Westmoreland basketball playoff capsules: Games for Wednesday, March 10, 2021

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Tuesday, March 9, 2021 | 2:38 PM

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Here’s a look at Wednesday’s WPIAL basketball playoff games involving Westmoreland County teams:

Boys

Semifinals

Class 2A

5-Jeannette (15-4) at 1-Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (19-0)

6 p.m. Wednesday

Coaches: Adrian Batts, Jeannette; Mike Rodriguez, OLSH

Winner plays: Winner of 3-Sto-Rox (11-5) vs. 2-Greensburg Central Catholic (15-3) in WPIAL championship, 5 p.m. Saturday at Peters Township

About Jeannette: The Jayhawks made the semifinals three years ago and lost to OLSH, 72-64. A team that has blended players back into the lineup as they returned from injuries throughout the season, Jeannette rolled past Winchester Thurston in the quarterfinals, 83-38, to avenge an earlier loss to the Bears. It was a season high for points. Senior Keith Rockmore had 19 points, 6-foot-9 senior Hunter Schmidt added 16 and junior Anton Good had 12. Jeannette has seven straight wins since a 52-50 loss to Class 3A Seton LaSalle. The Jayhawks’ four losses are by a combined 15 points.

About OLSH: The Chargers won the WPIAL title with a win over Sto-Rox in the final last season, a year after they were the WPIAL and PIAA runner-up. A high-powered offensive team that takes little time to get up shots, the Chargers average 75.7 points, the highest total in the WPIAL. They beat Springdale, a team that clipped Jeannette, 52-50, by a final count of 91-60. There aren’t many scoring duos around this year like Jake DiMichele and Dante Spadafora. DiMichele averages 30 a game and Spadafora 19. In a somewhat close quarterfinal against Shenango, DiMichele had 23 and Spadafora 22 in a 57-42 victory. OLSH has won 37 straight on its home floor.

3-Sto-Rox (11-5) vs. 2-Greensburg Central Catholic (15-3)

6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Norwin

Coaches: Dwight Hines, Sto-Rox; Christian Hyland, GCC

Winner plays: Winner of 5-Jeannette (15-4) at 1-Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (19-0) in WPIAL championship, 5 p.m. Saturday at Peters Township

About Sto-Rox: Section 2 champion Sto-Rox is led by Hines, a first-year coach who replaced Ryan Hughes, who led the Vikings to the WPIAL title game last year but was not retained. Hines is a former Aliquippa coach. Jaymont Green-Miller is one of the top scorers for Sto-Rox, which has won eight of its last nine games, including a 49-44 victory over Fort Cherry in the quarterfinals. In that game, junior Corey Simmons scored 17 and Miller-Ross added 10. Forward Devontay Duell is the lone senior on the roster. Sto-Rox lost to OLSH in the 2020 WPIAL final, 81-72. That team graduated nine seniors.

About GCC: With a 48-41 win over Sewickley Academy in the quarterfinals, GCC moved into the WPIAL final four for the first time in four seasons. Junior guard Dylan Parsons had 11 points to lead a balanced attack as the Centurions held off a Sewickley Academy rally. This will be the team’s second game at Norwin in five days. GCC’s gym was not able to host playoff games. Junior Brevan Williams (22 ppg) and senior Christian McGowan (15 ppg) are the main scorers, but a number of complementary players have been showing up for GCC, including senior Dylan Sebek, junior Ryan Appleby and freshman Tyree Turner. Hyland was the point guard for GCC in 2014 when the Centurions made the WPIAL finals and PIAA semifinals.

Girls

Semifinals

Class 6A

3-Norwin (13-4) at 2-Upper St. Clair (14-2)

6 p.m. Wednesday

Coaches: Brian Brozeski, Norwin; Pete Serio, Upper St. Clair

Winner plays: Winner of 4-Mt. Lebanon (17-3) at 1-North Allegheny (22-1) in WPIAL championship, 8 p.m. Saturday at Peters Township

About Norwin: Norwin returned to the WPIAL semifinals for the fourth time in seven years with a 53-33 home win over Butler in the quarterfinals. Freshman Lauren Palangio scored 17 points to lead three double-figure scorers, including senior Mara Polczynski (13) and junior Brianna Zajicek (11). Norwin overcame the loss of two starters to reach the final four: sophomore Savannah Schneck (knee) and junior Alyssa Laukus (ankle). Norwin’s last five wins have been by an average of 22.8 points. Upper St. Clair ended Norwin’s season in the quarterfinals last year, which was the opening round, 52-39. That game was played at Charleroi.

About Upper St. Clair: The Panthers, who lost to North Allegheny in the semifinals last year (39-27), did not lose in section play. Their losses are to North Allegheny (65-41) and Class 5A No. 2 seed Chartiers Valley. They took care of Pine-Richland in a quarterfinal played Friday night, 63-39. Junior Paige Dellicarri and 6-1 sophomore Katelyn Robbins each scored 16 points. USC allows 39.8 points, which is impressive, but Norwin allows just 34.2, so don’t expect offensive fireworks.

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

Tags: Greensburg C.C., Jeannette, Norwin, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Sto-Rox, Upper St. Clair