Westmoreland County basketball playoff preview capsules for Friday, Feb. 21, 2025

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Thursday, February 20, 2025 | 11:01 AM

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Girls

Class 6A

Quarterfinals

8-North Allegheny (9-12) at 1-Norwin (13-7)

7 p.m. Friday

Winner plays: Winner of 5-Butler (11-10)/4-Canon-McMillan (13-8) on Tuesday (time, site TBD) in semifinals

Players to watch: Maddie Williams, North Allegheny; Kendall Berger, Norwin

Layup lines: North Allegheny gets a rematch with Norwin after falling to the Knights in last year’s WPIAL championship. North Allegheny, under new coach Gabriella Baldasare, who replaced Spencer Stefko, took fourth place in Section 1. Cate Pingpank brings playoff experience to the lineup for the Tigers. … Norwin opens its WPIAL title defense as the No. 1 seed for the second straight season. The Knights have won nine of their last 11 games including a 56-47 upset of then-No. 1 Upper St. Clair. Berger has more than 1,000 career points. Ava Christopher, Bella Furno and Averi Brozeski are battled-tested guards.

Boys

Class 5A

9-Latrobe (19-4) vs. 1-Montour (22-1)

8 p.m. Friday at Ringgold

Winner plays: Winner of 5-Moon (18-5)/4-Chartiers Valley (20-3) on Tuesday (time, site TBD) in semifinals

Players to watch: Ian DeCerb, Latrobe; Colton Straight, Montour

Layup lines: Latrobe grabbed its first playoff win since 2020-21 with a 59-51 victory over another Westmoreland County program, Kiski Area, in the first round. Max Butler had 26 points, DeCerb added 13 and Andy Tatsch had 10. Latrobe had missed the playoffs three straight times. The Wildcats have not reached the semifinals since 2015-16 when they lost to Pine-Richland, 77-75, in two overtimes. … Montour cruised past Franklin Regional in the first round 70-42 as Ama Sow scored 24 points, Straight added 17 and Andrew Alston chipped in 14. The Spartans were the No. 3 seed in 4A last season and lost to Avonworth in the quarterfinals. Their last semifinal berth came in 2022 when they made the 4A finals and lost to Quaker Valley, 61-52, at Petersen Events Center.

15-Penn-Trafford (15-9) vs. 10-Mars (14-10)

7 p.m. Friday at Fox Chapel

Winner plays: Winner of 6-Peters Township (16-7)/3-Uniontown (20-3) on Tuesday (time, site TBD) in semifinals

Players to watch: Zach Feldman, Penn-Trafford; Ben Detisch, Mars

Layup lines: Penn-Trafford moved into the quarterfinals for the first time since 2020-21 with a stunning upset of No. 2 Baldwin in the first round, 60-45. Feldman had 20 points, Brayden Stone followed with 16 and Evan Gross chipped in 10 for the Warriors, who limited the Highlanders, who lost for the first time at home this season, to six points in the third quarter. This will be a matchup of fourth-place teams. Mars plays in Section 4 with Montour, Chartiers Valley and Moon, all of whom are still alive in the tournament. … Mars also shook the bracket with a first-round upset, downing No. 7 South Fayette, 50-46. Detisch had 19 points to tie a game high, and Austen Wroblewski had 11 for the Fightin Planets. Mars athletic director Zach Matusak is a Derry graduate. Penn-Trafford allows 57.9 points, Mars 57.4. Mars was the No. 15 seed last year and lost to Franklin Regional in the first round.

Class 3A

6-Southmoreland (18-5) vs. 3-Mohawk (18-5)

6 p.m. Friday at North Catholic

Winner plays: Winner of 10-Ellwood City (14-9)/2-South Allegheny (20-3) on Tuesday (time, site TBD) in semifinals

Players to watch: Brady Sherbondy, Southmoreland; Bobby Fadden, Mohawk

Layup lines: Southmoreland followed its first section championship in 33 years with a 58-50 win over Carlynton in the first round as junior Noah Felentzer scored 31 points, including 12 of 16 free throws. The Scotties camped out at the foul line, making 25 of 33 attempts. Southmoreland has not reached the semifinals since 1987 when it lost to Blackhawk and point guard Sean Miller, who later played at Pitt. The Scotties can make the PIAA playoffs with a win, something they also have not accomplished since ’87. … Fadden poured in 27 points to pace the Warriors past Waynesburg, 59-40, in the first round. Drew Wrona (17 points) and Joey Nail (11) also scored in double figures. Mohawk was the No. 2 seed last year and advanced to the semifinals where it lost to Burrell, 51-34. The Warriors finished second to Aliquippa in Section 1. They have a win over 5A Kiski Area. They average 63.6 and allow 48.5 points.

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

Tags: North Allegheny, Norwin