Basketball
A-K Valley girls basketball notebook: Scrimmages keep Fox Chapel sharp
February 19, 2020
When the Fox Chapel girls basketball team plays No. 1 Bethel Park on Friday in the WPIAL 6A quarterfinals at North Hills, 11 days will have passed since its regular-season finale, a 49-31 victory over Armstrong on Feb. 10.
Westmoreland County girls basketball notebook: Freeport at full strength for rematch with Southmoreland
Coach Fred Soilis hopes playing at full strength will give his Freeport team a much better chance against unbeaten Southmoreland — and maybe even produce a different result.
Westmoreland County basketball playoff preview capsule: Games of Feb. 20, 2020
Thursday’s game
High school roundup for Feb. 18, 2020: Central Catholic boys clamp down on Penn-Trafford
Behind balanced scoring and strong team defense, No. 7 Central Catholic held off No. 10 Penn-Trafford for a 50-35 victory in a WPIAL Class 6A first-round game Tuesday night at Norwin.
Senior-led Bethel Park tops North Allegheny, celebrates 1st playoff win since 2016
The similarities to two years ago had crossed their minds — same gym, same playoff round — but Bethel Park’s seniors made sure the similarities ended there.
Decade’s best WPIAL finals: Boys basketball No. 5
There were a lot of changes to the WPIAL basketball championships over the last 10 years.
Cruse comes up big in clutch as California upsets Greensburg Central Catholic
February 18, 2020
Down five at halftime, the 12th-seeded California girls basketball team dialed up the intensity for a 36-35 victory over No. 5 Greensburg Central Catholic in the opening round of the WPIAL Class A playoffs Tuesday at Peters Township.
WPIAL basketball first round concludes Wednesday with boys 4A, girls 3A matchups
There were four first-round byes award by the WPIAL basketball steering committee in the boys Class 4A playoffs. They went to Uniontown, winners of Section 3 with the No. 4 seed, Section 1 co-champions Highlands and Knoch, which drew the top two seeds, and Section 2 co-champion Quaker Valley at No. 3.
Petrarca, Peters Township boys hold off Hempfield rally
A poor first half and the hot shooting of Peters Township senior Sam Petrarca did in the Hempfield boys basketball team Tuesday night.
High school roundup for Feb. 18, 2020: Clairton girls fend off Eden Christian
It wasn’t easy, but the Clairton girls basketball team found a way to avoid the contagious upset bug that often makes its way through the first round of the WPIAL playoffs.
Polce leads Pine-Richland boys past Connellsville
Pinpoint perimeter shooting and dominant rebounding led Pine-Richland to an 81-51 victory over Connellsville in the first round of the WPIAL Class 6A playoffs Tuesday at Fox Chapel High School.
Monessen holds Aquinas Academy scoreless in 1st quarter but loses
After a dominating start, the Monessen girls basketball team saw its opening-round game of the WPIAL Class A playoffs slip away Tuesday in a 34-30 defeat by Aquinas Academy at Peters Township.
Gateway girls stage furious rally to run past Penn-Trafford
Facing a 13-point deficit that felt more like 30, Gateway had to remind itself this was the playoffs and there was no next game.
Moon rockets past Mars in return to WPIAL girls basketball playoffs
After a five-year hiatus, it was a successful return to the WPIAL playoffs for Moon.
Thomas Jefferson girls impress in playoff-opening win over Armstrong
A solid defensive effort got fifth-seeded Thomas Jefferson off to a good start in the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs Tuesday night.
Penn Hills girls pull away from Plum late to advance in Class 5A playoffs
The Penn Hills and Plum girls basketball teams, longstanding section rivals in the old Class AAAA, hadn’t played in more than four years until the WPIAL brought them together Tuesday for a Class 5A first-round game at Fox Chapel.
Westmoreland County basketball playoff preview capsules: Games of Feb. 19, 2020
Wednesday’s games
A-K Valley basketball playoff preview capsules: Games of Feb. 19, 2020
Girls
Decade’s best WPIAL finals: Girls basketball No. 5
February 17, 2020
There were a lot of changes to the WPIAL basketball championships over the last 10 years.
Trib HSSN boys basketball player of the week: Week ending Feb. 15, 2020
It was a big week for the Shenango boys basketball team. It began with a stunning win to end the regular season, then concluded with a big victory to open the postseason.
