WPIAL Championship Game Previews For Saturday

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, March 2, 2017 | 7:04 PM

The weekend concludes with five championship games on Saturday. Two bitter section rivals will battle in each of the boys games, while the girls games will have a first time participant and some lower seeds taking the floor in hopes of winning gold.

Below are previews of all the games, listed in order, Catch all the action on the NETWORK, with game broadcasts, Center Stage videos, articles photos and so much more.

2017 WPIAL CLASS 3-A GIRLS BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME:
#1 Bishop Canevin Crusaders (18-5) vs #3 Neshannock Lancers (23-1) AT The Petersen Events Center at the University of Pittsburgh on Saturday, March 4th at 11:00am on MSAsports.net

Breakfast at the Pete will see a team with lots of championship experience versus a team with none, though their coach has plenty.

Bishop Canevin won last year’s AA crown and has played in a ton of big games, having made 7 straight trip to at least the semifinals. The Crusaders are stingy on defense, allowing 31 points per game.

Coach Tim Joyce loaded his schedule this year, starting the season 1-1 in the She Got Game Classic in Washington DC and fell to 5-A finalist Char Valley. A 2-1 trip to Palm Beach post-Christmas and a loss to 2-A finalist and 5-time champion Vincentian Academy started a stretch of 7 straight wins before a loss to South Fayette.

The Crusaders have won 4 straight entering the finals, defeating Riverside 54-25 and Carlynton 45-24 on the Path to the Pete. BC led only 16-13 at the half but held Carlynton to just 11 points over the last 16 minutes.

Brionna Allen led Bishop Canevin with 18 points in the semis, she is averaging 15.5 in the post season.

Shamyjha Price had 12 in the semis, while guard Sarah Green posted 13 in the quarters.  Gillian Gustine and Lauren Gamble are both threats from behind the arc.

Neshannock has but one loss on the year a 35-32 defeat by Cornell in the Moon tournament, the Raiders are in the 1-A finals. Head Coach Luann Grybowski posted her 600th win in January at Beaver Falls, she is no stranger to the finals having won at New Castle.

The Lancers defeated Charleroi 65-36 and East Allegheny 34-33 to advance to Saturday. Bella Burrelli sealed the win with a pair of free throws with 18 seconds left.

Burrelli is only a sophomore, she posted 18 points and 10 rebounds in the semis. Get out of her way when she slashes the lane and she also leads the Lancers in bumps, bruises and scrapes from diving on the floor.

By no means is Neshannock a single threat to score. Carmie Matarazzo can shoot the three or drive the lane. Aidan Noga runs the point and Ally Zarilla comes off the bench after returning from a knee injury and provides a spark.

Burrelli and Regan Moorhouse lead the defense, which is the WPIAL’s best at 28.5 points per game. The Lancers have held opponents under 30 points nine times this season. That defense turns to offense as the Lancers will look to run and attack the glass.

Neshannock has two seniors, so the Lancers may be a force for three more years to come.

2017 WPIAL CLASS 4-A BOYS BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME:
#1 New Castle Red Hurricane (22-2) vs #2 Quaker Valley Quakers (22-2) AT The Petersen Events Center at the University of Pittsburgh on Saturday, March 4th at 1:00pm on MSAsports.net

It seemed like these teams were destined to meet for the 4-A crown from the time the new classifications were announced. Placed in the same section, both teams traded home court wins with the rubber match coming on the biggest stage of all.

New Castle won their 29th section title with a 13-1 record, one game better than Quaker Valley. The Red Hurricanes have won 10 WPIAL titles, including a pair of three-peats in 1997-99 and 2012-14. The Canes have made 9 straight trips to the playoffs but since Ralph Blundo arrived in 2011, New Castle has gone to a whole new level.

Blundo is 176-21 at New Castle in that period with three undefeated regular seasons. Counting 26 wins at George Junior Republic, Blundo has 202 career wins with win 200 coming versus Moon in the regular season finale.

Ne-Ca-Hi defeated McGuffey 73-40 and Central Valley 61-33 to advance to Saturday. What is amazing is that New Castle struggled early in both of those games. The Canes led 27-25 at the half against McGuffey and preceeded to outscore the Highlanders 29-3 in the third. On Wednesday night, New Castle trailed 7-0 to start and allowed only 26 points the rest of the way.

New Castle has won 8 straight games. Geno Stone leads the Canes at 16 points per game, he scored his average in one quarter in the semis, finishing with 22. An Iowa football recruit, he has 79 three-pointers this season. Marcus Hooker is the brother of Ohio State defensive back and likely NFL 1st round pick Malik Hooker and is also drawing major college football interest. Hooker averages 14 points and leads the team in rebounds. Gino DeMonico is right around 12 points per game and can shoot the three. Te’Quawn Stewart and Garrett Farah round out the lineup. New Castle averages 9 three-pointers and 10 steals per game.

Quaker Valley won the AA crown in 1997. Coach Mike Mastroianni is no stranger to big games, having posted over 400 wins in his 25year career. The Quakers have made 13 straight playoff trips and have averaged over 20 wins per season during the same period.
The Quakers defeated South Fayette 56-44 and avenged a loss to Beaver Falls on Wednesday with a 68-50 win for their 6th straight win. QV placed 4 players in double figures in the semis as Danny Conlan and Ricky Guss both had 18, Wolf Moser 15 and Coletrane Washington with 13.

QV can beat you in a variety of ways. Conlan might be the most dangerous of all 5 starters. He goes like a freight train thru Leetsdale to the rack and has posed a matchup problem for New Castle in both games. Guss is double-tough and locks down on defense, he showed his skill when he took over at QB for the football team and racked up several touchdowns running from the Wildcat formation. Washington can shoot the three but he is prone to hot & cold streaks. Moser always seems to be around the 12-15 point mark while point guard Amos Luptak is the glue that holds it all together.

Neither team is deep, both will use 6 players if the situation dictates. QV has to avoid a huge scoring run by New Castle and both teams will pressure and force turnovers. 

2017 WPIAL CLASS 5-A GIRLS BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME:
#4 Oakland Catholic Eagles (22-3) vs #6 Chartiers Valley Colts (19-6) AT The Petersen Events Center at the University of Pittsburgh on Saturday, March 4th at 3:00pm on MSAsports.net

The Colts will attempt to win the school’s first girls basketball title while the Eagles look for their first title since 2006. Oakland Catholic holds a 41-33 win over Char Valley on January 21 in Oakland. 

Oakland Catholic has won 11 straight games under the direction of Shannon Kearney. Their losses were to 4-A finalist CWNC, Gateway and 6-A finalist Bethel Park. The Eagles defeated Blackhawk and Winchester Thurston, who also will play for gold this week.

In the playoffs, the Eagles beat Connellsville 42-24, Mars 54-41 and Hampton 44-37 to advance.

Sophomore Sierra DeAngelo brought the Eagles back from a eight point halftime deficit with eight of her 21 points coming in the third quarter. DeAngelo did the same thing in the quarterfinals, posting 17 points with 13 in the second half.

Gabrielle Gevaudan is averaging 12.5 points over the last 2 games. Alexis Sestric can be deadly from outside, hitting 4 three-pointers versus Mars.

Char Valley has won 10 straight since the Oakland Catholic loss. Dan Slain has led the Colts to wins over Thomas Jefferson 53-32, South Fayette 48-31 and Trinity 47-35. 

The Colts needed a lights out performance from Mackenzie Wagner to head to the title game, literally. After power was restored with 1:53 left in the game, Wagner hit 10 of her game high 26 points to lead the Colts.

Freshman Megan McConnell was averaging 16 points over her last 9 games, but she she turned the heat up defensively in the semis, holding Trinity’s all time leading scorer Sierra Kotchman scoreless. 

Gabi Legister can score as well, she put up 21 from the low block in the South Fayette win.

2017 WPIAL CLASS 6-A GIRLS BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME:
#1 North Allegheny Tigers (23-1) vs #7 Bethel Park Black Hawks (19-6) AT The Petersen Events Center at the University of Pittsburgh on Saturday, March 4th at 7:00pm on MSAsports.net

The Tigers enter the championship on a 13 game winning streak with only a loss to Pine Richland. North Allegheny defeated Hempfield 40-16 and Mount Lebanon 61-44 to head to the Pete. North Allegheny is making their second straight trip to the finals but has come up without a title. Spencer Stefko directs the Tigers.

Sophomore Rachel Martindale has been the Tigers leading scorer in the post season with 17 and 22 points in the two games.

Junior Madelyn Fischer does the job in the low post, averaging 12.5 points in the playoffs. Piper Morningstar can hit from behind the arc. Haley Zeise is a Stoney Brook recruit.

The Tigers have the best defense in 6-A, allowing just 37 points per game.

Bethel Park has won 9 straight with victories over Penn-Trafford 38-36, Pine Richland 52-44 and Penn Hills 41-36. The Blackhawks claimed gold in 2013 under the direction of Jonna Burke.

It may be a reach, but the return of Justina Mascaro might have something to do with it. Out with an ACL injury, Mascaro has returned as a force, scoring 16 points in each of the last two games.

Kamryn Lach can score from the outside, with 3 triples in the semifinals and is a shut down defender.

2017 WPIAL CLASS 6-A BOYS BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME:
#1 Pine-Richland Rams (23-1) vs #7 Butler Golden Tornado (17-8) AT The Petersen Events Center at the University of Pittsburgh on Saturday, March 4th at 9:00pm on MSAsports.net

Section 1 foes meet for the third time on Saturday to wind up 12 games of basketball heaven. The Rams won both meeting this year 56-55 at home and 64-59 at Butler.

Pine-Richland looks to go back to back after besting North Hills in last year’s title game. That’s something that Coach Jeff Ackerman knows about, winning three straight titles while at Moon. The Rams started 19-0 before being upset by Seneca Valley in section play, they have rebounded with 4 straight wins.

The Rams defeated Canon McMillan 87-64 and North Hills 85-62 to head back to the Pete. In Wednesday’s semifinal, Andrew Petcash scored 30  points, 10 over his season average. The Rams forced the Indians to play from behind all night and got balanced scoring as well. Evan Luellen had 18, Phil Jurkovic 17 and Andrew Kristofic 11.

Jurkovic averages 16 per game and is a prized D-1 football recruit as one of the nation’s top
QB’s and shows that leadership and skill on the court as well. Kristofic, at 6-5, can be a tough matchup for any time.

The Rams force the turnover and will capitalize on the break. P-R shoots well from the line, shown in closing out the Canon Mac win.

Butler hasn’t been to the title game since 2000 , the Golden Tornado have 4 WPIAL titles dating back to 1912, the last was in 1991. Posting a 7-5 section record wasn’t easy but Coach Matt Clement got his team into the playoffs, securing a spot with a win over Seneca Valley. Butler has won 6 straight games since a loss to 5A finalist Hampton.

Opening with a first round win over Baldwin 71-62, Butler then knocked out Latrobe 70-64 before defeating Woodland Hills 54-36 to head to the Pete. Freshman Ethan Morton led Butler with 23 points while Tyler Fredrick posted a double-double of 13 points and 11 boards. Woodland Hills led 7-0 to start but following a timeout, the momentum chanced for Butler.

Morton is a matchup nightmare for coaches, playing point guard at 6-5.

Fredrick is the leading scorer at 15 per game, but has to stay out of foul trouble. He led with 22 points in the Latrobe victory. Joel Stutz and Connor Ollio are key contributors to the Butler offense.

Clement used a 2-3 zone to shut down Woodland Hills in the semis.