Westmoreland basketball playoff preview capsule for games of Feb. 18, 2023

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Friday, February 17, 2023 | 3:26 PM

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WPIAL basketball playoffs

Girls

Class 3A

First round

12-Mt. Pleasant (14-8) vs. 5-Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (16-6)

Noon Saturday, AHN Arena, Peters Township

Winner plays: Winner of 13-McGuffey (15-7)/4-Avonworth (15-5), Wednesday (time, site TBD) in quarterfinals

Players to watch: Tiffany Zelmore, Mt. Pleasant; Emma Ficorilli, OLSH

Layup lines: Mt. Pleasant ended up third in Section 3 behind top-seeded Shady Side Academy and Apollo-Ridge. The Vikings are powered by Zelmore, who is averaging 28 points and has scored 59% of the team’s points. The 5-foot-10 forward has more than 1,600 career points. She has 16 30-point games in her career, including 11 this season. … OLSH finished one game back of Section 2 winner Avonworth. The Chargers made the WPIAL final last year but fell to Neshannock, 55-31. They give up just 35.1 points. They are 10-2 since the turn of the calendar. OLSH played a strong nonsection schedule that includes Blackhawk, Quaker Valley, Bishop Canevin, Redbank Valley and Chartiers-Houston. … Ficorilli is a 5-11 forward who should match up well with Zelmore.

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

Tags: Mt. Pleasant, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart