Clairton’s balanced attack thwarts St. Joseph’s upset hopes in Class A quarterfinals

By: Liam Belan
Thursday, February 20, 2025 | 11:03 PM

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When it comes to postseason basketball, lower-seeded teams traveling on the road are looking to play spoiler, while neutral fans might be supporting them.

When No. 6 St. Joseph came to No. 3 Clairton in WPIAL Class A quarterfinal girls basketball action Thursday night, there was no upset to be had as the home Bears put together a total team performance in a 71-44 win.

Clairton (17-4) got 30 points and seven assists from Iyanna Wade, 18 points and nine rebounds from Karma Fuqua, 15 points from Jamiya “JuJu” Childs and eight more points from Reyonee Williams to punch its ticket to the district semifinals Monday against Geibel Catholic. The site and time of that game is to be determined.

“I thought we played well, especially after being out for two weeks,” Clairton coach Carlton Wade said regarding his team’s bye in the first round of the playoffs. “I thought our energy was good, and I was more than happy with the performance. … It was huge that we spread the scoring because it wasn’t just three people guarding Iyanna. You can’t cheat when they’re playing like that because Karma is playing well and JuJu is playing well and Reyonee is knocking down shots.”

The Bears overcame the Spartans (16-7) as Gia Richter led the way with 17 points and freshman Bella Bartolovic added 12.

“We’re a young team,” St. Joseph coach Geoff Dutelle said. “This is a game that we’ve spent the last week or so working on and hoping we were ready for. Clairton just has more experience than us, and it showed tonight. Everybody talks about Iyanna and for good reason, but they were all hitting shots tonight. They were a team on a mission, but it’s a good experience for us moving forward.”

Wade and Richter opened the scoring with triples before Williams connected on her first of two shots from beyond the arc to give Clairton a 6-3 lead. St. Joseph never tied the game again from that point on as the Bears worked out to an 8-5 advantage.

Wade and Bartolovic exchanged some points in the middle of the quarter before the Bears ended the first with the last seven points. Wade found Fuqua for two layups and then nailed a triple to make the score 22-9 after the first quarter.

St. Joseph struggled on the offensive end in the second quarter, managing four points from Richter and two more from Kasey Cienik over the eight minutes. The Bears didn’t do much more, but they doubled up the Spartans as Wade and Fuqua did the majority of the scoring.

St. Joseph continued to battle in the second half, but they were unable to overcome the scoring options of Clairton.

The game between the Bears and Geibel will be their third matchup of the year as both have won once.

Tags: Clairton, St. Joseph