A-K Valley basketball playoff preview capsules: Games of Feb. 19, 2020

By: Michael Love
Tuesday, February 18, 2020 | 4:19 PM

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Girls

Class 3A

First Round

No. 8 Seton LaSalle (14-7) vs. No. 9 Deer Lakes (13-9)

6:30 p.m. Wednesday at North Allegheny

Winner plays: No. 1 Beaver (19-3) Saturday in the quarterfinals

Coaches: Jordan Giles, Seton LaSalle; Dave Petruska, Deer Lakes

Points scored/allowed: Seton LaSalle, 51.2/47.7; Deer Lakes, 44.7/37.9

Players to watch: Chloe Lestitian, Seton LaSalle (sr., G); Makayla Blair, Deer Lakes (sr., G)

About Seton LaSalle: The Rebels returned all but one player from last year’s team that lost to Deer Lakes in a WPIAL first-round game. Seton LaSalle finished runner-up to No. 4 South Park in the Section 2 standings. The Rebels lost their last three in section after starting 11-0. Lestitian (11.9 ppg.) and seniors Sarah Merlina (11.4) and Vanessa Hudson (11.1) lead the team in scoring. Seton LaSalle is a seven-time WPIAL champion. It captured four Class AA titles in five years from 2011-15.

About Deer Lakes: The Lancers are in the WPIAL playoffs for the 23rd time in program history. Deer Lakes finished tied with East Allegheny for third place in Section 3 at 9-5. The Lancers led Section 3 in scoring defense at 37.9 points a game. That total ranked third in Class 3A behind Beaver (29.7) and Avonworth (33.2). Sophomore starting guard Nikki Fleming is slated to return after recovering from a concussion that kept her out of the final four games of the regular season.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Deer Lakes, Seton La Salle