A-K Valley basketball playoff preview capsules for games of Feb. 20, 2023

By: Michael Love
Sunday, February 19, 2023 | 4:17 PM

WPIAL basketball playoffs

Boys

Class 4A

First round

12-Elizabeth Forward (8-13) at 5-Highlands (19-3)

7 p.m. Monday, Highlands High School, Natrona Heights

Winner plays: Winner of 13-Blackhawk (11-11)/4-Hampton (20-2) on Thursday in quarterfinals (time, site TBD)

Players to watch: Andrew Cook, Elizabeth Forward; Bradyn Foster, Highlands

Layup lines: Elizabeth Forward finished fourth in Section 3 with a mark of 4-6. The Warriors, who have won three of their past four games, averaged 56.9 points while allowing 66.8. Cook had 25 points in a 72-70 win over Belle Vernon in the section finale. … Two of Highlands’ three losses were against first-place Hampton in Section 1. The Golden Rams have won five straight, including a dominant win over Class 6A North Allegheny last week. Foster leads the Rams in scoring at 20.7 points per game. Jimmy Kunst (17.6 ppg) and Cam Reigard (15.1 ppg) also average in double figures. The Golden Rams outscore opponents 76.0-52.3.

15-Freeport (13-9) at 2-Laurel Highlands (19-2)

7 p.m. Monday at Laurel Highlands High School, Oliver

Winner plays: Winner of 7-Quaker Valley (14-6)/10-Belle Vernon (10-11) on Thursday in quarterfinals (time, site TBD)

Players to watch: Ben Lane, Freeport; Keondre Deshields, Laurel Highlands

Layup lines: Freeport finished third in Section 1 with a 5-5 record after winning its final two section games. The Yellowjackets average 58.0 points and allow 54.2. Freeport features a veteran lineup with nine seniors that has reached the playoffs for the third straight season. … Laurel Highlands is the defending WPIAL champion and has won two WPIAL titles in the past three seasons. The Mustangs are led by Deshields (22.8 ppg) and guard Rodney Gallagher (21.0 ppg), who are headed to play football at St. Francis (Pa.) and West Virginia, respectively. The Mustangs tied for the Section 3 title with Uniontown and are riding an eight-game winning streak.

Class 3A

First round

12-Ellwood City (15-7) at 5-Deer Lakes (13-8)

7 p.m. Monday at Deer Lakes High School, Cheswick

Winner plays: Winner of 1-Steel Valley (12-9)/16-McGuffey (12-10) on Thursday in quarterfinals (time, site TBD)

Players to watch: Joseph Roth, Ellwood City; Bryce Robson, Deer Lakes

Layup lines: Ellwood City won the 2020-21 WPIAL championship and earned the No. 1 seed in last season’s WPIAL Class 3A playoffs. The Wolverines have won three straight and secured the final playoff spot in Section 1. They average 54.8 points and allow 50.1. Roth averages 29.7 points. … After rising to the No. 1 spot in the Trib HSSN rankings at times this season, the Lancers enter the playoffs winners of eight of their past 10 games. They tied for first in Section 1 with Shady Side Academy. Deer Lakes averages a classification-high 69.4 points and allows 55.1. Robson averages 18.1 points to lead the Lancers.

10-Burrell (13-9) at 7-Yough (15-7)

7 p.m. Monday, Yough High School, Herminie

Winner plays: Winner of 15-Keystone Oaks (9-13)/2-Neshannock (16-5) Thursday in quarterfinals (time, site TBD)

Players to watch: Terek Crosby, Yough; Macky Bennis, Burrell

Layup lines: Yough won its first section title since 2005 and takes a 10-game winning streak into the postseason. The Cougars’ last loss was Jan. 6 against Washington. Crosby is one of the WPIAL’s top scoring juniors. He averages 22.8 points and has three 30-point games this season on the way to 1,000 career points. Forward Austin Matthews is developing into one of the better post players in the area. Yough allows just 39.1 points. … Burrell, the third-place team in Section 3, won four of its last five games to secure a playoff berth. Bennis is a talented scorer, who can produce from long range. He averages 21 points. The Bucs played a strong schedule, with losses to Highlands, Shaler, Monessen and Gateway.

GIRLS

Class A

First Round

12-Geibel Catholic (11-11) at 5-St. Joseph (18-4)

7 p.m. Monday at St. Joseph High School, Natrona Heights

Winner plays: 4-Monessen (15-5) Thursday in quarterfinals (site/time TBD)

Players to watch: Gia Richter, St. Joseph; Emma Larkin, Geibel Catholic

Layup lines: St. Joseph hopes to again capture the magic it had last year when it upset three-time defending WPIAL Class A champion Rochester in the quarterfinals and qualified for the PIAA playoffs. The Spartans hope a challenging regular-season schedule will serve them well in the postseason. St. Joseph won the Section 3 title with an 8-0 record. Its lone losses have come against Class 3A top seed Shady Side Academy, Class 4A No. 6 Highlands, Class 5A North Hills, and Class A third seed Aquinas Academy. Junior guard/forward Julie Spinelli leads the Spartans at 18.4 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 4.2 steals a game. Richter is averaging 10.6 points a game. … The Spartans will be focused on Geibel’s Larkin, a freshman guard who finished the regular season third in the WPIAL in scoring at 23.1 points a game. She scored 45 of her team’s 50 points in a 50-44 win over Avella on Jan. 12. The Lady Gators, who finished fourth in Section 2 behind Monessen, West Greene and Avella, averaged 34.6 points a game in the regular season. Geibel has 11 victories this year after winning just four over the previous four seasons.

10-Avella (12-10) at 7-Riverview (11-10)

7 p.m. Monday at Riverview High School, Oakmont

Winner plays: 2-Bishop Canevin (10-7) Thursday in quarterfinals (site/time TBD)

Players to watch: Lily Bauer, Riverview; Katie Dryer, Avella

Layup lines: Avella finished third in Section 2 behind No. 4 Monessen and No. 8 West Greene. The Eagles had won five in a row before a loss to Monessen to end the regular season. Avella split its season series with West Greene. Dryer leads the Eagles in scoring at 16.5 points a game. She became just the fourth Avella girls basketball player to score 1,000 career varsity points. The Eagles are in the WPIAL playoffs for the seventh year in a row. … Riverview is making its 12th WPIAL-playoff appearance in the last 13 years. The Raiders are seeking their first playoff victory since a 32-28 first-round win over Burgettstown in 2020 when they rallied from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter. Riverview finished 6-2 in Section 3, runner-up to St. Joseph (18-4, 8-0). The Raiders battled the Spartans into the fourth quarter of their Feb. 9 meeting before falling, 38-31. Bauer and Katerina Tsambis, both sophomores; and junior Lola Abraham are Riverview scoring leaders to watch.

9-Leechburg (7-11) at 8-West Greene (12-9)

7 p.m. Monday at West Greene High School, Center Township, Greene County

Winner plays: 1-Union (15-6) Thursday in the quarterfinals (site/time TBD)

Players to watch: Christine Guo, Leechburg; Kasie Meek, West Greene

Layup lines: West Greene won its final two games of the regular season — both section contests — to wrap up second place in Section 2 behind fourth-seeded Monessen. The Pioneers lost a close quarterfinal playoff game to Bishop Canevin last year but received a bid to the PIAA playoffs under the follow-the-leader format when the Crusaders won the WPIAL title. Meek scored a team-high 19 points in West Greene’s game against Class 3A playoff qualifier Charleroi on Feb. 3. … Leechburg returns to the WPIAL playoffs for the first time since 2019. The Blue Devils finished third in Section 3 with a 4-4 record. They swept Jeannette to secure that spot in the standings behind St. Joseph and Riverview. Guo is a leading scorer and one to watch for the Blue Devils. Leechburg hopes to get its offense on track against the Pioneers after averaging just 26.1 points a game in the regular season.

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: Burrell, Deer Lakes, Elizabeth Forward, Ellwood City, Freeport, Highlands, Laurel Highlands, Yough