Girls basketball playoff berths on the line among 3 things to watch Thursday in WPIAL athletics

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, February 7, 2018 | 9:24 PM

There are still a couple of playoff berths and section titles to be decided on the final night of section play for most girls basketball teams around the WPIAL.

Plum is at Franklin Regional in a win-and-you’re-in game in Section 4-5A. Fans can watch the game on the TribLive High School Sports Network .

Shenango needs to upset Our Lady of the Sacred Heart and have Fort Cherry lose to Chartiers-Houston to qualify for the playoffs out of Section 1-2A. Then in Section 2-2A, Northgate and Riverview are tied for fourth place heading into their final section game Thursday. Northgate is at Sto-Rox while Riverview hosts Springdale. If they both win or both lose, they will both clinch.

These three games will decide a section championship or a share of the section title:

• Trinity (11-0) at Ringgold (10-1) in Section 3-5A

• Mars (10-1) at Hampton (11-0) in Section 4-5A

• Blackhawk (10-1) at Beaver (9-2) in Section 2-4A

All four games can be heard here on the TribLive High School Sports Network .

PIAA team wrestling tournament

The first round of the 2018 PIAA team wrestling state playoffs begins Thursday at the Giant Center in Hershey with five WPIAL teams preparing to fight for state gold.

In Class 3A, WPIAL champion Kiski Area battles Central Dauphin, runner-up Canon-McMillan takes on District 1 champion Council Rock South and consolation winner Seneca Valley faces District 12 champion Archbishop Wood.

In Class 2A, 12-time reigning WPIAL champ Burrell will take on District 4 runner-up Muncy while WPIAL runner-up Derry squares off with District 5 champion Chestnut Ridge.

Nazareth out of District 11 (3A) and Reynolds out of District 10 (2A) are the defending champions. Franklin Regional was the last WPIAL team to win a state crown in 3A in 2015 while Burrell 10 years ago is still the only WPIAL team to win a PIAA Class 2A team wrestling title.

The quarterfinals and semifinals will be Friday with the state title matches set for Saturday afternoon.

More target titles

Two days after Hempfield captured the WPIAL team rifle championship, a Spartans shooter takes aim at winning a second straight district crown.

The 2018 WPIAL individual rifle championships take place Thursday afternoon at Dormont-Mt. Lebanon Sportsmen’s Club in Canonsburg starting at noon. Last year, Jordan Miller of Hempfield edged Aleah Atkinson of Woodland Hills by tiebreaker to win WPIAL gold. Miller helped the Spartans win the team title Tuesday, the school’s first rifle championship since 2013.

Don Rebel is a TribLIVE High School Sports Network broadcaster and staff writer. Reach him at drebel@tribweb.com.

Tags: Beaver, Blackhawk, Burrell, Canon-McMillan, Franklin Regional, Hampton, Hempfield Area, Kiski School, Mars, Norwin, Plum, Ringgold, Seneca Valley, Trinity