WPIAL Class 6A girls basketball championship breakdown: North Allegheny vs. Upper St. Clair
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Friday, March 12, 2021 | 5:51 PM
North Allegheny’s Emma Fischer (left) celebrates with Paige Morningstar after hitting a 3-pointer against Penn-Trafford during their game on Monday, Jan. 25, 2021, at Penn-Trafford High School.
Upper St. Clair’s Paige Dellicarri (20) celebrates with Molly James after James was fouled shooting a three-pointer during their game on Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021, at Bethel Park High School.
WPIAL Class 6A girls basketball championship
No. 1 North Allegheny vs. No. 2 Upper St. Clair
8 p.m. Saturday at Peters Township
On the air: 95.3 FM; TribHSSN.TribLive.com (video stream)
Winner plays: District 6, 8 or 10 champion in PIAA quarterfinals, March 19
How they got here: North Allegheny had a first-round bye; defeated No. 9 Baldwin, 59-39, in the quarterfinals; and beat No. 4 Mt. Lebanon, 49-36, in the semifinals. After a first-round bye, Upper St. Clair topped No. 10 Pine-Richland, 63-39, in the quarterfinals; and No. 3 Norwin, 33-31, in the semifinals.
Starting lineups
North Allegheny (23-1)
Coach: Spencer Stefko
No., Player, Pos., Ht., Yr.
3, Jasmine Timmerson, G, 5-7, So.
4, Kellie McConnell, G, 5-3, Fr.
20, Emma Fischer, G, 5-8, Jr.
25, Paige Morningstar, G/F, 6-1, Sr.
32, Lizzy Groetsch, G, 5-11, Sr.
Upper St. Clair (15-2)
Coach: Pete Serio
No., Player, Pos., Ht., Yr.
4, Alexandra Prunzik, G, 5-7, Sr.
14, Samantha Prunzik, G, 5-6, So.
20, Paige Dellicarri, G, 5-6, So.
21, Molly James, F, 5-10, Jr.
42, Katelyn Robbins, F, 6-1, So.
Title-game history: North Allegheny is in the WPIAL finals for the sixth straight season and has won three titles (2017, ‘18, ‘20). Upper St. Clair has won six titles (1973, ‘93, ‘94, ‘96, 2003, ‘08).
Notable: Defending champion North Allegheny has been atop the WPIAL rankings since the preseason. The Tigers’ lone loss came against Class 5A No. 1 Trinity on Feb. 20, which snapped a 30-game winning streak. North Allegheny rolled to the Section 1 title with a 14-0 record. Senior guard Lizzy Groetsch, a Penn recruit, had 19 points and 13 rebounds in the semifinal victory. Senior Paige Morningstar is a Louisville volleyball recruit. … USC has won 14 of its past 15 games behind a stingy defense that allows a Class 6A-best 33.9 points per game. The lone loss in that stretch came against Class 5A finalist Chartiers Valley. USC lost to North Allegheny, 65-41, on Jan. 9 and also lost to the Tigers in last year’s WPIAL semifinals. Sophomore Paige Dellicarri had nine points to lead USC in the semifinals and also had 16 points in the quarterfinals.
Bill Hartlep is the TribLive sports editor. A Pittsburgh native and Point Park graduate, he joined the Trib in 2004, covering high school sports. He held various editing roles before assuming his current position in 2019. He can be reached at bhartlep@triblive.com.
Tags: North Allegheny, Upper St. Clair
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