After slow start, Knoch girls secure 8th straight postseason appearance
By:
Wednesday, January 29, 2025 | 2:56 PM
The Knoch girls basketball team began its season with five straight losses, leaving players and coaches looking for a spark to dig themselves out of their early struggles.
The turnaround came in the form of a 56-30 home victory over Valley in the Section 1-4A opener Dec. 12.
The Knights have won nine of their past 13 games, including a 43-36 triumph Tuesday in the rematch with the Vikings, and clinched the team’s eighth straight trip to the WPIAL playoffs.
“We started out a little slow, but it’s been a steady climb since then to keep improving,” Knights coach Shane McGraw said.
“The goal is to always win a championship, but you have to get to the playoffs first. That is always the first and foremost thing, as it is for every team in our area. There is a standard set every year.
“It’s been really nice to see the improvement this season. To know you’re in, you’re not ready to rest on your laurels, but it is nice to know that one goal is down, and another goal is to keep the season going as long as possible.”
The girls teams in the Alle-Kiski Valley are in the stretch run of the regular season. One week remains to clinch a postseason berth or solidify an already secured spot.
The WPIAL basketball playoff committee will meet Feb. 10 to organize the qualifying teams and form the six playoff brackets. The preliminary-round games could begin as early as Feb. 13 with the championship games set for Feb. 27 through March 1 at Petersen Events Center.
“There’s only a couple of games left. It’s been such a whirlwind of a season,” McGraw said.
The A-K Valley already is well represented in the WPIAL playoffs with the Knights, as well as Fox Chapel from Section 1-5A, Deer Lakes from Section 2-3A, Riverview from Section 4-2A and St. Joseph from Section 1-A.
Senior Neah Ewing led the way for Knoch against Valley with 20 points, including four 3-pointers.
Valley carried the first and fourth quarters, but a 26-16 Knoch advantage over the second and third stanzas was the difference.
Trinity Ingram (14) and Janelle Norman (10) led the Vikings (2-16, 1-10) in scoring.
“Valley has improved greatly this year,” McGraw said. “They play hard and are well-coached. We were just resilient (Tuesday). We had a slow start and didn’t shoot the ball well, but we just found ways to score. Scoring has been a struggle at times for us, but we have defended well.”
Deer Lakes returns to the playoffs for the first time in three seasons. The Lancers improved to 12-6 overall and 7-4 in section play with a 36-19 win over Ligonier Valley on Monday.
Josie Farster continued her solid run through the season with 17 points.
Deer Lakes, under the direction of veteran coach Dana Petruska, has more than doubled its section win total from the past two seasons, when the Lancers went a combined 3-17.
Burrell, at 6-5 in Section 1-4A and 11-8 overall, clinches a playoff spot with a win at home Thursday against Freeport. The game is a rematch of a 37-31 win over the Yellowjackets on Jan. 8.
Freeport (4-6) and Highlands (4-7) are hoping to stay alive in the playoff chase. The Yellowjackets stayed alive with a 55-38 win over Valley on Monday, and Highlands did the same by beating Derry, 51-25.
Riverview, 6-1 in section play and 11-3 overall, will look to improve its stock Thursday at Frazier and Monday at home against Ellis. The Raiders have won four in a row.
If Riverview wins both, it could set up a shot for the section title at Winchester Thurston (14-2, 7-0) on Feb. 6.
St. Joseph, which started the season with four new starters and others new to the varsity rotation, continues to win. The Spartans, comfortably in the playoffs at 8-2 in Section 1-A and 12-5 overall, moved into sole possession of second place in the section behind Union (17-0, 10-0) with Monday’s 60-54 home victory over Aquinas Academy (10-6, 7-3).
The win, fronted by 20 points from Gia Richter and 12 from Kasey Cienik, avenged a 50-31 loss to Aquinas on Jan. 2.
Fox Chapel, despite a 59-43 loss to Section 1-5A leader Franklin Regional (13-5, 10-0) on Tuesday, is in the postseason at 11-6 overall and 6-3 in section play.
The Foxes clinched with consecutive wins over Plum (Jan. 14), Penn Hills (Jan. 17) and Gateway (Jan. 20).
Apollo-Ridge (7-10, 3-4 in Section 4-2A) clinches with a win Thursday at Jeannette.
Plum entered Wednesday’s Section 1-5A home game against Armstrong at 5-11 overall and in fourth place in the section at 3-5, one-half game ahead of Penn Hills (3-13, 3-6) and two games in front of the River Hawks (3-13, 2-7).
The Mustangs host the Indians on Thursday. If Plum wins both games, it will clinch a WPIAL berth.
Springdale, now at 5-5 in Section 1-A and 8-10 overall, took a step closer to the playoffs as it defeated section rival Leechburg (2-13, 2-8) by a 49-30 count on Wednesday. The loss damaged the Blue Devils’ chances of staying in the playoff hunt.
Kiski Area (9-8, 3-6 in Section 2-5A) hopes for a late-season surge to the playoffs, and that mission for the Cavaliers begins Thursday at West Mifflin (0-8 in section play).
Kiski is one-half game behind Greensburg Salem (4-6) for the fourth and final playoff spot from the section.
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: Apollo-Ridge, Burrell, Deer Lakes, Fox Chapel, Freeport, Kiski Area, Knoch, Plum, Riverview, Springdale, St. Joseph, Valley
More High School Basketball
• Offensively gifted Chartiers Valley leans on defense in WPIAL 5A quarterfinal victory over Moon• What to watch for in WPIAL sports on Feb. 22, 2025: Big-time scorers collide in Class 4A semifinals
• Bishop Canevin outduels Keystone Oaks in back-and-forth battle of section foes
• No. 10 Mars gets past No. 15 Penn-Trafford in Class 5A Cinderella showdown
• High school roundup for Feb. 21, 2025: Peters Township beats Uniontown for another Class 5A upset