A-K Valley girls basketball notebook: Deer Lakes surpasses win total from past 2 seasons combined

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Wednesday, January 22, 2025 | 12:01 AM


Deer Lakes girls basketball rolled past South Allegheny on Monday, winning the Section 2-3A contest 54-32 for its 11th victory of the season.

The Lancers, with a mix of veteran talent and newcomers giving the program a spark, have surpassed their win total — nine — for the previous two seasons combined.

Deer Lakes had three players scoring in double figures in Monday’s win which completed a season sweep. Sophomore Josie Farster scored 13 points, senior Olivia Ryan had 12, and senior Anna Clark, a transfer from Burrell, added 11.

Monday’s victory also was a bounce back of sorts from a tough 48-38 loss to Riverview at Deer Lakes High School.

Before the game, the 1985 Deer Lakes WPIAL and PIAA Class AA championship team members and coaches were celebrated in a ceremony marking the 40th anniversary of that title season.

The Lancers, 6-3 in the section and 11-5 overall, own additional section victories over East Allegheny (twice), Steel Valley and Ligonier Valley.

Deer Lakes, in the playoff mix with section powers Shady Side Academy, Avonworth and Greensburg Central Catholic, returns to section play Thursday against the Antelopes in a rematch of a 46-20 Avonworth victory from Dec. 19.

Knoch wins rematch

The first meeting between Burrell and Knoch, two of the four teams from Section 1-4A currently in position for WPIAL playoff spots, went in favor of the Knights, 38-28.

Monday’s rematch, which put the winner all alone in third place behind section powers North Catholic and Oakland Catholic, was another competitive matchup.

Both teams elevated their offense from the first meeting, but the result was the same as the Knights prevailed 47-40 to move to 6-2 in the section while also sending the Bucs to 5-3.

Knoch led 29-23 at halftime, but Burrell took the third quarter 9-5 to close the gap to two heading to the fourth. But the Knights held on for their third win in a row.

Junior Neah Ewing led all scorers with 17 points, including three 3-pointers for the Knights, while senior Karlee Buterbaugh added 11.

Sophomore McKenna Miller tallied a team-best 14 for the Bucs, and junior Casey Brancato contributed 11. Senior Jules Fisher just missed double digits with nine points.

Waiting game

While several teams got on the court for games Monday and Tuesday, others were left out in the cold.

Mother Nature’s frigid temperatures forced many area school districts to go to remote flexible learning days. As a result, games involving teams in those districts were postponed.

That included a nonsection clash Tuesday between playoff contenders Riverview (8-3, 3-1 in Section 4-A) and St. Joseph (10-5, 6-2 in Section 1-1A) and Tuesday’s Section 2-5A matchup between Kiski Area (9-5, 3-3) and Indiana (11-3, 5-1).

Kiski and Indiana has been rescheduled for noon Saturday. A makeup date between St. Joseph and Riverview is pending.

Thursday’s schedule

No A-K Valley teams played Wednesday, but there is a full slate of games Thursday evening. Plum at Shaler, Kiski Area at Greensburg Salem, Derry at Burrell, Freeport at Oakland Catholic, Knoch at Highlands, North Catholic at Valley, Deer Lakes at Avonworth, Riverview at Jeannette, Winchester Thurston at Apollo-Ridge, Springdale at Aquinas Academy, St. Joseph at Eden Christian, and Western Beaver at Leechburg.

Friday’s slate of games in the WPIAL features two nonsection matchups involving area teams: Burrell at Plum and Fox Chapel at Woodland Hills.

Foxes rolling

Fox Chapel will take a three-game winning streak into its game with the Wolverines.

The Foxes, who rolled past Plum (41-23 on Jan. 14), Penn Hills (40-24 on Jan. 17) and Gateway (53-23 on Monday) with their trademark defense leading the way, improved to 6-2 in Section 1-5A and kept pace with Franklin Regional (7-0) and Shaler (5-1) at the top of the section standings.

The Foxes are 4-2 in January.

Fox Chapel hosts Franklin Regional on Tuesday in a rematch of a close 40-36 Panthers triumph Jan. 2.

The Foxes held a two-point lead at the end of the first quarter, but an FR 16-6 second-quarter advantage put the Panthers ahead by eight at the break.

FR led by as much as 10 in the fourth before Fox Chapel, on the strength of two layups from Natalia Schaffer, cut the deficit back to single digits down the stretch.

Schaffer led the Foxes against FR with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Fox Chapel continues section play at Armstrong on Jan. 30 and at home against Shaler on Feb. 4.

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.

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