High school roundup for March 15, 2022: Dynamic duo carries North Catholic into state semifinals

By: Tribune-Review
Tuesday, March 15, 2022 | 11:17 PM

Purchase Photo Options

Alayna Rocco and Dacia Lewandowski each recorded double-doubles, leading WPIAL champion North Catholic to a 60-52 victory over Forest Hills in the PIAA Class 3A girls basketball quarterfinals Tuesday night.

Rocco had 26 points and 10 rebounds. Lewandowski had 22 points and 10 boards. The Trojanettes (22-5) broke a 42-42 tie with an 18-10 advantage over Forest Hills (21-8) in the fourth quarter.

North Catholic faces Freedom in the semifinals Friday. Lexi Koeck led Forest Hills with 18 points. Remi Smith had 13 and Addison Schirato 12.

Freedom 56, River Valley 50 – Renae Mohrbacher sank a shot in the final 30 seconds for what proved to be the game-winning basket and hit two free throws with 16 seconds remaining to propel Freedom (21-5) past River Valley (24-5) in the PIAA quarterfinals. Shaye Bailey added a steal and a layup in the final seconds to cap the victory. Renae Mohrbacher had 20 points, Bailey scored 19 and Jules Mohrbacher netted 14. Freedom led by 12 at halftime, but River Valley roared back and took a five-point lead in the fourth quarter. Freshman Ava Persichetti led River Valley with 16 points.The Bulldogs will face North Catholic for the fourth time this season in the semifinals Friday.

Class 6A

Mt. Lebanon 46, Easton 31 – Mt. Lebanon (26-1) raced out to a 34-11 lead at halftime on its way to a win in the PIAA quarterfinals. Ashleigh Connor paced the Blue Devils with 23 points. Anye Staton scored 15 for Easton (27-3). The Blue Devils will play Central Dauphin in Friday’s semifinals.

Class 2A

Neshannock 51, Shenango 17 – WPIAL champion Neshannock (27-2) jumped out to a 19-0 lead after one quarter to win in the Class 2A quarterfinals, defeating Shenango (16-10) for the fourth time this season. Neshannock will meet Bellwood Antis in Friday’s semifinals.

Boys basketball

Class 4A

Archbishop Carroll 56, Montour 54 – Diaun Pinkett netted a game-high 18 points, but Montour (22-6) fell to Archbishop Carroll (15-10) in the PIAA quarterfinals. Vason Stevenson had 13 points for the Spartans and Tyriq Eleam scored 12. Dean Coleman-Newsome scored 16 for Archbishop Carroll, which will play Quaker Valley in Friday’s semifinals.

Quaker Valley 54, Fairview 48 – Markus Frank scored 29 points and set a Quaker Valley single-season points record to help the Quakers (26-0) edge District 10 champion Fairview (25-3) in the PIAA quarterfinals. Frank has 701 points on the season, breaking Rich Woznicki’s record of 691 set 41 years ago. Adou Thiero had 19 points for the Quakers and sank a pair of crucial free throws in the final seconds. Tyler Shultz had 17 points for Fairview. The Quakers will face Archbishop Carroll in Friday’s semifinals.

Class A

Bishop Canevin 53, Imani Christian 45 – Kevaughn Price scored 15 points and Jaden Gales added 14 as WPIAL champion Bishop Canevin (23-4) advanced to the PIAA semifinals. Amari Evans scored 10 for the Crusaders, who will meet Elk County on Friday. Bez Abdul scored 12 points and Avery Wesley had 11 for Imani Christian (17-7), which led 13-9 after one quarter. Crusaders broke open a close game with a 16-9 run in the third quarter.

Elk County 52, Union 45 – Charlie Brendel scored 25 points to lead Elk County in the Class A quarterfinals. Jordan Wasco and Adam Straub had 10 each for Elk County (25-5), which will meet Bishop Canevin in Friday’s semifinals. Matt Stanley led Union (24-4) with 20 points. Mark Stanley had 12 and Peyton Lombardo added 11. Union took an 18-8 lead after one quarter. Elk County responded with a 15-3 run in the second.