A-K Valley basketball playoff capsules for games of Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019

By: Doug Gulasy
Monday, February 18, 2019 | 6:27 PM

Boys

Class 6A

No. 6 Fox Chapel (15-7) vs. No. 11 Seneca Valley (11-10)

8 p.m. Tuesday at North Allegheny

Winner plays: No. 3 Mt. Lebanon (19-3) on Saturday in quarterfinals.

Coaches: Zach Skrinjar, Fox Chapel; Kevin Trost, Seneca Valley

Points scored/allowed: Fox Chapel, 59.3/52.6; Seneca Valley, 61.2/61.0

Players to watch: Arnold Vento, Fox Chapel (jr., G); Mason Bush, Seneca Valley (jr., F)

Last WPIAL playoff appearance: Fox Chapel: 2018, quarterfinals (lost to Pine-Richland, 48-39); Seneca Valley, 2018, first round (lost to Canon-McMillan, 57-52)

About Fox Chapel: Fox Chapel beat Seneca Valley, 54-45, earlier this season. The Foxes played one of the more rugged schedules in the WPIAL this season and beat Class 6A No. 1 Pine-Richland and No. 4 Upper St. Clair. The past two seasons, Fox Chapel lost its playoff opener after a first-round bye.

About Seneca Valley: The Raiders finished fourth in Section 1-6A to get the final playoff spot. After winning seven of its first 10 games, the team struggled some down the stretch, dropping seven of its final 11.

Girls

Class 5A

No. 11 Plum (11-11) vs. No. 6 Thomas Jefferson (16-6)

6:30 p.m. Tuesday at North Allegheny

Winner plays: No. 3 Gateway (19-3) on Saturday in quarterfinal round.

Coaches: Steve Elsier, Plum; Lisa Fairman, Thomas Jefferson

Points scored/allowed: Plum, 44.9-46.0/Thomas Jefferson, 60.9/47.7

Players to watch: Kennedie Montue, Plum (so., F); Jenna Clark, Thomas Jefferson (sr., G)

Last WPIAL playoff appearance: Plum: 2018, first round (lost to Trinity, 54-31); Thomas Jefferson, quarterfinals (lost to Gateway, 57-54)

About Plum: The Mustangs lost six of their first eight games but rallied to make the playoffs, winning four of their final five regular-season games. In nine of their 11 victories, they held their opponents below 40 points. Plum’s resume includes a nonsection win over Class A power Greensburg Central Catholic.

About Thomas Jefferson: Clark is a Yale recruit who averages more than 20 points per game. She had more than a dozen Division I offers. TJ finished second in Section 1-5A behind Chartiers Valley and has won its past five games. The Jaguars have the second-best scoring offense in Class 5A.

Class A

No. 12 Leechburg (7-12) vs. No. 5 Vincentian (10-11)

6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Hampton

Winner plays: No. 4 Clairton (16-4) on Friday in quarterfinals.

Coaches: Andre Carter, Leechburg; Ron Moncrief, Vincentian

Points scored/allowed: Leechburg, 30.8/45.3; Vincentian, 53.2/39.4

Players to watch: Kat Yurjevich, Leechburg (sr., G); Hannah Katz, Vincentian (sr., F)

Last WPIAL playoff appearance: Leechburg: 2018, quarterfinals (lost to Trinity, 54-31); Vincentian, 2018, finals (beat Chartiers-Houston, 62-47)

About Leechburg: The Blue Devils finished fourth in Section 3-A, qualifying for the playoffs for a school-record fourth consecutive season. They advanced to the PIAA tournament each of the past two years. Leechburg replaced all five starters from last season, including career 2,000-point scorer Mikayla Lovelace.

About Vincentian: The Royals have 11 WPIAL titles, including seven this decade. After a 3-8 start, Vincentian recovered to finish in a three-way tie for second place in Section 1-A. The Royals defeated Leechburg, 63-19, in a nonsection game in December.

— Doug Gulasy

Doug Gulasy is a Tribune-Review Staff Writer. You can contact Doug at 412-388-5830, dgulasy@tribweb.com or via Twitter .

Tags: Fox Chapel, Leechburg, Plum, Seneca Valley, Thomas Jefferson, Vincentian Academy