Scholastic Notebook – WPIAL Girls Basketball Playoff Preview

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, February 17, 2011 | 12:00 AM

The 2011 girls' roundball district postseason tips off Friday, February 18th and Saturday, February 19th with Preliminary Round and First Round action in all four classifications. Mount Lebanon in AAAA, New Castle in AAA, Jeannette in AA and Vincentian Academy in A are all set to try to successfully defend their crowns. Here is a preview of the WPIAL Girls Basketball Playoffs.

CLASS AAAA

TOP SEEDS:

Mount Lebanon is first, Shaler second, Bethel Park third and Oakland Catholic fourth.

FOUR TO SCORE:

Belma Nurkic, Baldwin (18.9)
Madison Cable, Mount Lebanon (17.1)
Val McQuade, Shaler (16.1)
Kelly Brennan, North Allegheny (15.9)

WHAT TO LOOK FOR:

* Maybe Mount Lebanon isn't quite as good as the teams of the past two years, but can anyone keep this team away from winning its third consecutive championship?

* Shaler has a lot of size and that could pose a problem for some teams.

* Mount Lebanon's Madison Cable and Baldwin's Belma Nurkic were both Post-Gazette Fabulous Five selections as juniors. Cable is headed to Notre Dame and Nurkic to Duquesne.

* Three teams from Section 4 are among the top five seeds. They are Mount Lebanon, Bethel Park and Baldwin (No. 5).

* Penn-Trafford averaged 60.8 points a game, the most in Class AAAA this season.

BEST FIRST-ROUND GAMES:

Gateway vs. Kiski Area and Penn-Trafford vs. Woodland Hills.

DID YOU KNOW?

The last team to win three Class AAAA titles in a row was Oakland Catholic, which won four from 2000-03.

DO YOU REMEMBER?

Fifteen years ago (1996), Mount Lebanon's Kim Seaver scored 40 points in a playoff game against Woodland Hills. That ties McKeesport's Swin Cash and New Castle's Lorrie Johnson for the most points ever scored in a Class AAAA playoff game.

CLASS AAA

TOP SEEDS:

Indiana is first, New Castle second, South Park third and Chartiers Valley fourth.

FOUR TO SCORE:

Shatori Walker-Kimbrough, Hopewell (20.9)
Ashley Stoner, Thomas Jefferson (20.3)
Kelsey Sleighter, Uniontown (19.3)
Nicole Malara, Mount Pleasant (18.5).

WHAT TO LOOK FOR:

* New Castle, the two-time defending champion, has battled injuries all season, losing Kaylynn Waters early in the year to a knee injury. Leading scorer Christina Talbert also sustained an injured knee recently, but might play.

* Hopewell made it to the title game last year, but is only 12-10 this year. However, the Vikings have Walker-Kimbrough, the second-leading scorer in the WPIAL.

* Chartiers Valley played a tough non-section schedule, and that might help come playoff time.

* Indiana, led by 16.1 points per game scorer Leslie Stapleton, averages 60 points a game. The Little Indians lost in the semifinals a year ago.

BEST FIRST-ROUND GAME:

Montour vs. Ambridge-Elizabeth Forward winner.

DID YOU KNOW?

The last team to win three Class AAA championships in a row was North Catholic from 1993-95.