2022 WPIAL Class 4A girls basketball championship breakdown: Blackhawk vs. Knoch

By: Bill Hartlep
Friday, March 4, 2022 | 5:11 PM

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WPIAL Class 4A girls basketball championship

No. 1 Blackhawk vs. No. 3 Knoch

3 p.m. Saturday, Petersen Events Center

On the air: Video livestream: TribHSSN.TribLive.com; Audio: WBVP-AM 1230, WBVP-FM 99.3, WMBA-AM 1460, WISR-AM 680, FM 107.5

WPIAL titles: Blackhawk 7 (1996, ‘97, ‘99, 2000, ‘11, ‘14, ‘15); Knoch 0

Blackhawk (23-0)

Coach: Steve Lodovico

Projected starting lineup

No., Name, Ht., Cl., Pos.

2, Kassie Potts, 5-4, jr., G

5, Quinn Borroni, 5-10, jr., F

11, Alena Fusetti, 5-9, so., G

13, Casey Nixon, 5-8, sr., G

22, Jillian Mannarino, 5-9, sr., G

Notable: Blackhawk lost to Knoch, 51-45, in the WPIAL quarterfinals last season. … The Cougars came out motivated this season and rolled through the regular season undefeated, including a 14-0 mark in Section 2. … They averaged 66.9 points, which was tops in 4A and allowed 32.9 points per game, which was second best in 4A to Knoch (31.1). … The Cougars beat No. 8 Quaker Valley, 62-24, in the quarterfinals and No. 5 Elizabeth Forward, 76-53, in the semifinals. … Sophomore guard Alena Fusetti caught fire in the semifinals, hitting eight 3-pointers and scoring 28 points. Junior guard Kassie Potts added 14 points, and junior forward Quinn Borroni had 12. … Blackhawk is looking for its eighth WPIAL title but first in Class 4A. … Coach Steve Lodovico surpassed 300 career wins this season.

Knoch (21-2)

Coach: Chris Andreassi

Projected starting lineup

No., Name, Ht., Cl., Pos.

12, Karlee Buterbaugh, 5-11, fr., G/F

13, Hattie McGraw, 5-6, jr., G

15, Naturelle Ewing, 5-6, so., G

25, Nina Shaw, 5-3, jr., G

33, Madilyn Boyer, 5-10, sr., G

Notable: Knoch celebrated its first section title in 50 years last month and celebrated its first trip to the WPIAL finals after a 56-45 semifinal win over No. 2 Southmoreland. Knoch also took down No. 6 Montour in the quarterfinals, 67-48. … The Knights reached the WPIAL semifinals last year before falling to Beaver. … The Knights are led by senior guard Maddie Boyer and junior guard Nina Shaw. Boyer had a career-high 27 points in the semifinals. Shaw scored 15, including 11 in the fourth quarter. … Shaw scored 21 points in last season’s win over Blackhawk. … Knoch finished 12-0 in Section 1 and hasn’t lost since a Dec. 22 defeat at Mars.

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: Blackhawk, Knoch