A-K Valley girls basketball notebook: Plum banks quality early season wins

By: Michael Love
Wednesday, December 10, 2025 | 5:47 PM

Plum girls basketball coach Rich Mull said he likes the way his team has started the season with three wins in four games.

Monday’s 43-24 victory over rival Kiski Area (3-1) was a mix of opportunistic offense, game-altering scoring runs, controlling the boards and making plays on defense.

Junior Tamia West finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds, and senior Riley Stephens added 11 points and seven boards.

The triumph over the Cavaliers followed a pair of dominant wins in tournament play at home last Friday and Saturday.

Plum topped Latrobe, 53-33, before rolling past North Hills, 53-37. Latrobe came back on Day 2 of the tournament and scored a 49-46 win over a 3-1 Shaler team that tied for the Section 1-5A title a year ago and finished 20-3 overall.

The Mustangs hope to keep it rolling, and they begin what they hope is a run to a third WPIAL playoff appearance in four years Thursday evening when they visit rival Franklin Regional for their Section 1 opener.

The Panthers swept Plum last year en route to a tie with Shaler for the section crown.

The Mustangs beat FR twice two years ago and went on to finish second to Indiana in Section 1-5A.

Local flair

There is no shortage of local girls matchups in the early season. Plum and Kiski Area was the ninth game involving two Alle-Kiski Valley teams since the start of the season.

The Freeport tournament last Friday and Saturday featured four of those matchups with games involving the host Yellowjackets along with Kiski Area, Highlands and Fox Chapel.

The first night of tournament play saw Kiski Area hold off Freeport, 51-46, while Fox Chapel topped Highlands, 58-14.

Freeport rebounded Saturday and edged Fox Chapel, 35-30, behind 15 points from sophomore Maggie Conger and eight more from freshman Sydney Reiser.

Kiski Area rolled past Highlands, 59-28, with junior Jada Blanciak leading all scorers with 17 and senior Gianna DeVito contributing 12 points.

Bucs start strong

The Burrell girls are off to a hot start, and after suffering a three-point loss to Armstrong in the season opener at the Armstrong tournament, the Bucs have won four straight.

They left no doubt in each game, beating South Allegheny, California, West Shamokin and Mt. Pleasant by an average of 36 points.

The Bucs (4-1) are averaging 60.6 points per game.

Burrell visited California last Thursday and scored a 77-45 win before Monday’s 56-33 home triumph over Mt. Pleasant.

The second quarter was a difference maker against the Vikings as the Bucs carried the frame, 17-3.

Senior Casey Brancato led all scorers with 20 points, and freshman Chase Coury added 15.

Burrell kicks off Section 1-4A play Thursday at home against Highlands.

Spartans challenge themselves

Despite being a small school in Class A, the St. Joseph girls have not been afraid to take on teams from higher classifications in recent seasons in the attempt to test and improve themselves.

That was the case last Saturday in the championship game of the Spartans tipoff tournament at the Walter Dublak Center.

St. Joseph, a top team in Class A the past several seasons, matched up with a West Allegheny team that was on the cusp of making the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs just a year ago. The Indians got the better of the Spartans, 64-35, but coach Geoff Dutelle said the game will benefit his team in the long run.

St. Joseph has lost two in a row after a 2-0 start.

The Spartans held a three-point lead over Serra Catholic at the end of the third quarter of Monday’s nonsection contest before the Eagles rallied for a 61-53 win. Senior Kasey Cienik and sophomore Bella Bartolovic each scored 17 points in the loss.

The slate is clean for St. Joseph moving forward as it looks to battle for the top spot in Section 1-A. A long trip to Western Beaver kicks everything off Thursday. The Spartans return home to face an improved Leechburg team Monday.

The journey begins

Section games all throughout the WPIAL begin Thursday and Friday, and Plum-Franklin Regional, Burrell-Highlands and St. Joseph-Western Beaver are not the only section matchups involving A-K Valley teams.

Freeport (2-2) begins Section 1-4A play Thursday against Derry (1-4) at 7:30 p.m. at Freeport Middle School.

Deer Lakes (2-1) opens at East Allegheny (1-4) on Thursday in a Section 2-3A contest at 6:30 p.m.

Local Section 1-A rivals collide as Springdale (0-4) hopes to get in the win column at Leechburg (3-3).

The Blue Devils, with six games in 12 days, have been one of the busiest teams in the WPIAL this season. Senior Hayven Lookabaugh led Leechburg with 12 points in a 36-34 loss Tuesday at East Allegheny.

Fox Chapel (1-3) hosts Penn Hills (1-1) on Friday in the Section 1-5A opener for both teams. The Foxes tied Plum for third place in Section 1 (7-5) last year and earned a trip to the WPIAL playoffs.

Teddy Bear toss

Those attending Thursday’s game at Burrell are asked to bring a new stuffed animal for the Bucs booster club’s teddy bear toss, which will be at halftime.

All items will be donated to the Burrell, Tarentum/Brackenridge and Harrison police departments to support their efforts when responding to calls involving children.

Opening tip for the game is 7 p.m.

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, Freeport