WPIAL Basketball Playoff Recaps From Wednesday, February 20th

By: Bruce Markey
Thursday, February 21, 2013 | 12:45 AM

The Top Four teams in all eight postseason tournaments are moving on to the Quarterfinals, but it hasn't been smooth sailing for all the fifth, sixth and seventh seeds as a total of ten seeds from ten through twelve are moving on to the next round this weekend. Here are recaps from First Round games played in the Boys AAAA, Boys AA, Girls AAA and Girls A brackets.

A special thanks to Lanfer Simpson, Jason Tennant, Dow Carnahan, Mike Krcil, Jim Frederick, Brian Mroziak, Steve Nagler, Randy Gore, Bob Orkwis, Justin McKim, Mike Azadian, Bob Gregg, Bob Barrickman, T.J. DiStefano, Chris Lackner, Mark Schaas, Melissa Carle, Johnny Lee, Dennis Fischer and Don Rebel for their help on these recaps!      

WPIAL CLASS AAAA First Round:

New Castle Red Hurricane 85 – Latrobe Wildcats 64 
Top seeded New Castle rolled to an 85-64 victory over the 16th seeded Greater Latrobe Wildcats in the first round of the WPIAL boys Quad A basketball playoffs at North Allegheny.  The Red Hurricanes and Wildcats played on even terms in the first quarter as they ended the stanza tied at 17.  New Castle took command of the game in the second quarter by outscoring Latrobe 28-15 to grab a 45-32 lead at the half.  Latrobe outscored New Castle 14-13 in the third stanza with the quarter ending with the Red Hurricanes leading 58-46.  New Castle outscored the Wildcats 28-17 in the fourth to bring us to the final score of 85-64.  Senior Shawn Anderson led the Red Hurricanes with 22-points.  Junior Malik Hooker added 21-points.  Also scoring in double figures for New Castle were Brandon Dominick with 13-points, Drew Allen with 13-points and Anthony Richards chipped in with twelve.  Senior Mike Soforic led Latrobe with 15-points.  Will Wears added fourteen and Blake Reeping scored twelve.  New Castle improved their record to a perfect 23-0 and now faces Gateway in the quarterfinal round.  The Wildcats end their season at twelve up and eleven down.

Gateway Gators 56 – Kiski Area Cavaliers 45 
Two time defending WPIAL AAAA Champion Gateway can become a little defensive when it comes to relinquishing their title, and they proved just that to the Kiski Area Cavaliers.  Kiski Area dominated pace and action in the first half with their dribble-drive sets to at one point build a 13 point lead and it was then that Gateway Coach Mitch Adams decided to go with this defensive thing.  Using a line up built to pressure the basketball from baseline to baseline, and  behind a brilliant game by DJ Boyce, the Gators made life absolutely miserable for the Cavaliers in the second half and advanced with a 56-45 victory.  Boyce finished as the Gator's leading scorer with 23 points in an incredibly inspired effort.  Kiski Area was led by Joe Brungo and Nick Stone with 12 points a piece.  Gateway's defensive mind set and effort will next be put to the test as they take on the top seeded New Castle Hurricanes this weekend at a site and time TBD.

North Allegheny Tigers 65 – Canon-McMillan Big Macs 38 
As has been their custom this season, North Allegheny used the three-pointer to triumph over an opponent, this time with a 65-38 win over Canon-McMillan in the opening round of the Class AAAA playoffs. The Tigers poured in 13 treys on the night and grabbed control of the game with a 14-3 run to end the first half for a 39-16 lead at intermission. The teams traded baskets in the second half as the Tigers coasted to the victory and into the WPIAL Quarterfinals. Seniors Adam Haus and James Meeker paced North Allegheny with 14 points apiece and seven combined three-pointers. Junior Joe Mancini added 12 points with all four of his field goals coming from beyond the arc. Canon-McMillan was held to just 17% shooting , connecting on only 9 of 52 from the field. Senior Brett Haney topped out for the Big Macs with 11 points on the night. North Allegheny improves to 20-3 on the season and will face Fox Chapel in the WPIAL Quarterfinals.  Canon-McMillan ends their season with an 11-12 record.

Fox Chapel Foxes 51 – Hempfield Spartans 43 
Junior Brian Papich’s game-high 23 points led the Foxes to the WPIAL Class AAAA Quarterfinals and the win at Gateway High School was the first in the playoffs for Fox Chapel since 2007. The 6-2 Papich showed his versatility canning a pair of three-pointers and adding two breakaway dunks after steals. Papich was able to pick up the slack for fellow junior Matt D’Amico. D’Amico, who came into the contest averaging 22.7 points-per-game, was held to 8 points on the evening. Billy Urso also scored 8 points for Fox Chapel who improved to (17-6) with the win. Two Spartans finished in double figures led by sophomore Kason Harrell (17) and Arnie Cuttrell (12). Hempfield, the co-section champions from AAAA-Section 1, hasn’t won a playoff game in 10 years. Hempfield's season ends at (17-6). The Spartans played the game without 6-7 sophomore center Tony Pilato who spent the evening on the bench in sweats. Fox Chapel moves on in the boys basketball playoffs for the first time since 2006-2007 when the made the Quad-A semifinal before losing to eventual champion Bethel Park. The Foxes will face the tournament’s second seed North Allegheny. The Tigers dispatched Canon-McMillan 65-38 in the first round and will face Fox Chapel on Saturday at site and time to be determined.

WPIAL CLASS AA First Round:

Beaver Falls Tigers 78 – Bishop Canevin Crusaders 37 
Beaver Falls raced to a 23-4 lead after one quarter and proceeded to rout Bishop Canevin in a WPIAL AA boys first round encounter, 78-37.  The game played at West Allegheny eventually went into the mercy rule.  Junior guard Elijah Cottrill led Beaver Falls with 17 points while three other Tigers scored in double figures.  Zach Miller garnered 16 points, Micoy Mason added 15 and Drew Cook scored 13.  Junior starting forward Danny Stratton did not play due to an ankle injury.  Nico DiPaolo led the Crusaders with 11 points as Bishop Canevin finished its season at 11-13.  Beaver Falls improved to 20-3 and will take on Brentwood in a quarterfinal match on Saturday.  

Brentwood Spartans 44 – Shady Side Academy Indians 39 
No. 8 Brentwood (14-9) used smothering, physical defense and a tremendous 3rd quarter run to beat No. 9 Shady Side Academy (9-15) 44-39 on Wednesday night at Woodland Hills High School. The Spartans were paced by leading scorer Jason Pilarski, who scored 16 of his game high 22 points in the second half, 11 of which came from the free throw line. Pilarski also grabbed a game high 9 rebounds. Down 10-6 after the first quarter, Brentwood would go on a 19-4 run during the second and third quarters and extend their lead to 30-23 after three quarters. Shady Side, who received 18 points and 9 rebounds from Freshman Michael Ware, would keep the game close, but never retake the lead. Ware scored 13 of the Indians' 20 points in the second half. Aaron Horne, who battle foul trouble all night, finished with 9 points for Shady Side Academy. Mike Kish, coming off a 20 point, 24 rebound performance in Brentwood's preliminary win over California, also got into early foul trouble and finished with 8 points and 8 rebounds. The Spartans, sporting Class AA's 3rd best defense, move into the Boys Class AA Quarterfinals, where they will meet top-seeded Beaver Falls on Saturday at a site and time to be determined. The Spartans fell to Beaver Falls, 64-39, in the first round last season. 

Jeannette Jayhawks 71 – Aliquippa Quips 44 
The Jayhawks and the Quips wrote another chapter in their storied history tonight.  The ending wasn't such a happy one for Aliquippa, however.  Seth Miller kicked things off for Jeannette with a huge dunk, rallying the Jayhawks early on.  The Quips stayed close behind two three-pointers from Malik Stewart, and trailed 12-10 at the end of one quarter.  Julian Batts and Jordan Edmunds turned things up a notch for the Jayhawks in the second quarter, combining for 11 points.  Aliquippa's Chuck Humphries gave his team a bit of momentum after a buzzer-beating three to close out the half, but Jeannette still led 28-18.  The Quips came out of the break with much more defensive intensity, but Batts and the Jayhawks would prove to be too much.  Aliquippa pulled within 10 points, as Batts was flagged for his third foul.  On the ensuing possession, Darrien Fields had a good look from beyond the arc, but Batts came up with a huge block that killed the Quips momentum.  Jeannette's offense began firing on all cylinders, and this one was in the books.  The Jayhawks, with a 71-44 win, improved to (18-4), and will face Apollo-Ridge on Saturday at a site and time to be determined.  Four Jayhawks scored in double figures tonight, including Julian Batts with 20 points, Jordan Edmunds with 18 points, Seth MIller with 14 points, and Miles Sunder with 11 points.  Eleven different Quips got on the scoreboard, led by Malik Stewart's 13 points.  Aliquippa's season comes to an end at (10-14).    

Apollo-Ridge Vikings 56 – Sto-Rox Vikings 52 
The Apollo Ridge Vikings continue their trip thru the 2013 post-season in nail-bitting fashion, pulling away late and holding on for the win in a first round matchup at North Allegheny High School on Wednesday night. Tre Tipton sealed the win for Apollo Ridge when he snagged the rebound on a missed shot by Javelle Kirkland with seven seconds remaining and fired a strike to Lucas Burrell for the game's final points. Apollo Ridge took an early 18-11 lead in the battle of the Vikings, but could not pull away in the second, mainly due to the hot shooting of Sto-Rox's Lenny Williams. The junior scored 13 of his game high 21 points in that quarter, including three 3-pointers to cut the A-R lead to one at the half at 31-30. Both teams struggled from the field in the third. Both teams had several opportunities to pull away in the final frame, but Tipton and Burrell got some help from Connor Billingsley off the bench with 6 of his 15 points. Burrell finished with 18 to lead Apollo Ridge, Tipton added 14. Apollo-Ridge has won three straight games and moves to 17-7 overall, they are one step closer towards qualifying for PIAA play as well. Sto-Rox got 11 points from Makil Allen and 10 from Tonyea Curry. S-R hit eight 3-pointers but turned the ball over 16 times, they finish the season at 14-9.

Greensburg Central Catholic Centurions 52 – Northgate Flames 38 
The #2 seed Greensburg Central Catholic Centurions got a scare for three quarters from the #15 seed Northgate Flames but pulled away in the 4th for a 52-38 win Wednesday night at Canon McMillan High School. The Flames dominated the 1st quarter outscoring GCC 14-9 and controlling the boards. GCC was ice cold shooting with only three field goals. The Centurions started to knock down some shots and get into a rhythm in quarter number two outscoring Northgate 15-11. GCC got its first lead of the game with 29.7 seconds left of the 2nd but Northgate's Darrell Barron hit a three pointer at the buzzer and the Flames led 25-24 at halftime. The Flames continued to hang around in the third quarter but GCC started to wear them down as shots continued to fall and GCC outscored the Flames 18-11 to take a 42-36 lead after three. The fourth quarter belonged to GCC as they outscored Northgate 10-2 and came from behind to get the victory. The Centurions were led by Zach Herman, who scored 17 points. Christian Hyland added 9. GCC was 13 of 23 from the foul line. Northgate was led in scoring by Darrell Barron, who had 16 points. Taymon Russell contributed 9. The Flames were 4 of 9 from the charity stripe. Greensburg Central Catholic improves to 22-1 and has now won 14 games in a row and will take on #7 Burrell Saturday at a site and time to be determined. Northgate finishes at 14-10.

Burrell Buccaneers 61 – Washington Little Prexies 50 
Peter Spagnolo and Matt Hess led Burrell on an 18-0 run through the fourth quarter as the Bucs rallied to beat Washington, 61-50. After Washington used a couple three-point plays early in the fourth to build a 48-42 lead, the Little Prexies managed only a pair of free throws the rest of the way.  Spagnolo scored six of his team-leading 18 points in the quarter, Hess had seven of his 15 points during the rally as the Bucs improved to 17-6.  Wash High got 19 points from Josh Wise including a dunk and a free throw with 6:50 left in the game.  Marquel Matusic's layup and free throw pushed the lead to six with 5:55 remaining.  The next time Washington (17-7) scored, it was a simply to cut the deficit to 10.  Joe Cox hit a trey, Cole Bush added a layup/foul shot and Jacob Prefling scored for the floor all during the decisive 4-minute run.  Jordan Drew scored 12 points for Washington.  Burrell is in the quarterfinals for the first time since 2001 when the Bucs lost to Hopewell.  Since advancing to the PIAA Second Round in 2010, the Little Prexies have just one playoff win, that against Jeff-Morgan on Saturday.

Seton-LaSalle Rebels 62 – Mohawk Warriors 39 
The #14 seed Mohawk Warriors came into Peters Township on Wednesday night to take on the #3 seed Seton LaSalle Rebels. This first round matchup takes place after Mohawk was able to defeat Serra Catholic in the preliminary round. This match-up proved to be business as usual for the Rebels. The stingy defense and the sharp shooting from star junior Dale Clancy were the recipe for success for Seton LaSalle. Clancy had 14 points in the game which includes 3- 3 pointers. Clancy was second on the scoring sheet only to the tall 6'5 junior forward Levi Masua. Masua led the way with 16 points. Masua was also able to throw down 2 powerful dunks in the rout. Dominck DelGrecco added 11 points and sophomore Ryan Norkus played tough inside for 7 points. On the other side, the Mohawk Warriors were led by the usual suspects. Senior guard Lucas Grim led his squad in his final high school game with 15 points; 11 of which were posted in the 1st half. Junior Gio Menichino poured in 8 points off the bench. Seton LaSalle led Mohawk at halftime 27-19 and also outscored the Warriors 24-6 in the 3rd quarter. Mohawk ends their season with a record of 10-14.  The Rebels move forward to take on Quaker Valley in the Class AA quarterfinals at a site and time to be determined.

Quaker Valley Quakers 53 – Riverside Panthers 48 
Quaker Valley was down late in the 3rd quarter which was not an unusual situation for the Quaker squad..currently enjoying a 6 game winning streak into the WPIAL AAA playoffs. Burke Moser cut the deficit to 5 heading into the 4th quarter against Riverside and junior  guard Qadir Taylor hit the game-winning bucket plus a foul shot with 24 seconds left in the Quakers thrilling 53-48 win over the Panthers at Moon High School. 15-9 Riverside had built that 3rd quarter margin on the strength of 7 points by 6-5 senior Gig Jewell, who tallied a game-high 19 points. However, Q-V would battle back in a game which went back and forth 5 times in the final 8-minute period.  Moser, a 6-3 senior swingman, led the winners with 18 while Taylor scored 15. Guard Dom Vetica nailed 4 treys in his 13 points performance for the Panthers. Quaker Valley, armed with a 7 game winning streak and a 19-4 record, will move on into the AAA quarterfinals against 3rd seed and 21-2 Seton  LaSalle on Saturday.

WPIAL CLASS AAA First Round:

Blackhawk Cougars 82 – West Mifflin Titans 61 
Sophomore guard Chassidy Omogrosso connected on six 3-point field goals and Blackhawk made 13 treys in all in an 82-61 victory over West Mifflin in a first round girls AAA game at West Allegheny High on Wednesday night.  Omogrosso, who gave a verbal commitment to Pitt scored 31 points overall while Bridgette Shaffer hit five shots from behind the arc and added 20 points.  Center Alexis Graham hit two 3-pointers and collected 18 tallies.  The Lady Titans received 31 points from junior Taylor Thomas in a losing cause.  West Mifflin’s season came to a close with a record of 10-13.  The 23-0 Lady Cougars move on to the quarterfinals Saturday to meet Belle Vernon.  The New Castle boys squad is the only other undefeated team in the WPIAL.

Belle Vernon Leopards 60 – Greensburg-Salem Golden Lions 41 
After being held mostly in check for most of the first half, Belle Vernon's Slagus sisters — senior Jessica and sophomore Kaitlyn — combined for 23 second-half points, powering the Leopards to a 60-41 win Wednesday night over Greensburg Salem at Hempfield High School.  Jessica Slagus finished with a game-high 19 with Kaitlyn Slagus right behind with 18.  Sophomore Tiernie Singleton had 11, with two of her points coming when a Greensburg Salem player tipped a pass intended for Jessica Slagus up and into the Belle Vernon hoop.  Meanwhile, Greensburg-Salem couldn't get going offensively, partially due to solid Leopard defense and partially due to cold shooting and an active backboard.  Many Golden Lion layup attempts bricked harder off the glass than the shooters expected.  Sophomore Claire Oberdorf led the Greensburg-Salem offense with 12 points, including 6-of-6 from the free throw line.  Angela Balya contributed 11 in her final high school game.  Belle Vernon improves its mark to 16-6 and will play top seed Blackhawk next, while Greensburg-Salem wraps up the season at 16-7.

Central Valley Warriors 59 – South Fayette Lions 50 
South Fayette came out strong in the first quarter, with five different players getting on the scoreboard.  The Lions led 12-10 at the end of one, but it would be all Warriors from there.  Madi Rowan came alive in the second quarter, scoring 10 points, as Central Valley outscored South Fayette 16-8 and went to the locker room ahead 26-20.  Things got interesting after the break, however.  Warriors star center Kiana Law was playing with three fouls, including a technical from the first half.  Midway through the third quarter, Law was called for a fourth foul, followed by another technical for slamming the ball on the court after the call.  Law fouled out, and will also miss Central Valley's quarterfinal game against Elizabeth Forward on Saturday.  The Warriors used Law's ejection as motivation, though, behind 11 more points from Rowan and two big three-pointers from Kayla Schwartz.  Central Valley led 47-35 at the end of the third.  South Fayette implemented full court pressure in the fourth, and rallied behind three three-pointers from Kristen Hardt, Caitlin McLuckie, and Mindy Wells, but turnovers proved costly for the Lions.  Junior forward Seairra Barrett was impressive on both sides of the ball for the Warriors, showing her versatility with several steals and key rebounds down the stretch.  Central Valley held on for a 59-50 victory.  McLuckie, South Fayette's leading scorer this season, was held to only six points, all coming in the fourth quarter.  Hardt led the Lions with 13 points.  South Fayette's season comes to an end at (15-8).  Madi Rowan led all scorers with 33 points.  Seairra Barrett finished with 14 points for the Warriors, who move to (17-5).

Elizabeth Forward Warriors 56 – Mars Fighting Planets 31 
On a cold blistery night in Plum Boro, it was the Elizabeth Forward Warriors that came out on fire as their pressure defense and excellent shooting from the opening tip made it a long night for the Mars Fighting Planets.  Employing a full court Man to Man, the Warriors pushed the action as the guard play of Macy Pekala, Alison Pastore, and Abigail Sporio forced turnover after turnover, leading to easy hoops for the Warriors.  Olivia Barkley would have made Sir Charles proud as the sophomore forward dominated the boards and led the Warriors with 16 points.  The Planets were lead in scoring by Sophomore Ali Goetz with 15 points.  EF will now take on Central Valley this weekend at a site and time TBD.

Hopewell Vikings 56 – Keystone Oaks Golden Eagles 38 
It was the Shatori Walker-Kimbrough show at Cornell on Wednesday night. The Hopewell senior and Maryland recruit scored a game-high 35 points, and the defending champion Vikings beat Keystone Oaks, 56-38, to advance to the WPIAL AAA girls quarterfinals. Hopewell (20-3) held a 26-18 lead at halftime as KO’s Maryssa Agurs helped to keep the game close, scoring 11 of her team-high 16 in the 2^nd quarter. In the 2^nd half, the Vikings used a stifling defense to frustrate Agurs – and KO—opening up a 20-point advantage after three quarters. The Golden Eagles finished their season with a 14-9 record.

Ambridge Bridgers 45 – Uniontown Red Raiders 38 
The 10th seeded Lady Bridgers of Ambridge upset the 7th seeded Lady Raiders of Uniontown in a Girls Triple "A" first round game on Wednesday Night at Canon Mac.  Uniontown lead 15 to 11 after 1 quarter of play but the Bridgers outscored the Raiders 13 to 2 in the 2nd quarter to take a 24 to 17 halftime lead.  Uniontown opened the 3rd quarter on an 8-0 run to lead 25 to 24 at the 6:00 mark of the 3rd.  But Ambridge outscored the Raiders 11 to 2 to end the quarter to lead 35 to 27 after 3.  Ambridge held off the Raiders in the 4th for the 45 to 38 win.  Katie Fischer hit 5-3 pointers for Ambridge and scored a game high 17 points.  Lydia Dennis and Danasha Harris paced Uniontown with 10 points a piece.  The loss ended Uniontown's 11 game winning streak and ends the Raiders season with a 17-3 record.  Ambridge improves to 15-8 and advances to the quarterfinals on Saturday. 

South Park Eagles 54 – Indiana Little Indians 38 
The 3^rd-seed Eagles jumped out to a big first half lead and cruised the rest of the way for a 16-point victory over the Little Indians at Gateway High School. South Park led 15-7 after the opening quarter and increased their lead to 29-12 by halftime. The Eagles had three players end up with double digit points led by Shelby Lindsay’s game high 20 points. Teammates Halie Torris had 12 points and Breanna Raymond chipped in with 10 points for South Park, who improves to 20-2 and will move on to battle 6^th-seed Hampton on Saturday afternoon at North Allegheny High School. The season comes to an end for Indiana with a record of 16-8. The Little Indians were paced by Lucy Bujdos 12 points.

Hampton Talbots 34 – Quaker Valley Quakers 25 
The #6 seeded Hampton Talbots advanced to the Quarterfinal Round of the Girls Triple A basketball playoffs with a 34-25 win over the #11 seeded Quaker Valley Quakers at Moon Area High School on Wednesday night.  The first half was a titanic defensive struggle with Hampton taking a 6-4 first quarter lead and then extending its advantage to 13-4 at the half by employing a variety of stifling zone defenses to hold the Quakers scoreless in the second period.  Quaker Valley’s offense came to life in the third quarter as the Quakers narrowed Hampton’s lead to 22-19.  But the Talbots defense regained control as Hampton outscored Quaker Valley 14-6 in the final period to secure the win.  Hampton (18-5) was led by senior center Sara Pilarski with 10 points.  The Talbots will play #3 seed South Park on Saturday afternoon in the quarterfinals at a site and time to be determined.  Quaker Valley was paced by senior guard Sierra Perlik with 13 points.  The Quakers end their season at 13-10.

WPIAL CLASS A First Round:

Vincentian Academy Royals 59 – West Greene Pioneers 15 
Number one seed Vincentian Academy had little trouble disposing of West Greene Wednesday night in the WPIAL class A girls basketball playoffs at Char Valley Highschool. Behind the strong play of sophomore Brenna Wise the Lady Royals raced out to a 35-4 halftime lead and never looked back. Wise finished with 18 points and really controlled the entire game. The only downside for Vincentian was the numerous easy points right below the basket that they could not convert. West Greene got 8 points from junior Madison Raber. The final score was Vincentian 59 West Greene 15. Vincentian will now play Winchester Thurston on Saturday.

Winchester Thurston Bears 45 – Union Scotties 36 
At Cornell High School in WPIAL girls single A first round playoff action the 8th seeded Winchester Thurston Bears beat the 9th seed Union Scotties 45-36. They Improve to 13-8 on the year and will play the number one seeded Vincentian Royals on Saturday February 23rd at a site and time to be determined. In the game Union led early and there were three quick lead changes late in the first quarter, before the Bears took the lead for good at 9-8. From that point they never looked back as they led 20-18 at the half behind 9 first half points from Sr point guard Brytney Humphries. In the first half Union got 8 from their Sr guard Miranda Meaney to keep it close. Meaney had two three pointers to match her twin sister Marissa who also had two.The Bears had a huge third quarter and outscored the Scotties by 5 to lead 34-27 at the end of three. Winchester changed their offense and went to the bigs down low as Alexandra Siegel had 12 second half points after not scoring in the first half. A tight fourth quarter with good foul shooting and ball handling by the Bears took them to the 9 point victory. For Union their season ends at 11-11. They were led in scoring by the Heaney sisters. Miranda with 14, and Marissa with 8. Tyanna Harris chipped in with 9. For Winchester Thurston Alexis Lonero had 13 points to lead them, 8 in the second half. Siegel helped with 12, all in the second half and Humphries talllied 11.

Serra Catholic Eagles 85 – Jefferson-Morgan Rockets 45 
The Serra Catholic Eagles soared into the quarterfinals with a 40-point win over Jefferson-Morgan, 85-45. Jefferson-Morgan played a good first quarter after falling behind at the start and even held a lead throughout a good portion of the later minutes of the quarter, but the Eagles regained a 12-9 lead at the end of the quarter and never looked back. Led by the the Siegs, Megan and Katie, the Eagles scored 22 in the second quarter while holding the Rockets to only 5. The lead was up to 20 at the half. The rout continued with the Eagles outscoring the Rockets by 10 in each of the last two quarters. Megan Sieg was the game's top scorer with 18 and Katie Sieg added 15. Also in double-digits for Serra Catholic was Lindsay Muschar with 11. The Rockets were led by 16 points from Kayla Yorko, who hit four 3-pointers and Jessica Taylor, who finished with 11 points.

Rochester Rams 46 – Monessen Greyhounds 37 
Rams head coach Jen Milne exorcised some playoff demons as Rochester defeated Monessen for the first time in 4 tries in Milne's 13 year career. Rochester got 18 points and 19 rebounds from sophomore forward Demi McFrazier. McFrazier got significant help from Kayla Besong, who added 16 points for the Rams (12-11). Monessen's outstanding senior Mariah Ward led the way with 16 points and Cara Grogan scored 12 points off the bench for the Greyhounds. Rochester added to their 18-14 halftime lead by outscoring Monessen 15-9 in the 3rd QTR. Monessen couldn't get much closer in the 4th quarter as their season ends with a record of 9-13. Rochester gains access to the quarterfinals and will face 2nd-seeded Serra Catholic.