George Guido: Alle-Kiski Valley basketball teams face key games down stretch

By: HSSN Staff
Tuesday, January 15, 2019 | 8:12 PM

The halfway point of the high school basketball section season was reached in the last two nights. Now gear up for section- half action beginning Thursday and Friday.

A number of boys playoff races could go down to the wire, but it’s a shame a number of Alle-Kiski girls teams continue to struggle with injuries and low turnout numbers.

It’s a slap in the faces of the young ladies in the 1970s and earlier who had to fight — sometimes with court cases — to get recognition and equal playing and practice time, only to see lackluster participation now.

Here’s a look at six key games for the boys and girls in the second half, keeping in mind the top four teams from each section make the WPIAL playoffs.

Boys

Jan. 22, Latrobe at Fox Chapel: The Class 6A No. 1 Wildcats handed the Foxes their only section loss the first time around. Fox Chapel won crucial road games last week against Norwin and Penn-Trafford.

Jan. 25, Highlands at Knoch: The 15-point Knights victory at Highlands last week was one of the rare times that this rivalry game hasn’t been closer. A better gauge of Knoch’s postseason prospective could come the next day at 3 p.m. when the Knights, fifth in this week’s TribHSSN Class 4A rankings, face No. 1 Quaker Valley at Montour.

Jan. 25, Winchester-Thurston at Springdale: The Dynamos upset the Bears on the road 59-57 on Dec. 21 and would earn the tiebreaker should the two schools end up in a stalemate at the end of the season.

Feb. 1, Deer Lakes at Steel Valley: The Lancers, off to their best section start since 1987, head to Munhall for a key game. Deer Lakes edged the Ironmen, 59-58, last week.

Feb. 5, Knoch at Freeport: The Knoch-Freeport-Highlands triumvirate is headed for a photo finish in the section and a strong playoff seeding. If all three end up tied for the top, each will get a section plaque, per WPIAL policy.

Feb. 8, Leechburg at St. Joseph: This will be the 80th meeting between the two local rivals, and a section title might be on the line. If the weather’s decent, it could be the biggest home crowd in more than 100 years of St. Joe’s basketball.

Girls

Thursday, Fox Chapel at Butler: The Foxes need a win to start gaining some separation between the playoff contenders and noncontenders. Fox Chapel posted a 56-53 victory Dec. 14.

Jan. 24, Apollo-Ridge at Indiana: Kudos to Apollo-Ridge for playing up in classification in order to get more geographic rivals on the schedule. A playoff berth in Class 4A might go a long way in being decided here.

Jan. 29, Armstrong at Plum: It’s rare to have a girls game on a Tuesday night, but this one will have playoff implications. Plum has four straight wins.

Feb. 4, Leechburg at St. Joseph: Despite losing its top six players from last season, the Blue Devils are in the playoff hunt. The reward for the fourth-place team in Section 3A? A likely playoff date with West Greene or Rochester. But let’s not get too far ahead.

Feb. 4, Knoch at Freeport: The Yellowjackets won 47-39 last week, and both teams should be looking for playoff positioning by this point.

Feb. 7, Shady Side Academy at Deer Lakes: The Lancers should have their ninth playoff berth in the last 10 years wrapped up by then, and the Indians, No. 3 in Class 3A this week, look to gain a foothold on a top four playoff seed.

Something else to watch: If North Catholic defeats Apollo-Ridge on Monday, the Trojanettes would clinch their unprecedented 44th consecutive WPIAL playoff berth.

George Guido is a Valley News Dispatch scholastic sports correspondent. His column appears Wednesdays.

Tags: Apollo-Ridge, Deer Lakes, Fox Chapel, Freeport, Highlands, Knoch, Leechburg, Plum, Springdale, St. Joseph