High school roundup for Feb. 25, 2023: Freedom girls end Aliquippa’s Cinderella run

By: Tribune-Review
Saturday, February 25, 2023 | 7:15 PM

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Julia Mohrbacher scored 33 points to lead second-seeded Freedom to a 47-44 victory over 11th-seeded Aliquippa in the WPIAL Class 2A girls basketball semifinals Saturday afternoon at Beaver Falls.

Freedom (20-4) will face top-seeded Shenango in the finals at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Petersen Events Center. Aunesty Johnson led Aliquippa (12-10) with 23 points while Angel Henry added 12 points. The Quips will play No. 5 Burgettstown for third place Tuesday.

Shenango 54, Burgettstown 44 — Emilee Fedrizzi scored 32 points and top-seeded Shenango (21-4) rallied from a five-point halftime deficit to earn a spot in the WPIAL Class 2A finals. Janie Natale added nine points on three 3-pointers for the Wildcats. Kaitlyn Nease scored 19 points and Eden Rush had 10 for No. 5 Burgettstown (19-6).

Laurel 66, Neshannock 46 — Johnna Hill hit five 3-pointers and scored 23 points as No. 2 Laurel (23-2) advanced to the WPIAL Class 3A championship game by beating No. 3 Neshannock (18-7) at Ellwood City. Regan Atkins added 15 points and eight rebounds for Laurel while teammate Joselynn Fortuna contributed 14 points and six rebounds. Mairan Haggerty recorded 26 points for the Lancers. Laurel will meet No. 4 Avonworth in the finals at 3 p.m. Friday at Petersen Events Center. Neshannock will play No. 1 Shady Side Academy in the third-place game Tuesday.

Consolation

Monessen 56, West Greene 53 — In the consolation bracket, Avanti Stitch scored 17 points and Madison Johnson added 12 as No. 4 Monessen (16-6) beat No. 8 West Greene (13-11). Kasie Meek led the Pioneers with 17 points while Lexie Six scored 12 points. Monessen will play No. 10 Avella in the fifth-place game Wednesday. The top five teams make states.

Avella 53, Eden Christian 51 — At Keystone Oaks, Ava Frank scored 17 points as No. 10 Avella (14-11) beat No. 6 Eden Christian (8-16) in a Class A consolation game. Katie Dryer added 15 points for Avella while Abby Stover scored 14 and Hope Haring had 13 for Eden Christian.

Boys basketball

Semifinals

Union 80, Carlynton 58 – Lucas Stanley scored 26 points and Matt Stanley added 22 as second-seeded Union (22-2) broke open a one-point game at halftime and rolled to a Class A semifinals victory. The Scotties, who will meet top-seeded Imani Christian in the finals at 5 p.m. Thursday, outscored No. 3 Carlynton 21-9 in the third quarter. Chase Jones led the Cougars with 27 points. Carlynton (16-7) will meet No. 4 Geibel in the third-place game Tuesday. The game was delayed about a half-hour in the fourth quarter due to a power outage.

Consolation

Hampton 56, South Allegheny 50 — Eric Weeks scored 29 points to lead No. 4 Hampton (20-5) to a WPIAL Class 4A consolation win against No. 8 South Allegheny (21-4). Brennan Murray added 10 points and seven assists for Hampton, which trailed heading into the fourth quarter, 43-39. Bryce Epps led South Allegheny with 23 points while Michael Michalski chipped in 10 points. Hampton will face No. 3 Uniontown in Wednesday’s fifth-place game. South Allegheny will take on No. 10 Belle Vernon for seventh place. The top seven teams make states.

Uniontown 70, Belle Vernon 58 — Notorious Grooms had 22 points and Calvin Winfrey had 20 points as No. 3 Uniontown (20-4) defeated No. 10 Belle Vernon (11-13) in a Class 4A consolation game. K’Adrian McLee and Levi Garner added 10 points each for Uniontown. Belle Vernon’s Zion Moore led all scorers with 34 points while Alonzo Wade added 16 points.

Seton LaSalle 77, Mohawk 68 — Connor Spratt scored 26 points as No. 9 Seton LaSalle (13-11) upset No. 4 Mohawk (20-5) in a Class 3A consolation game. Ian March added 18 points while Luke Masua contributed 17 points for Seton LaSalle, which trailed by five points at halftime. Bobby Fadden paced Mohawk with 23 points while Jay Wrona added 17 and Keigan Hopper had 11.

Shady Side Academy 53, Yough 51 — Eli Teslovich scored 24 points as No. 3 Shady Side Academy (17-8) won a Class 3A consolation game. Terek Crosby scored 17 and Austin Matthews had 15 for No. 7 Yough (16-7). The Bulldogs will face No. 9 Seton LaSalle in the fifth-place game Wednesday. The Cougars will meet No. 4 Mohawk in the seventh-place game. The top seven teams make states.

Southwestern Christian Athletic Conference

Harvest Academy 73, Cheswick Christian Academy 60 – Stephen Boyce scored 32 points and Eli Black added 20 to lead Harvest Academy in the Southwestern Christian Athletic Conference championship game Saturday night.

Harvest Academy trailed by two points at the end of three quarters and outscored Cheswick Christian 28-13 the rest of the way.

Sean Louis led Cheswick Christian with 18 points. Grant Rochkind scored 14 before fouling out with four minutes left. Joseph Rosio and Brady Rochkind added 10 point apiece.

Cheswick Christian and Harvest Academy split a pair of meetings in the regular season and tied for first place in their division.

Boyce was named league MVP. Black, Grant Rochkind, Louis and Rosio made the all-conference team.