Riverview girls use time off to prepare for WPIAL quarterfinal matchup

By: Michael Love
Sunday, February 18, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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With a No. 4 seed and a bye to the WPIAL Class A quarterfinals, the Riverview girls basketball players knew they were going to face a familiar foe as soon as the playoff brackets were released Feb. 12.

It will be 12 days between their final regular-season game, a low-scoring 28-13 victory over Jeannette on Feb. 10, to their playoff debut Thursday against either No. 5 Monessen or No. 12 Leechburg.

A lot of practice time and also a scrimmage last Wednesday against Class 5A Woodland Hills, coach Jill Catanzaro said, has the 15-6 Raiders excited and ready to go.

“At this point in the season, you are polishing what you have done and maybe putting a few new things in,” she said. “It is nice to have that bye. The girls were tickled pink when I came into the locker room and told them we got (the No. 4 seed) and a bye. You would’ve thought we won the Super Bowl.

“What a great testimony for the girls who fought through adversity throughout the season. The season is a grind, and we had some bumps along the way, but we finished (the regular season) strong.”

Riverview defeated Monessen, 50-25, in a nonsection matchup Feb. 3 and rolled past the Blue Devils twice by an average of 25 points in Section 3 play.

Riverview’s quarterfinal game has been moved to Fox Chapel because of capacity issues with the Raiders’ home gym. The time of the game was not determined as of deadline for this edition.

Monessen and Leechburg were to meet Monday at Monessen.

Riverview, along with Knoch, owns the longest streak of girls playoff appearances in the Alle-Kiski Valley at seven.

The Raiders, runners-up to St. Joseph in Section 3, were in contention for a share of the section title Feb. 8 when the section leaders met on senior night at Riverview.

St. Joseph jumped out to a double-digit lead in the first quarter, but Riverview hung around into the third quarter before the Spartans (19-2) pulled away for a 54-32 victory.

The Raiders were led by junior Katerina Tsambis with 10 points. Senior Lola Abraham added nine.

Sophomore guard Isabel Chaparro came off the bench to hit a pair of 3-pointers in the second quarter. She finished with six points and added nine rebounds.

In Riverview’s win over Jeannette, the Raiders’ final home game of the season, the Raiders defense held Jeannette to just two first-half points.

Riverview had just 12 points in the first half, but the defense was up to the task.

The Raiders outscored Jeannette, 11-6, in the third quarter.

Junior Lily Bauer and Chaparro each scored nine points to lead Riverview, while Tsambis added eight.

All four WPIAL quarterfinal games are Thursday. Union, the top seed, and No. 3 St. Joseph will host quarterfinal games, while the location of No. 2 Aquinas Academy’s first game was yet to be determined as of print deadline for this edition.

The semifinal games will be Feb. 26, with the championship game at the Petersen Events Center to be Feb. 29, March 1 or March 2.

Win or lose, Riverview is not done playing after the quarterfinals. A win will put them in the semifinals and clinch a spot in the PIAA playoffs.

With five teams qualifying for the state tournament from WPIAL Class A, a consolation tournament involving the four losing teams from the quarterfinals will be Saturday and Feb. 28 to determine the fifth-place qualifier.

McGivney resigns

Phil McGivney resigned as the Riverview boys basketball coach, citing the desire to spend more time with his family and help take care of other family members.

“I have a son, Joey, who is a freshman at Fox Chapel and who played JV/varsity basketball this year,” McGivney said.

“I missed a lot of his games this year, and I don’t want to miss any more of his games. We only get one shot at this, and I don’t want to miss the opportunity.

“I will miss (coaching basketball) big time. I’ve been coaching for the last 17 years, but it’s time.”

McGivney represented Riverview boys basketball as its head coach the past three years and compiled a 26-39 overall record.

The 2022-23 Raiders went 12-10 overall and finished one game behind Clairton for the fourth and final playoff spot from Section 3-2A.

Riverview this season finished 8-13 overall and 2-10 in Section 3. The Raiders swept rival Leechburg in the section, completing the sweep Feb. 6 with a 64-27 victory.

The Raiders were all over the Blue Devils from the start, outscoring the visitors 29-4 in the first quarter.

Senior Nate Sprajcar celebrated his final home game of his varsity career with 15 points, and fellow captain Alex Schultheis, a junior, was dominant inside for the Raiders.

On his birthday, Schultheis scored 24 in the first half and finished with 29 points to go along with 18 rebounds.

Jack Loughren and Jalen Ricketts also celebrated a win in their final home games.

The season finale, a road section game at Jeannette, didn’t turn out the way Riverview had hoped.

After a close first quarter that concluded with the teams tied at 10, the Jayhawks outscored the Raiders, 40-23, over the second and third quarters to take control in the 75-54 victory.

Sprajcar led all scorers with 30 in his final game.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

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