Peters Township, Bethel Park to meet in girls basketball showdown in Thursday’s 3 things to watch in high school sports

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, January 2, 2019 | 9:14 PM

No matter what ranking you speak of when it comes to WPIAL girls basketball, Peters Township and Bethel Park are part of that conversation.

The two South Hills rivals are a combined 6-0 in Section 2-6A and 16-0 overall as they prepare to meet for the first time this season on Thursday.

Last year, the Indians swept the two regular-season meetings between the two powerhouse programs, winning at Bethel Park by one point before beating the Black Hawks, 58-44, at Peters Township.

Then, the two teams split a pair of postseason meetings, with Peters Township rolling past Bethel Park, 55-39, in the WPIAL semifinals. The Black Hawks avoided a four-game sweep by beating the Indians, 44-35, in a PIAA first-round playoff game.

Defense has been a big part of the two teams’ early success this season as Peters Township has allowed 35.5 points per game and Bethel Park 36.1, the two best numbers in all of Class 6A.

Watch the game at 7:30 p.m. on the TribLive High School Sports Network.

Other top girls hoop games

There are five other district girls basketball games involving the top two teams in their respective sections on Thursday.

Trinity visits Chartiers Valley in Section 1-5A. The Hillers are 3-0, a half-game ahead of the 2-0 Colts.

Freeport hosts North Catholic in Section 1-4A. Both the Yellowjackets and defending champion Trojans are 3-0.

Avonworth is at Beaver in Section 1-3A. Both the Antelopes and Bobcats are 3-0 in section play.

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart visits Laurel in Section 1-2A. Both the Chargers and Spartans are 3-0, tied with South Side for first place.

Eden Christian Academy hosts Rochester in Section 1-A. The Warriors are 2-0 and a half-game behind the visiting Rams who are 3-0.

Section splash

For most of the 76 boys’ and 77 girls’ WPIAL swimming teams, section meets begin Thursday.

The North Allegheny boys and girls are the defending Class AAA champions. The Tigers have dominated the district, sweeping gold in boys’ and girls’ swimming for seven straight years.

In Class AA, Northgate was last year’s boys’ champions while Shady Side Academy claimed girls’ gold for a fourth consecutive year.

Here is a list of the defending section champs.

Boys AAA – Penn-Trafford, North Allegheny, Central Catholic, Upper St. Clair, South Fayette

Boys AA – Carlynton, Quaker Valley, Northgate, Indiana, Elizabeth Forward

Girls AAA – Hempfield, North Allegheny, Franklin Regional, Mt. Lebanon, Moon

Girls AA – Carlynton, Blackhawk, Shady Side Academy, Indiana, Elizabeth Forward

The only change from last year among the section champions was Central Catholic joining Upper St. Clair in Section 4-AAA.

Don Rebel is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Don at drebel@tribweb.com or via Twitter @TheDonRebel.

Tags: Avonworth, Beaver, Bethel Park, Chartiers Valley, Eden Christian, Freeport, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Peters Township, Rochester, Trinity