Semifinals get underway for Class 4A, 2A in Monday’s 3 girls games to watch

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, February 25, 2018 | 11:51 PM

The WPIAL girls basketball semifinals will get underway Monday night with games at Moon, Geneva, Northgate and Peters Township. Teams in Class 4A and Class 2A can lock up a spot in the WPIAL championship game. All four games can be heard on the TribLive High School Sports Network.

Class 4A semifinals: CW North Catholic vs. Central Valley at Moon, 6:30 p.m.

If top-seeded Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic (20-3) wants a chance to defend the WPIAL Class 4A title, it will have to get past a pesky Central Valley team that has show an ability to defeat high-caliber teams all season.

Boasting victories over section rivals Blackhawk and Beaver (both also in the WPIAL semifinals), the Warriors are quite capable of upsetting the Trojanettes.

Central Valley (17-5), the No. 5 seed, is led by Kaelyn Underwood and Christiane Frye, who tallied 22 and 21 points, respectively, in a quarterfinal win over No. 4 Keystone Oaks.

Underwood averages 16.9 ppg, while Frye scores 15.3.

Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic leans on the scoring of Kylee Lewandowski, who had 23 points and four 3-pointers, in a quarterfinal win over Ambridge. Dani Short and Tess Myers also have been key contributors on the offensive end.

Lewandowski and Myers average better than 15 points.

Class 4A semifinals: Blackhawk vs. Beaver at Geneva, 6 p.m.

Blackhawk also is seeking a return to the title game, where it lost 65-36 to CWNC a year ago. The second-seeded Cougars (19-2), who defeated Elizabeth Forward in double overtime in the quarterfinals, lost to Beaver, 59-58, on Feb. 8 in the section finale.

The co-Section 2 champions split their season series, with Blackhawk winning 61-54 on Jan. 15.

Blackhawk is led by the guard tandem of Mackenzie Amalia (17.5 ppg) and Mady Aulbach (16.2 ppg). They combined for 29 points against Elizabeth Forward. Ava Haddox added 14.

No. 3-seeded Beaver (17-5) is coming of a convincing 63-32 win over Belle Vernon in the quarterfinals. Four players scored in double-figures for Beaver, led by Robert Morris recruit Bella Posset with 17 and Sydney Barney with 16. Posset averaged 19 points this season.

Class 2A semifinals: Vincentian Academy vs. Serra Catholic at Northgate, 6:30 p.m.

Vincentian Academy has played in six straight WPIAL championship games, and the top-seeded Royals (21-1) are again in position to play for district gold.

Standing in the way is veteran coach Bill Cleary and the No. 5 Serra Catholic Eagles (16-7), who defeated section rival Greensburg Central Catholic in the quarterfinals.

Shannon Sullivan scored 13 points, and Gigi Mele-Madigan had 12 points for Serra.

Vincentian, which lost to Chartiers-Houston in last year's Class 2A title game, is led by Duquesne recruit Caroline Elliott, who averaged 17 points this season. She scored 20 in a quarterfinal win over California. Katie Bartlett added 16.

The Royals started 1-1 at the elite She Got Game Classic in Washington, D.C., and then rattled off 20 straight victories.

Bill Hartlep is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at bhartlep@tribweb.com.

Tags: Beaver, Blackhawk, Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic, Central Valley, North Catholic, Vincentian Academy