Westmoreland County basketball playoff preview capsule: Games of Feb. 20, 2020

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Wednesday, February 19, 2020 | 6:03 PM

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Thursday’s game

Girls

Class 4A quarterfinals

No. 2 Southmoreland (22-0) vs. No. 7 Freeport (17-6)

8 p.m. at Penn-Trafford

Winner plays: No. 3 Central Valley (17-3) or No. 6 Knoch (17-6) on Monday in semifinals

Coaches: Brian Pritts, Southmoreland; Fred Soilis, Freeport

Points scored/allowed: Southmoreland 57.7 ppg/29.9; Freeport 55.3/44.1

Players to watch: Gracie Spadaro, Southmoreland (So., F); Sidney Shemanski, Freeport (Sr., G/F)

About Southmoreland: Can the momentum from a historic regular season carry over into the postseason? The Scotties have been off since Feb. 10 after receiving a first-round bye, but they already own a 63-23 win over Freeport in the Scotties’ season-opening tournament. Southmoreland, seeking its first semifinal trip, has the best points-allowed average in Class 4A — third-best in the WPIAL — and only has allowed 40 or more points three times. Spadaro averages 16.1 points and 6.3 rebounds. Freshman point guard Olivia Cernuto accounts for 11 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.6 assists.

About Freeport: The Yellowjackets were down two starters when they played Southmoreland in December, so a healthy lineup should allow them to do more on both ends of the court. On Monday, Freeport edged Belle Vernon, 44-38, in the first round at North Hills. Senior Maddie Clark had 13 points, and Shemanski added 12 and 11 rebounds. Clark scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter as the Yellowjackets eventually kept Belle Vernon at bay. Shemanski averages 12.6 points and 8.2 rebounds. Shemanski and senior Harley Holloway (10 ppg) are career 1,000-point scorers.

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

Tags: Freeport, Southmoreland