Penn-Trafford ‘ready for anything’ in Class 5A quarterfinal win over Indiana

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Wednesday, February 18, 2026 | 10:38 PM

Having played Indiana twice this year, Penn-Trafford knew the Indians about as well as any team could know an opponent.

The Warriors scoured film and replicated what they planned to see in their third meeting.

When the Section 2-5A co-champs met in the WPIAL girls basketball quarterfinals, the Warriors were ready — and it showed.

“We knew all of Indiana’s plays,” Penn-Trafford senior guard Torrie DeStefano said. “We were focused from the start.”

In a winning effort thick with team defense, DeStefano scored a game-high 18 points and senior Hanna Weishaar added 17 as the sixth-seeded Warriors pulled away in the second half and downed No. 3 Indiana, 50-39, on Wednesday night at Norwin.

Denied in the quarters a year ago when it had a perfect record, Penn-Trafford (19-5) moves on to the semifinals for the first time since 2013-14. It will play No. 2 Thomas Jefferson (21-2) on Saturday at a time and place to be announced.

“The girls were ready for anything,” Penn-Trafford first-year coach Chuck Fontana said. “They picked it up when they needed to. Last year sucked … It’s good to put that in the past. They did not want to lose.”

Indiana (20-4), which was seeking its first semifinal trip since 2010-11, didn’t get on track offensively until late in the second half. By then, the Warriors had built a strong double-digit lead.

The Warriors’ defensive effort topped what they did in a two-game split with Indiana during the season.

“Chuck has a great group of players,” Indiana coach Mike Franciscus said. “They completely took us out of what we wanted to do. They exposed every weakness and took away every strength. We were a little too passive offensively … It was too little, too late.”

After a slow-going first quarter that saw Indiana take an 8-7 edge, the Warriors used a 12-5 run in the second to build a 19-13 edge at the half. Hannah Weishaar made a layup to beat the second-quarter buzzer.

Indiana had three first-half field goals.

“Our JV players helped us prepare,” DeStefano said. “They ran the scout team for us this week.”

After settling in, adjusting to media timeouts and finding more consistency on offense, Penn-Trafford scored 12 of the first 14 points of the third to take a 31-15 lead.

Finishing on the back end of press breaks allowed the Warriors to gain separation.

DeStefano had seven in the quarter, and senior Olivia Weishaar and Hanna Weishaar joined her with a 3-pointer apiece.

In the fourth, Indiana scored 20 points but could not dig itself out of a hole that proved to be too steep.

Hanna Weishaar made back-to-back shots to give the Warriors their largest lead, at 44-28, with 3 minutes, 25 seconds to play.

Senior Abby Hutton scored eight of her 12 points in the final quarter for the Indians. But they could only get to within 11.

Senior Emily Ferraro added 13 for Indiana, 10 after halftime, and senior Julia Antonacci had 11, with six coming in the fourth.

DeStefano made 6 of 8 shots and grabbed five rebounds.

“Torrie is an amazing player,” Franciscus said. “She’s going to play at Seton Hill for a reason. She is one of the best defensive players we have ever played against.”

Fontana trumpeted the praises of several players and his coaching staff.

“Torrie and Hanna, they can finish,” Fontana said. “Hanna really stepped up. And kudos to Iz (junior Izzie Fontana) and (senior) Annabelle Aquino. They did a great job on (Antonacci). They hounded her. Liz, (sophomore) Raya (Johnson) … It was a team effort.”

Both teams qualified for the PIAA playoffs. Indiana will play Fox Chapel Friday in the first round of the play-back tournament for state seeding.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Indiana, Penn-Trafford