A-K Valley WPIAL basketball playoff capsules: Games for Friday, Feb. 14, 2025

By: Triblive And Michael Love And Bill Hartlep
Thursday, February 13, 2025 | 9:19 PM

WPIAL basketball playoffs

Friday’s games

Boys

Class 4A

First round

9-Highlands (6-13) at 8-Elizabeth Forward (17-5)

7 p.m. Friday

Winner plays: At No. 1 Belle Vernon (18-4), Wednesday in quarterfinals (time TBD)

Players to watch: Troy Bielak, Highlands; Tyler Basic, Elizabeth Forward

Layup lines: Highlands is in the playoffs for the 11th straight season. The Golden Rams won their final two games to secure fourth place in Section 1. They recovered from a 1-9 start when six players were suspended for the season and coach Bill Flow resigned because of hazing allegations. Troy Bielak, a 6-foot-4 junior, averages 16 ppg. … Elizabeth Forward went 10-2 to finish second in Section 3. The Warriors, who average 63.4 ppg, won nine of 11 games to cap the regular season. EF’s last playoff victory was in 2006. Sophomore point guard Tyler Basic averages 18.2 ppg for the Warriors.

12-West Mifflin (8-14) at 5-Knoch (16-6)

7 p.m. Friday

Winner plays: At No. 4 Avonworth Wednesday in quarterfinals (time TBD)

Players to watch: Daven Reynolds, West Mifflin; Jackson Bauman, Knoch

Layup lines: West Mifflin finished fourth in Section 3 with a 7-5 record. The Titans started 0-7 before earning section sweeps over Yough, East Allegheny and Greensburg Salem, as well as a win over Derry. Reynolds averages nearly 20 points for West Mifflin. … Knoch allows just 46.1 points per game, second best in Class 4A. The Knights finished second in Section 1 at 10-2 after falling to North Catholic, 54-53, on Feb. 4. Knoch has won eight of its past 10 games. Bauman leads Knoch’s scoring at 19 ppg. Zane Pacek is a 7-foot presence inside.

10-Quaker Valley (15-7) at 7-Deer Lakes (16-5)

7 p.m. Friday

Winner plays: At No. 2 North Catholic Wednesday in quarterfinals (time TBD)

Players to watch: Zach Washington, Quaker Valley; Nathaniel Moore, Deer Lakes

Layup lines: Quaker Valley is in the postseason for the 21st straight season. The Quakers won the 2022 and 1997 WPIAL titles. QV, which finished fourth in Section 2 with a 4-6 mark, allows just 46 ppg, second best in 4A. The Quakers are led by junior Zach Washington (13.3 ppg), freshman Nic Cohen (13.2 ppg) and sophomore Sam Chapman (12.6 ppg). The young Quakers have won seven of the past 10 games. … Deer Lakes will begin its quest for a WPIAL championship three-peat. The Lancers are in the playoffs for a ninth straight season. They finished 9-3 in Section 1 after a tough finish to the regular season that included narrow losses to Knoch (48-45) and North Catholic (69-60). They had won nine of 10 games before that. Nathaniel Moore averages more than 20 ppg. Collin Rodgers scored 17 in the loss to North Catholic last week.

Girls

Class 5A

First round

14-Plum (10-12) at 3-Penn-Trafford (22-0)

7 p.m. Friday

Winner plays: Winner of 11-Latrobe (11-10)/6-Thomas Jefferson (18-4) Wednesday (time, site TBD) in quarterfinals

Players to watch: Riley Stephans, Plum; Lauren Marton, Penn-Trafford

Layup lines: Plum rallied to earn a split with Fox Chapel and tied the Foxes for third place in Section 1. The Mustangs average just 41.8 points. Top scoring threats are the hot-shooting Stephans, Serena Carnahan and Tamia West. … Penn-Trafford celebrated its first undefeated regular season since 1973-74. The Warriors also captured their first section title since 2014-15, the year following their only WPIAL title win. Marton (Shippensburg) and Kamryn Pieper (Point Park) are Division II commits who are buoyed by sound guard play and depth.

16-Fox Chapel (13-9) at 2-Peters Township (19-3)

7 p.m. Friday

Winner plays: Winner of 7-Indiana (17-5)/10-Moon (13-7) Wednesday in quarterfinals (site and time TBD)

Players to watch: Natalia Schaffer, Fox Chapel; Natalie Wetzel, Peters Township

Layup lines: Fox Chapel returns to the playoffs after a three-year hiatus. The Foxes finished tied with Plum for third place in Section 1 behind co-champions Franklin Regional and Shaler. Fox Chapel lost three of four to close the regular season, including a nine-point setback to the Mustangs in the section finale Feb. 5, but it fell to No. 4 Shaler by just two points one day earlier. Schaffer, a 5-foot-8 senior forward, has proven to be a top scorer for the Foxes, who also count on junior guard Lyla Jablon and senior guard Bella Urso at both ends of the court. … Wetzel, a 6-foot-3 senior forward, is a Miami (Fla.) commit. She is averaging 21 points and 13 rebounds a game. Peters Township won the Section 4 title with a 12-0 record. Two of the Indians’ three losses came to powerhouse teams from Ohio. Its only WPIAL setback came to Class 6A Mt. Lebanon by three points Monday. PT is scoring at a rate of 57.8 points per game and giving up just 39.8 a contest. Peters Township is seeking its second WPIAL title. Its only other one came in 2019 in Class 6A after finishing as the runner-up the year before. The Indians’ 2019 title run included a quarterfinal win over Fox Chapel at Mt. Lebanon.

Class 3A

First Round

9-Deer Lakes (14-8) at 8-Riverside (14-8)

7 p.m. Friday

Winner plays: 1-Shady Side Academy (22-2) at Fox Chapel, 7 p.m. Wednesday in quarterfinals

Players to watch: Anna Clark, Deer Lakes; Emma Meyer, Riverside

Layup lines: Deer Lakes returns to the playoffs after a two-year hiatus and is led by veteran mentor Dana Petruska. Before the recent postseason absence, the Lancers had qualified seven seasons in a row. Deer Lakes finished fourth in Section 2 behind Shady Side Academy, Greensburg Central Catholic and Avonworth. The Lancers capped the regular season with a 47-43 nonsection victory over former section rival Freeport. Clark, a senior guard/forward, has playoff experience from her time at Burrell. Sophomore guard/forward Josie Farster has proven to be a potent scoring threat for the Lancers. … Riverside won seven of nine to close the regular season. The Panthers were competitive in losses to OLSH and Quaker Valley in the second half of section play. Freshman 5-foot-9 center Ava Cummings scored 15 and Meyer, a freshman guard, tallied 12 in the setback to OLSH, and Meyer led the way with 15 against QV. Riverside is back in the postseason after missing out the past six seasons in which it went a combined 8-62 in section play.

Tags: Deer Lakes, Elizabeth Forward, Fox Chapel, Highlands, Knoch, Penn-Trafford, Peters Township, Plum, Quaker Valley, Riverside, West Mifflin