Top 3 WPIAL girls basketball playoff games to watch Friday night

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, February 15, 2018 | 8:03 PM

With the 2018 WPIAL basketball playoffs tipping off Friday and, as the exclusive audio and video home of all postseason games, the Daily 3 will take on a new format.

Each day there are district playoff basketball games, the TribLive High School Sports Network will preview the Top 3 boys and girls basketball games that day. Here's a look at the Top 3 girls games for opening night.

Class 5A first round: Oakland Catholic vs. South Fayette at Upper St. Clair. 6:30 p.m.

This is a matchup between the 2016 WPIAL Class 3A champion and the 2017 WPIAL Class 5A runner-up. Oakland Catholic reached the first 5A title game before going cold in the second half and falling to Chartiers Valley. This year, the Eagles battled Thomas Jefferson and Gateway for first place all season before ending up in third in Section 2-5A.

South Fayette also finished in third place, behind West Allegheny and Chartiers Valley in Section 1-5A. The Lions, however, lost four in a row to end the regular season. These two played in the PIAA quarterfinals last year, with South Fayette winning 53-35. The Lions then lost to Trinity in the state semifinals.

Class 2A first round: Leechburg vs. Frazier at West Allegheny, 6:30 p.m.

To the surprise of some, Leechburg slipped to the No. 6 seed after finishing in second place behind top-seed Vincentian Academy with an impressive overall record of 18-4. The Blue Devils' only losses were to Vincentian (twice), unbeaten East Allegheny and District 6 West Shamokin.

Frazier needed to win six of its last seven section games to finish in fourth place in Section 3-2A and earn a playoff berth. This game features two of the best female players in the district in Mikayla Lovelace for Leechburg and Brooke Poling for Frazier.

Class 2A first round: Washington vs. California at Peters Township. 8:30 p.m.

The final game of the night pits the No. 8 and No. 9 seeds doing battle to earn the right to face top-seed Vincentian Academy in the quarterfinals. Both teams faced stiff competition in their respective sections and finished in third place. Washington was 15-6 overall out of Section 1-2A behind co-champs Our Lady of the Sacred Heart and defending district champion Chartiers-Houston.

California finished 14-7 and was third behind co-champs Greensburg Central Catholic and Serra Catholic in Section 3-2A. These two teams played a nonsection game last year with California winning at home 46-34.

Don Rebel is a TribLIVE High School Sports Network broadcaster and staff writer. Reach him at drebel@tribweb.com.

Tags: California, Frazier, Leechburg, Oakland Catholic, South Fayette, Washington