High school roundup for Feb. 18, 2026: Peters Township springs another upset

By: Triblive
Wednesday, February 18, 2026 | 11:58 PM

Can the defending champs also be a Cinderella story? Peters Township girls basketball is making a strong case for it.

Taylor McCullough scored 14 points as the 12th-seeded Indians defeated No. 4 Baldwin, 43-36, for their second straight upset in the Class 5A bracket Wednesday night.

Peters defeated South Fayette in the finals to win the WPIAL championship last season, then after suffering graduation losses that included Trib HSSN player of the year Natalie Wetzel, went 13-9 in the regular season. They opened the playoffs with a first-round win over No. 5 Plum.

Lynsey Bernotas led No. 4 Baldwin (19-5) with eight points. Peters Township (15-9) will face No. 1 South Fayette again in the semifinals Saturday.

Beaver Falls 68, Waynesburg 45 – Dreaven Haskins scored 17 points to power No. 2 Beaver Falls (22-1) in the Class 3A quarterfinals. Kiyah Tymous and Zakyhia Slade added 12 each for the Tigers, who will take on No. 3 Greensburg Central Catholic in the semifinals Saturday. Peyton Cowell led 7 Waynesburg (21-3) with 15 points and 14 rebounds.

Seton LaSalle 57, Quaker Valley 54 – Casey Davis hit the game-winning 3-pointer with 4.1 seconds left to lead No. 5 Seton LaSalle (16-8) to a Class 3A quarterfinal win. Natalie Pascarella scored 15 points, Kayla Deasy had 13 and Ava Maroney added 12 points for the Rebels, who will meet No. 1 Shady Side Academy in the semifinals Saturday. Mimi Thiero scored 27 points for No. 4 Quaker Valley (17-7).

Shady Side Academy 48, Avonworth 27 – Cassie Sauer and Karis Thomas scored 15 points apiece to lead No. 1 Shady Side Academy (21-2) to a Class 3A quarterfinal win. Bria Onyshko scored 20 points for No. 8 Avonworth (12-12). The Bulldogs will face No.5 Seton LaSalle in the semifinals Saturday.

South Fayette 26, Trinity 23 – Kenzi Rumburger scored 13 points to lead No. 1 South Fayette (23-1) to a slow-paced win in the Class 5A quarterfinals. Sutton Williamson scored 12 points for No. 9 Trinity (17-7). The Lions will meet No. 12 Peters Township in Saturday’s semifinals.

Boys basketball

Monessen 55, Aquinas Academy 53 – Torrence Taylor scored the game-winning layup in the final seconds to lead No. 4 Monessen (12-9) to a Class A quarterfinal win. Tayvin Craggette scored 16 points and Rodney Johnson added 15 for the Greyhounds,will meet No. 1 Neighborhood Academy in the semifinals Saturday. Sam Duer scored 20 points and Jonah Burchill had 15 for No. 5 Aquinas Academy (9-13).

Neighborhood Academy 67, Summit Academy 27 – Kedron Gilmore scored 24 points to lead top-seeded Neighborhood Academy (19-3) in the Class A quarterfinals. Trey McMurray added 12 points and Derrick Hardeman had 10 for the Bulldogs, who will meet No. 4 Monessen in Saturday’s semifinals. Demetris Crosby scored 14 points to lead No. 8 Summit Academy (12-9).

North Catholic 73, Elizabeth Forward 64 – Jude Rottman led with 30 points and Jason Fredericks followed with 26 to push No. 2 North Catholic (18-5) to a comeback win in the Class 4A quarterfinals. Daniel Spence had 23 points and made six 3-pointers and Tyler Basic added 20 points for No. 7 Elizabeth Forward (14-10). Brandon Pickett added 15 points for the Trojans, who trailed by nine points after the first quarter and one point heading into the fourth. They will face No. 3 Knoch in Saturday’s semifinals.

Quaker Valley 72, Belle Vernon 41 – Zach Washington led with 18 points, Nicholas Cohen followed with 17 and Sam Chapman had 14 as No. 1 Quaker Valley (19-3) dethroned defending WPIAL champion Belle Vernon. Elijah Majors scored 12 points for the No. 8 Leopards (14-10). Kolton Johnson added 13 points for the Quakers, who will meet No. 13 Deer Lakes in the semifinals Saturday.

Serra Catholic 74, Avella 66 – Tyler Sapida scored 18 points and Mark Johnson and Kris Sharp had 17 points apiece to lead No. 6 Serra Catholic (13-9) to a Class A quarterfinal win. Cam Ullom scored 21 points and Brayden Fuller had 15 for No. 3 Avella (17-6). Tyler Graham added 11 points for the Eagles, who will meet No. 2 Nazareth Prep in the semifinals Saturday.

Hockey

Richland 5, Freeport 4 – Mitch Timcik scored his second goal of the game with 6:03 to play to lift Richland past Freeport in Class A. Wesley Dunlap had two goals and an assist and Talon Urbanek also scored for Richland (3-17). Aiden Bauman scored twice, Owen Close had a goal and an assist and Bantam Semanko also scored for Freeport (2-16-1).

Westmont Hilltop 7, Wheeling Central Catholic 2 – Cullen Carlson had two goals and an assist and Conner Gorman, Connor Jones and Brett Hoffman each had a goal and an assist to lead Westmont Hilltop (3-16) in Class A. Maddox Ochap scored twice for Wheeling Central Catholic (1-19).