WPIAL Basketball Playoff Recaps for Wednesday, February 22nd

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, February 23, 2012 | 12:24 AM

It is hard to figure out what happened in the First Round in the Battle to the Bluff. Four days of surprises concluded Wednesday night with the 2nd-seed in the Boys AAAA Playoffs being ousted, putting an end to a crazy opening round across the board. Here are ALL the recaps from the final night of the First Round on Wednesday.

A big THANKS go out to Mark Schaas, Josh Rowntree, Glenn Thompson, Randy Gore, Rick Smith, Mike Krcil, Don Rebel, Bob Orkwis, Bob Barrickman, Melissa Carle, Sam Hall, Dennis Fischer, T.J. DiStefano, Brian Mroziak, Matt Vandriak, Brandon Showers, Steve Nagler, Sam McCollum, Jason Tennant, Johnny Lee and Bob Gregg for their help on these recaps. 

WPIAL BOYS CLASS AAAA First Round:

Shaler Titans 50 – McKeesport Tigers 47  
The top seeded Titans jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, but the number one seed would not lead again until the third quarter as Shaler holds on for the win at Fox Chapel. McKeesport led 13-6 after on, the Tigers forced seven Titan turnovers in the quarter. McKeesport extended the lead , helped out by threes by Jamar Clark and Wiliam Gadson to 27-16 at the break. But Shaler turned the switch in the third quarter, outscoring McKeesport 22-7, led by Penn State recruit Gino Thorpe. Thorpe had only 4 points at the break, but scored 11 in the third, including back to back three’s to give Shaler the lead 38-34 heading to the fourth. McKeesport rallied several times in the final quarter but could never get the lead back. With Shaler leading by two in the final minute, Sean Gavin split a pair of free throws to put the Titans up by 3 at 50-47, J.P. Holtz had a chance to extend the lead but missed both shots at the charity stripe with 40 seconds left. The Tigers came down and could not get a good shot, until JaQuan Davidson hit a three from the right corner with 16 seconds left, but it did not count as head coach Corey Gadson had called for a timeout. The Tigers got three attempts from behind the arc, none would fall and the Titans escaped with their 15th consecutive win. Thorpe led all scorers with 22 points, he was the only Titan in double figures. Shaler ended up shooting only 5 of 15 from the foul line, but the Titans, after committing the seven turnovers in the first, ended up with just six more for the remaining three quarters for a total of 13. Shaler is now 21-2 and moves on to the quarterfinals. The Tigers were led by Jamie Grayson with 17 points and Mikell Moore with 11, McKeesport committed 11 turnovers and finishes at 11-11.

Plum Mustangs 61 – Kiski Area Cavaliers 57  
The WPIAL's second-leading scorer made the biggest play of the season for the Plum Mustangs' boys basketball team. It just wasn't the way that you would think. In addition to scoring 26 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, Nolan Cressler blocked a layup by Kiski's Alex Lamendola with just under 50 seconds to go, preserving a two-point lead. Cressler would then knock down two clutch free throws, securing a first round victory for AAAA's 8th-seeded Mustangs, 61-57. Back in December, Cressler would score his 1000th point against Kiski, however his team would lose on that day, 52-47. He avenged that loss Wednesday night at Gateway High School. Kiski's top guards would have tremendous success all night, as Nick Stone (24 points) and Lamendola (15 points) would cut through the lane all night, scoring a number of uncontested layups. The only time the Plum would send help defense was on the Cressler blocked shot. The Cavaliers jumped out to a great start, going up by 7 points at one point. But Cressler would battle the Mustangs back, capping it off with a 3-pointer at the buzzer to end the first quarter, making it 14-13 Kiski. The score would be tied at half, 26-26. Cressler would be shut down in the 3rd Quarter, scoring only 3 points. Tarique Ellis though would score 11 of his 16 points in the quarter, propelling Plum to a 43-39 lead after 3 quarters. But it was Cressler's 10 4th Quarter points, including two huge 3-pointers that would answer anything that Kiski threw at the Mustangs. Plum dominated on the boards, winning that battle 29-17. The rebounding margin was 19-5 at the end of the 1st Half. However, Plum's inability to connect on 2nd and 3rd chance opportunities kept Kiski in the game. Kiski's season ends at 16-7, but will return 4 starters for 2012-2013. Plum, now 16-7 as well, will move into the Quarterfinals where they will meet top-seeded Shaler on Saturday at a site and time to be determined.

Butler Golden Tornado 56 – Chartiers Valley Colts 54 
Another upset occurred Wednesday night in the first round of the Quad-A WPIAL Playoffs as #15 seed Butler beat #2 seed Chartiers Valley by a score of 56-54.  The game saw Char Valley hold the lead for the entire game, thanks to the play of Wayne Capers (27 points) and Jerrad Tuite.  Each time Butler would bring the game back within 3 or 4 points, Char Valley would use Capers and Tuite to build the lead back to 7 or 8.  Capers would then put out an 11 point performance in the third quarter as it seemed Char Valley was working towards putting the Golden Tornado away.  Butler has been in this situation before, even in last year’s WPIAL playoffs when they beat #1 Shaler on the same court at North Allegheny.  Butler used foul shots, solid rebounding, and heavy defensive traffic in the paint to slow the Colts in the 4th before finally cutting the lead down to 1 with 14 seconds to go.  Christian Kuntz for Chartiers Valley would head to the foul line to shoot a 1-and-1 situation but missed the first shot to see it rebounded by Butler.  Once the ball was across half court Butler called a timeout and set the play.  Nate Snodgrass received the inbounds pass, and crossed court to Luke Hartung who released a three-point shot that was 4-feet beyond the arc.  Hartung, who finished with only 5 points, buried the shot that would give the lead to Butler with 1.8 seconds to go.  After a few timeouts, Char Valley attempted a full court pass to Wayne Capers that was knocked away and time expired.  Butler finished with the upset victory with a score of 56-54.  Nate Snodgrass led all scorers with 33 points for Butler. 

North Allegheny Tigers 62 – Bethel Park Black Hawks 56  
In a see-saw battle, the North Allegheny Tigers outlasted the Bethel Park Blackhawks in the First Round of the WPIAL playoffs with a 62-56 victory at Moon Area High School.  Bethel Park stretched out their defense to prevent the Tigers outside shooters from getting good looks, but North Allegheny’s J.C. Howard penetrated the lanes to the tune of 22 points.  Bethel Park’s Brian Holland matched Howard on the score sheet with 22 points of his own, pouring in 16 of those points in the second half.  Thanks in large part to Howard, the Tigers grabbed the upper hand in the fourth quarter and hit key free-throws down the stretch to hold off the feisty Blackhawks.  Howard scored the final four points for the Tigers and put the game out of reach by converting bonus shot opportunities within the last 25 seconds.  For Bethel Park, their first winning season in five years ends with a 15-8 record.  North Allegheny improves to 16-6 and advances to face Butler in the Quarterfinals on Saturday.

WPIAL BOYS CLASS AA First Round:

Monessen Greyhounds 64 – Riverside Panthers 48  
It took defending WPIAL champion and top-seeded Monessen (21-2) just one half of action to shake off eleven days of rust as the Greyhounds blew open a tight contest in the final 16 minutes, rolling to a 64-48 win over #16 Riverside (14-10) tonight in a Class AA first round boys playoff game at Canon-McMillan High School. Despite losing its second leading scorer, junior forward Gig Jewell, to an ankle injury in practice yesterday, Riverside led 16-15 after one quarter and trailed by only three points, 26-23, at the intermission. But Monessen, last in game action on February 11th, used a high intensity pressure defense to cause 24 Riverside turnovers and outscore the Panthers by 13 points in the second half of action. The Greyhounds got balanced scoring from seniors Earl Pinkney (19 points), Jalen Madison (18 points), and Jaisen Irwin (15 points). Junior forward Tyler Falk led Riverside with 22 points. Monessen advances to the quarterfinals and will face #8 Shady Side Academy, a 71-64 winner over Frazier.

Shady Side Academy Indians 71 – Frazier Commodores 64 
The Shady Side Academy Indians were able to withstand a furious fourth quarter surge to defeat the Frazier Commodores 71-64 in Class AA Boys first round playoff action.  At the outset, this 8-versus-9 contest looked as if it would be over early, with Shady Side galloping to a 19-4 lead after the first quarter.  The lead was made possible by implementing a well-executed 2-3 defense to give Frazier's offense fits, while using their height advantage to clear the boards at both ends of the floor.  With Shady Side leading by 18, Frazier senior forward Robert Gondura was fouled as the buzzer sounded to end the third quarter.  He hit both free throws, cutting the deficit to 58-42.  Frazier was able to whittle away at the lead, creating turnovers with relentless man-to-man defense and double teams, as well as getting some key Shady Side into some foul trouble.  They eventually got to within 5 points. However, Indians senior Evan Lutins hit a critical wide-open three from the right elbow with less than two minutes remaining to give his team an 8-point lead, and Frazier seemed to run out of gas.  Lutins scored a team-high 19, with senior center Jake Ellis right behind with 18.  Aaron Horne also ended up with double figures for the Indians with 15.  Gondura starred for the Commodores, pouring in a game-high 20 points, complemented by senior guard Tyler Rock's 17.  Senior guard Rock Vargo also contributed double figures with 10.  Frazier's season ends with a record of 15-8.  Meanwhile, Shady Side Academy improves to 18-5, and advances to face the top-seeded Monessen Greyhounds on Saturday. 

Northgate Flames 90 – Summit Academy Knights 86 in Double Overtime 
It was an instant classic Wednesday night at Keystone Oaks as yet another #4-seed came up short in the opening round of the WPIAL boys basketball playoffs. Northgate scored 19 points in the second overtime to hold on and upset Summit Academy 90-86 in two overtimes.  The Flames used a patient half court offense to slow down the high-octane attack of the Knights early on. Northgate led 14-10 after one quarter. Summit Academy played the entire second quarter without leading scorer Elijah Minnie, who picked up two opening quarter fouls. The Flames ended the second quarter on an 8-0 run that put them up 34-26 at the half. Down by as many as nine in the third quarter, Summit Academy turned up the heat on defense and clawed all the way back to claim a 45-44 lead after three quarters. The fourth quarter went back and forth until Northgate senior Matt Lee nailed a three point shot with 14 seconds left to make it 61-60 Flames.  A Summit Academy turnover and a pair of Northgate free throws made it 63-60 with ten seconds left. But sophomore Sunny Munn came off the bench and drained a three-point shot with one second left to tie the game and send it to overtime.  With the score tied 71-71 with five seconds left in the first overtime, Northgate's MacKenzie Quinn missed a short shot and the Knights Tyerell Wyche got the rebound and was fouled with .06 seconds left. However the junior missed both free throws to send the game to a second overtime. There the Flames roared by outscoring the Knights 19-15 to pull off the upset. leading scorer Jon Girvin led the Flames with 24 points, but he had plenty of help in the scoring column. Guards Matt Lee and David Natale had 18 points each, while Quinn finished with 11 points and Jake Abernethy had 10 points. Point guard Rakim Reedy led the Knights with 24 points, one of five Summit Academy players in double figures. Rashon Boone had 19 points, Wyche finished with 15 points while both Omar Johnson and Minnie chipped in with 11 points each.  The Knights, who finished with a record of 17-5, played both overtimes without Minnie, who fouled out late in the fourth quarter. Northgate improves to 14-10 and will battle Greensburg Central Catholic in the Quarterifinals on Saturday.    

Greensburg Central Catholic Centurions 68 – Shenango Wildcats 53  
The Centurions hadn’t played a game in twelve days and the rust may have showed early, as the Wildcats jumped out of the gate quickly, jumping to a 10-1 lead in the games early moments. GCC head coach Greg Bisignani called a timeout, and 5th seeded Greensburg Central righted the ship and slowly took control of the game, heading into halftime with a 33-23 lead. The Centurions were able to withstand a couple of second-half bursts by Shenango, with the Wildcats climbing to within 4-points at one point. But GCC was able to convert 13-of-18 4th Quarter free throws in the 68-53 win at Chartiers Valley High School. Three Centurions finished the game with double digit point totals, led by senior Dan Sinwell’s game-high 21. Sinwell was 7-of-8 from the foul line for GCC. Ben Klimchock scored 15 points for Greensburg Central Catholic, while sophomore forward Brian Graytok added 14 points, including 3-three pointers. The Centurions leading scorer, 6-7 Seton Hill recruit P.J. McLaughlin was held without a field goal for the first 10 minutes of the contest and finished with 9 points, well below his season average of 18.6 PPG. But the senior forward was able to contribute on defense and on the glass for GCC, finishing with 7 blocked shots and pulling down a game high 12 rebounds in the win. Shenango was led in scoring by senior Brett Chieze, who hit 5 three-pointers and finished with 17 points. Fellow senior Jordan O’Hara was able to knock down a pair of treys and ended up with 15 points for the Wildcats. The Centurions have now won 15 of their last 16 games and improved their record to (18-5). 12th seeded Shenango finishes the 2011-2012 campaign at (15-9). Next up for the 5th seeded Centurions are the Northgate Flames. The Flames, seeded 13th, upset 4th ranked Summit Academy buy outscoring the Knights 90-86. The WPIAL Boys Class AA Quarterfinal match up between GCC and Northgate will take place Saturday at a site and time to be determined.

Beaver Falls Tigers 64 – Brentwood Spartans 39 
Beaver Falls got off to a quick start and controlled the game throughout in defeating Brentwood, 64-39, in a first round boys AA game at the Ambridge Fieldhouse on Wednesday night.  Sophomore guard Elijah Cottrill led the Tiger attack with 21 points while 6’7” senior Sheldon Jeter added 14.  Jason Pilarski led the Spartans with 17 tallies as Brentwood’s season ends at 13-11.  Beaver Falls is now 21-2 and the second seeded Tigers will meet Jeannette on Saturday in the quarterfinals.

Jeannette Jayhawks 74 – Wilkinsburg Tigers 72  
It was a fast-paced game from the start at Norwin High School as Jeannette met Wilkinsburg in a Class AA first round matchup.  Demetrious Cox and Orland Morgan lead the Jayhawks with nine and seven points, respectively, in the opening period.  At the end of the first quarter, Jeannette held a 26-21 lead.  The second quarter brought much of the same potent offensive play, and was highlighted by a Cox dunk at the 3:37 mark to put the Jayhawks up 36-29.  The Tigers kept it within reach, though.  Elisha Hill hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to swing the momentum Wilkinsburg’s way, and pull the Tigers within four at the half, 38-34.  Wilkinsburg picked up where it left off at the start of the third quarter, and took its first lead, 40-38, with seven minutes to go in the quarter.  The Jayhawks stormed back, however, and led 57-51 at the end of three.  Elisha Hill surpassed 1,000 points in his career with a basket at the 3:46 mark of the final quarter.  The Tigers took advantage of a huge mismatch inside with 6’6” Jordan Howard being guarded by Cox.  Howard brought Wilkinsburg back, cutting the Jeannette lead to only two, 70-68, with two minutes to go.  Howard found himself on the foul line with 1:32 to go, but missed both.  Jeannette held onto a 72-68 lead.  Rasheed Howard made his way to the hoop for the Tigers to tie the game at 72 with one minute to go.  Jeannette’s Julian Batts was then fouled, but missed the front end of the one and one with 36 seconds left.  Elisha Hill double dribbled on the ensuing possession, giving the ball back to the Jayhawks with 31.6 seconds on the clock.  Demetrious Cox took over the point, drawing Howard out of his comfort zone beyond the arc.  Cox let the clock run off 25 seconds before making his move—a drive past Howard down the right side for two points and the Jeannette lead, 74-72.  Wilkinsburg called a timeout with 2.1 seconds remaining.  A half-court shot was no good, sealing the Jeannette victory.  Wilkinsburg’s season comes to an end at (17-5).  Jordan Howard led the Tigers with 22 points.  Elijah Hill had 17 points, and Elisha Hill another 13 for Wilkinsburg.  Jeannette improves to (16-7) and will face Beaver Falls on Saturday.  Demetrious Cox led all scorers with 27 points.  Orlando Morgan chipped in 23 for the Jayhawks.

Sto-Rox Vikings 78 – Aliquippa Quips 54  
Aliquippa only trailed 15-14 after the first quarter and was down by eight at halftime, but Sto-Rox outscored the Quips 23-13 in the third period and went on to a 78-54 1st round win on Wednesday evening at North Hills High School.  After struggling early on against Aliquippa’s press, the Vikings solved the Quips defensive pressure and enjoyed a number of break away dunks in that decisive third quarter.  Sophomore Lenny Williams led Sto-Rox with 18 points while Syracuse football recruit Dontez Ford added 17.  Mikal Hall had 13 and his cousin Davion scored 12 points for Aliquippa, which closed its season at 11-13.  The Vikings are now 21-2 and will take on Quaker Valley in the quarterfinals on Saturday.

Quaker Valley Quakers 70 – Seton-LaSalle Rebels 44  
The 6th seeded Quaker Valley Quakers got four players into double figures and absolutely dominated 11th seeded Seton LaSalle Rebels in a WPIAL AA boys basketball first round game at West Allegheny high school Wednesday night. The final score was Quaker Valley 70 Seton LaSalle 44, but in reality it wasn't that close.
Junior Burke Moser led all scorers in the game with 19 on the night for the Quakers who doubled up Seton 20-10 at the end of the first period and were never threatened in the contest. Joining Moser in double digits in the scoring column for QV were three seniors including twin brothers Sam and Joe Peduto, the former with 12 and the latter with ten, Steven Emch also scored 11 points in the win. Seton just never got into any kind of stride offensively they were led by senior guard Matt Onorato who had the best moment of the night for the Rebels as the third quarter expired hitting a 3/4 length of the court shot as the horn sounded. It was one of four three-pointers he hit on the night for his total of 12 points. Seton's season comes to a close at 15-9. Quaker Valley moves into the quarter finals with the win improving their record to 20-3 on the year. QV's starting point guard Jamal Gloster battled an injured ankle for much of the night but left the contest early in the fourth quarter and iced the ankle for the rest of the night. His status for the quarters is day-to-day.

WPIAL GIRLS CLASS AAA First Round:

Hopewell Vikings 60 – Belle Vernon Leopards 24 
The top seeded Vikings jumped out to an 11-0 lead in this first-round contest at Chartiers Valley High School and never looked back on their way to the 36-point victory over Belle Vernon. The Hopewell defense was a big factor in this game posting 18 steals as the Leopards had trouble with the aggressive Vikings defenders throughout the game. Junior guard Shatori Walker-Kimbrough, who came into the contest the 3rd leading girl’s scorer in the WPIAL averaging 25.2 PPG, was outstanding in netting a game-high 36 points in the romp. Walker-Kimbrough also had 9 of the Vikings steals and finished with 9 rebounds. Senior guard Jharrin Gill was the only other Hopewell player to finish in double figures scoring 11 points. Shaniya Rivers finished with 7 points and added 3 steals, while sophomore forward Kari Steuer added 4 points but pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds for the Vikings. Belle Vernon junior Jessica Slagus, who came into the game averaging 17.5 PPG, was the only Leopard to reach double figures with 12 points. After gaining its first playoff win in 14 years in the preliminary round over Indiana, 16th seeded Belle Vernon saw the season end at (12-12). Hopewell, which has now won 12 games in a row, improved to (21-2) with the win. The Vikings advance to the quarterfinal round of the WPIAL Girls Class AAA Playoffs to take on Elizabeth Forward on Saturday at a site and time to be determined. The Warriors, seeded eight, defeated Hampton 34-31 to advance into the tournament’s round of eight.

Elizabeth Forward Warriors 34 – Hampton Talbots 31 
In a titanic defensive struggle, the #8 seeded Elizabeth Forward Warriors defeated the #9 seeded Hampton Talbots 34-31 in overtime in the First Round of the McDonalds/WPIAL Triple A basketball playoffs at North Hills High School on Wednesday evening. Hampton grabbed an early advantage, leading 9-4 at the end of the first quarter.  The lead remained at five at the half, the Talbots up 17-12.  Hampton extended its lead to nine but Elizabeth Forward closed the gap back to five at the end of three quarters of play, 24-19.  The Warriors finally tied the score at 29 all with 50 seconds to play to send the game into overtime, where they outscored the Talbots 5-2 to secure the win. Elizabeth Forward was led by sophomore guard Ali Pastore with 14, including four in the overtime session, and Dana Buck, a junior forward, also with 14.  Hampton's top scorer was junior forward Sara Pilarski with 12 points. Elizabeth Forward (18-4) advances into the Quarterfinal Round where the Warriors will meet the #1 seed Hopewell Vikings on Saturday afternoon at a site and time to be determined.  Hampton's season ends with the Talbots finishing at 12-10.

Chartiers Valley Colts 62 – Beaver Bobcats 42 
The #4 seed Chartiers Valley Lady Colts led from start to finish Tuesday night over the #13 seed Beaver Lady Bobcats and cruised to a 62-42 victory at North Allegheny High School. Jenna Devinney came out on fire from behind the arc hitting three 3 pointers to help the Colts to a 17-5 lead after one quarter of action. Chartiers Valley continued rolling in the second quarter outscoring Beaver 14-5 to take a 31-10 lead into halftime. The Lady Bobcats had a better second half offensively scoring 14 in the third and 18 in the fourth, but it wasn't enough to overcome the Lady Colts. Chartiers Valley led 53-24 after three and only scored nine points in the fourth quarter, because most of the second string had entered the contest. The Lady Colts had two players in double figures led by Mariah Wells with 16 and Jenna Devinney with 15. Devinney had five three pointers on the evening.  The Colts shot an impressive 10-12 for 83% from the foul line and were a perfect 8 for 8 in the 1st half.The Lady Bobcats were led by 15 points from Ally Dehart. Kate O'Neil had 9 and Emily Kondracki scored 8. Beaver shot 14-23 from the charity stripe. Chartiers Valley is now 21-2 and has extended its winning streak to 18 games and will face the #5 seed Uniontown Lady Red Raiders on Saturday at a site and time to be determined. Beaver ends the season at 13-10.

Uniontown Red Raiders 69 – Central Valley Warriors 56  
Uniontown ralled from a 27 to 26 halftime deficit to down Central Valley 69 to 56 in a Girls Triple "A" First Round playoff game at Canon McMillan High School on Wednesday Night.  Danasha Harris was the story of the game for Uniontown.  Harris who is listed at 5'8" on the Uniontown Roster, must have been measured in four inch heels on prom night, picked up 19 rebounds, giving taller Warrior players fits all night with her quickness and agility tracking down and fighting for loose balls.  It was Harris's domination on the glass which allowed 4 other Lady Raiders to score in double figures.  Jazmine Belt and Lydia Dennis lead the way with 18 points a piece for Uniontown, while Jesse Madision(15 points) and Jordan Crutchman(12 points) were also in double figures for the Raiders.  Ella George of Central Valley lead all scorers with 23 points and Seairra Barrett came off the bench to score 15 for the Warriors.  It was quite a turnaround season for the Warriors program in its second year in existence.  The Warriors finished the 2010-11 season 4-18 but finished the 2011-12 season 15-8. Uniontown improved to 18-4 with the win and advances to the quarterfinals to take on Chartiers Valley on Saturday.

South Park Eagles 66 – Greensburg-Salem Golden Lions 33  
The Shelby Lindsay show was on display at the Furrie Sports Complex at Gateway High School on Wednesday night.  Lindsay, the talented junior guard of the South Park Eagles, nearly outscored Greensburg-Salem herself as the #2 seed Eagles hammered the 15th seeded Golden Lions. Lindsay, who averages 16 points per game, doubled that amount, scoring 32 points and collecting 14 rebounds in the win.   South Park started fast, jumping out to a 9 point lead early on.  But Greensburg-Salem showed some fight, scoring the final 7 points of the 1st quarter to trail 13-11 after the first 8-minutes.  But it was the 2nd quarter where the Eagles soared and put the game out of reach.  South Park outscored Greensburg-Salem 14-3 in the 2nd and the rout was on from there. Besides Lindsay's big night, Halie Torris chipped in with 10 points for the Eagles.   Angela Balya led the Golden Lions with 12 points.  Despite the loss, it was a turn-around season for a young Greensburg-Salem team.  2011-2012 was the first post-season appearance for Greensburg-Salem since 2006-2007.  And the Golden Lions, who finished 13-11, will return all 5 starters and lose only 2 seniors from their roster for next year. South Park (20-2) moves on to face South Fayette in the Quarterfinals on Saturday.

South Fayette Lions 35 – Mars Fighting Planets 28  
Coach Matt Bacco’s South Fayette Lions were able to apply stifling defense and force 8 first quarter turn overs.  The Lions took advantage of the turnovers by putting up fourteen points to Mars’ four.  The Lions then continued their impressive defense by forcing 6 turnovers in the second quarter to take a 20-8 lead into the break.  To start the second half though the roles were reversed as Coach Tony Howard’s Mars Fightin’ Planets were able to force turnovers of their own to pull the game to within seven in the third quarter by capitalizing on those turnovers they were able to force.  Mars fueled by a late 3rd quarter three and kept the momentum going into the start of the 4th and pulled to within six.  After that South Fayette fueled by a big three by Caitlin McLuckie took the momentum back and never stopped from there.  Late in the game Mars made a late charge but Erika Ford came up big defensively with a nice block on the low post when Mars could have pulled within four.  South Fayette won 35-28 and will face the two seed South Park on Saturday at a site TBD.  South Fayette was led by Erika Ford with 11 points(7 in the first quarter) while Mars was led by Teresa Delatore with 11 points as well(6 in third quarter).

Blackhawk Cougars 71 – West Mifflin Titans 56  
The Blackhawk Cougars began their defense of their WPIAL Championship in impressive fashion as they defeated the 14th seeded West Mifflin Titans in the first round of the Class AAA playoffs.  The Cougars outscored the Titans by nine points in the first quarter and cruised from there to post the 71-56 victory.  Blackhawk freshman Chassidy Omogrosso was stellar in her first-ever WPIAL postseason game as she scored twenty of her game-high 36 points in the first half of play.  She was able to knock down seven three pointers and shot 7-9 from the foul line.  Alexis Graham added 14 points for the defending champs.  West Mifflin was paced by sophomore standout Ciara Patterson who scored 23 points for the Titans.  Jhyla Staples and Paige Flore both chipped in 12 points for West Mifflin in the loss.  West Mifflin’s season ends at 9-10 while Blackhawks runs its record to 20-3.  With the win, Blackhawk advances to the quarterfinals to take on New Castle on Saturday.

New Castle Red Hurricane 43 – Mount Pleasant Vikings 42 
The Year of the Upset continued in the opening game at Fox Chapel on Wednesday as the 11th seeded Red Hurricane found a way to get it done over the 6th seeded Vikings. New Castle led 2-0, that would be the only lead the Canes would have until the fourth quarter. Mount Pleasant led 9-6 after one and 18-11 at the break. New Castle got a shot in the arm in the third as senior Christina Talbert, who was thought to be out with a sprained MCL, returned to the lineup and scored ten of her 11 points in the quarter to keep the Canes alive. The Canes had already lost Kaylynn Waters to a torn right ACL a couple of weeks ago. New Castle took the lead for good when Rachael Razzano hit a three from the left wing, she was fouled and completed the four point play to put New Castle up for good. Mount Pleasant had a chance to tie the game with 2 seconds left, but sophomore Elaina Fearer could only hit one of two free throws, the Canes got the rebound on the second and ran out the clock. Talbert led New Castle, now 13-9, with 11 points, Razzano scored 10, all in the second half. New Castle will meet section rival Blackhawk in the quarterfinals on Saturday. Alexa Szelong led the Vikings with 13 points, Jordan Toohey came off the bench to add eight. Neither team shot well from the line, New Castle was 9 for 21, Mt. Pleasant 12-25, the Canes committed 21 turnovers, the Vikings 20. Mount Pleasant ends the season at 17-6.

WPIAL GIRLS CLASS A First Round:

North Catholic Trojanettes 61 – West Greene Pioneers 28 
The North Catholic Trojanettes won big over the pioneers of West Greene High School.   North Catholic jumped out to an early 10-0 lead and finished the first quarter leading 16-2.  They then went on to cruise to a 22-5 second quarter leading 38-7 at the half.  West Greene came out in the second half with fire in their bellies and played tough in the third quarter.  But the Trojanettes behind the shooting of Sarah Goetz and her team leading 16 points were just too much for the Pioneers to handle.  The final score was North Catholic 61 and the Pioneers 28.

St. Joseph Spartans 51 – Carmichaels Mighty Mikes 40  
The St. Joseph Spartans moved into the quarterfinals with a 51-40 win over Carmichaels Wednesday night at Norwin High School.  Carmichaels actually gained the early lead and led throughout the entire first quarter, but at the end of the quarter, a St. Joseph 3-pointer by Shayna Panchik cut the Mikes lead to just 11-10.  Shortly into the second quarter, the Spartans would gain their first lead at 15-14, and wouldn't trail again.  The Spartans held a 24-16 halftime lead, and despite a Morgan Berardi 3-pointer in the third that cut the lead to 4, St. Joseph still was able to open up an 11-point lead by the end of the third quarter.  Carmichaels was led by the same dynamic duo as in the regular season, Berardi and Anna Cree.  Both players would score 17 points each.  Unfortunately, only 6 points was scored by the rest of the team.  St. Joseph did a much better job of spreading the ball to all five players on the court, which by the way, were the same five the entire game as the Spartans never made a substitution.  The starting five of Panchik, Amanda Klawinski, Rachel Edwards, Nikki Mielecki, and Mallory Heinle all played the entire game and Panchik was the leading scorer with 16 points including 3 field goals from beyond the arc.  The Spartans will face top-seeded North Catholic on Saturday in the quarterfinals.

Vincentian Academy Royals 65 – Avella Eagles 28  
This past weekend the Avella Eagles won a preliminary round Playoff Game by defeating the Clairton Bears.  What that win did was give the Eagles the "pleasure" of taking on the Vincentian Academy Royals on Wednesday night at Keystone Oaks High School.  The Eagles quickly learned that taking on the Royals would not be as pleasurable as their outing just a few short days ago.  The #2 seeded Royals wasted no time in making sure the Eagles fully realized that the playoffs start now, as they broke out to a 12-0 lead, never looking back enroute to a 65-28 mercy rule victory.  Playing without leading scorer Brenna Wise, Vincentian never missed a beat, as their full court pressure and heavy dose of scoring by Ashlee Darby had the Royals leading 23-5 at the end of the first quarter.  To Avella's credit, they persevered, were able to get some shots to fall and played fairly even with Vincentian in the second, still, however, being down by 19 at halftime 36-17.  The third quarter was all Vincentian.  A continued dose of Darby, mixed in with stellar play by fellow Seniors Noreen Fischer and Bridget Melvin, and the Royals would outscore the Eagles 24 to 2, invoking the mercy rule for the remainder of the contest, and eventually leading to a 65-28 Vincentian victory.  Ashlee Darby led the Royals with 35 points.  Noreen Fischer had 13 for Vincentian.  The Eagles were led by JR forward Olivia English, who finished with 11 points for Avella.  The Royals will be up next on Saturday against Winchester-Thurston at a site and time to be determined.

Winchester Thurston Bears 55 – Chartiers-Houston Buccaneers 50  
Alex Siegel scored 10 points in the final quarter leading Winchester Thurston past Chartiers-Houston, 55-50.  The 5-8 sophomore had just four points through three quarters, but with the Bears leading by six in the early moments of the final period, the Bucs pressured on the perimeter, leaving Siegel open underneath. And she delivered all five WT field goals in the quarter, keeping CH at bay.  The game went back and forth through the first 20 minutes, with eight ties and four lead changes.  Neither team led by more than four points at the halfway point of the third. The Bears closed the quarter with an 8-2 run, then opened the fourth quarter with another and, all of a sudden, 32-all had become 48-36 and the Bears were steaming to the win.  Alexis Lonero had game honors with 16 points including three first-half three-pointers for Winchester Thurston (13-9).  Chartiers-Houston (17-6) got 14 points off the bench from Addisen Knetzer, 13 from Amanda Balzer and 10 from Ashley Balzer.  The last four losses for the Bucs are the three WPIAL quarterfinalists–Fort Cherry (2x), Monessen and Winchester Thurston.