, Elizabeth Forward, Fort Cherry, Frazier, Jefferson-Morgan, McGuffey, Mt. Pleasant, Southmoreland, Washington, West Greene and Yough.

The Section North tournament will be at Keystone Oaks and consists of schools from Section 3 and 4 in 2A. The wrestlers represent Ambridge, Avonworth, Beaver, Beaver County Christian, Beaver Falls, Blackhawk, Carlynton, Central Valley, Freedom, Hopewell, Keystone Oaks, Montour, Neighborhood Academy, Quaker Valley, South Allegheny, South Park and South Side.

The Section East tournament will be held at Greensburg Salem and consist of schools from Sections 5 and 6 in 2A. The wrestlers represent Burrell, Derry, Ellwood City, Greensburg Salem, Hampton, Highlands, Indiana, Knoch, Laurel, Ligonier Valley, North Catholic, Riverview, Summit Academy and Valley.

The WPIAL 2A championships are Friday and Saturday, Feb. 24-25 at Chartiers Valley.

Sunday’s best

The Pittsburgh City League will decide its boys and girls basketball champions Sunday afternoon at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse at Duquesne University.

In the boys title game, the top two teams meet when Allderdice (20-3) takes on Obama Academy (10-9) at 2 p.m.

The heavily favored Dragons beat the Eagles twice this season, 76-57 on the road and 68-61 at home two weeks later.

Allderdice cruised past Perry in the City League semifinals, 84-35, while Obama Academy rolled past Brashear, 70-50.

In the District 8 girls basketball championship game, regular season champion Obama Academy (16-4) will play Allderdice at noon.

The Eagles crushed Perry in the semifinals, 63-26,

Obama Academy swept the season series with Allderdice.