A-K Valley basketball playoff capsules: Games for Feb. 24, 2023

By: Michael Love
Thursday, February 23, 2023 | 5:46 PM

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WPIAL Girls Basketball Playoffs

Class 4A

Quarterfinals

6-Highlands (15-7) vs. 3-Elizabeth Forward (17-5)

6 p.m. Friday at Gateway High School, Monroeville

Winner plays: Winner of 7-Beaver Area (14-8) at 2-North Catholic (19-3) on Tuesday in semifinals (site/time TBD)

Players to Watch: Kalleigh Nerone, Highlands; Julia Resnik, Elizabeth Forward

Layup lines: Highlands is playing in the quarterfinals for the second straight season. The Golden Rams fell to Southmoreland in the round of eight last year. With the WPIAL taking only six teams to states, Highlands was eliminated under the follow-the-leader format when the Scotties lost in the semifinals. The winner of Friday’s game also clinches a spot in the PIAA playoffs. Highlands advanced to the quarterfinals with a 54-34 victory over No. 11 Laurel Highlands on Tuesday. Junior Katelyn Myers led all scorers with 21 points. Fellow juniors Nerone and Jocelyn Bielak added 13 and 12 points, respectively. Highlands has scored 50 or more points in a win 14 times this season and is averaging 51.6 per game. … Elizabeth Forward is back in title contention after reaching the WPIAL semifinals and making the PIAA playoffs last year. The Warriors normally would be playing this quarterfinal game at home, but a fire that damaged part of the school Feb. 12 forced the game to be moved to an alternate site. EF picked up the No. 3 seed after winning Section 3 with a 12-0 record. A 75-70 loss to Class 6A playoff qualifier Baldwin snapped an eight-game win streak. The Warriors are built for the next couple of years, too, as there are no seniors on the roster and just one junior.

5-Knoch (15-8) at 4-Quaker Valley (15-7)

6 p.m. Friday, at Quaker Valley High School, Leetsdale

Winner plays: Winner of 8-Belle Vernon (15-8) at 1-Blackhawk (19-3) on Tuesday in semifinals (site/time TBD)

Players to watch: Hattie McGraw, Knoch; Oumou Thiero, Quaker Valley

Layup lines: Knoch is in the WPIAL quarterfinals for the fourth year in a row, and it is seeking its third straight trip to the semifinals. The Knights scored a resounding 53-21 victory over No. 12 Hopewell in the first round Tuesday. The win got Knoch back in the win column after losses to North Catholic and Laurel to end the regular season. Senior Nina Shaw led all scorers with 24 points, and fellow senior Megan Vasas added 11. The Knights limited the Vikings to 13 points through three quarters. … Quaker Valley was the WPIAL runner-up in 2020-21 and reached the PIAA playoffs last year. Thiero, a freshman, leads the Quakers at 13.2 points per game, and senior guards Nora Johns (11.5) and Maria Helkowski (11.2) also score in double figures. Quaker Valley won four of five games to cap the regular season and finish runner-up to top-seeded Blackhawk in Section 2.

Boys

Class 5A

Consolation round

7-Mars (15-9) vs. 11-Fox Chapel (14-10)

7 p.m. Friday at Hempfield Area High School, Hempfield Township

Winner plays: Winner of 8-South Fayette (14-10)/12-McKeesport (11-11) in WPIAL fifth-place game Tuesday (time, site TBD). Losers play in seventh-place game Tuesday (time, site TBD).

Players to watch: Tasso Sfanos, Mars; Jefferson Moorefield-Brown

Layup lines: Mars tied for second in Section 4 after going 6-4. The Fightin’ Planets have lost five of their past eight games. Sfanos scored 22 points for Mars in Wednesday’s 60-41 loss to No. 2 Penn Hills in the quarterfinals. … Moorefield-Brown had 18 points, and Kameron Greil added 15 for Fox Chapel in a 67-62 loss to No. 3 North Hills in the quarterfinals. The Foxes led 37-27 at halftime but were outscored 17-9 in the third quarter. The defending WPIAL champion Foxes are looking to return to the PIAA playoffs after reaching the state semifinals in Class 6A a year ago. The winner of this game is guaranteed to be one of the seven WPIAL Class 5A teams to advance to the state tournament.

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: Elizabeth Forward, Fox Chapel, Highlands, Knoch, Mars, Quaker Valley