WPIAL Class 6A girls basketball breakdown
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Saturday, December 1, 2018 | 7:12 PM
Class 6A
Preseason Player of the Year
Makenna Marisa, Peters Township
5-11, Sr., guard
22.9 ppg last season
Players to watch
Maria Cerro, Bethel Park
5-7, Jr., G, 13.9 ppg
McKenna Gross, Seneca Valley
5-6, Sr., G, 15.1 ppg
Rachel Martindale, North Allegheny
5-9, Sr., G, 15.3 ppg
Isabella Mills, Peters Township
5-11, Sr., G/F, 13.0 ppg
Olivia Westphal, Bethel Par k
5-9, So., G, 14.4 ppg
Preseason Top 5
1. North Allegheny (28-1)
After winning a second straight WPIAL title and reaching the PIAA semifinals, the Tigers again return a talented roster. They are led by Martindale, an Akron recruit who was a first-team all-state selection. She suffered a season-ending knee injury in the WPIAL title game. North Allegheny will miss graduate Piper Morningstar, a third-team all-state pick. Sophomore guard Lizzy Groetsch and senior guard Brynn Serbin also return.
2. Peters Township (21-5)
The Indians were WPIAL runners-up a year ago and feature one of the state’s top players. Marisa, a Penn State recruit, was a first-team all-state honoree last season after averaging 22.9 points. Mills also returns as a talented guard/forward.
3. Bethel Park (19-7)
A PIAA qualifier a year ago, Bethel Park returns two talented guards in Cerro and Westphal, who eached averaged around 14 points.
4. Norwin (12-10)
The Knights will be tested after switching sections and competing against teams north of Pittsburgh. They return three starters — junior forward Olivia Gribble, junior guard Jayla Wehner and senior guard Jessica Kolesar.
5. Mt. Lebanon (13-13)
Senior forward Jamey Napoleon returns to lead the Blue Devils, who finished third in the WPIAL and reached the PIAA playoffs last season.
Notable
• After WPIAL and PIAA realignment, WPIAL Class 6A features two eight-team sections.
• Latrobe, Penn Hills and Penn-Trafford all dropped to Class 5A.
• Connellsville moved up from Class 5A.
• Todd Schoeffel returns to coach Seneca Valley. He was the head coach for the Raiders from 1993-2002 and 2003-06, compiling a record of 151-128.
Alignment
Section 1: Butler, Fox Chapel, North Allegheny, North Hills, Norwin, Pine-Richland, Seneca Valley, Shaler
Section 2: Baldwin, Bethel Park, Canon-McMillan, Connellsville, Hempfield, Mt. Lebanon, Peters Township, Upper St. Clair
— Bill Hartlep
Bill Hartlep is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Bill at bhartlep@tribweb.com or via Twitter @TribHSInsider.
Tags: Bethel Park, Mt. lebanon, North Allegheny, Norwin, Peters Township, Seneca Valley
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