Westmoreland County girls basketball notebook: Yough seeks elusive playoff win

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Wednesday, February 12, 2025 | 11:01 AM

Yough’s motivation for the playoffs lies in its drive to improve, a long-standing goal on Cougar Mountain.

The girls basketball team is back in the WPIAL postseason, but the question is: Do the Cougars have staying power?

Yough has not won a playoff game since 2009.

“The girls are very motivated to, hopefully, get the first win in over 15 years,” coach Brian Znavor said. “I frequently talk about changing the history with the girls.”

And there is proof things are improving. Znavor points out that from 2010-20, Yough had only three section wins.

“In the last three years, there have been more regular-season wins than the last 10,” Znavor said. “(Former) coach (Mike) Gerdich got it turned around in the right direction, and we are trying to build on that and take it to the next level. These girls have come to work each day. They have put a lot of time in the offseason, and a playoff win will help validate that.

“It would be big for our program and the older girls, and it motivates them.”

Yough (11-11) will be the first local girls team to begin the playoffs when it hosts Highlands (6-14) at 7 p.m. Thursday night. Highlands is the No. 17 seed, Yough No. 16 in the Class 4A preliminary round.

“The message will be the same as it is each game,” Znavor said. “We have to win the turnover and rebounding battle. Since we don’t have much familiarity with them, we have to be able to identify what they are doing defensively, get set accordingly and not waste possessions. We have to value possession of the ball.”

We meet again

Top-seeded and defending champion Norwin (13-7) and North Allegheny (9-13) will meet in the WPIAL 6A first round next Friday in North Huntingdon.

They have become a familiar matchup in the postseason.

Since 2014, they have played each other seven times, with Norwin winning four. Norwin beat the Tigers in last year’s WPIAL championship and in the 2016 title game.

200 wins

Belle Vernon first-year coach Cornelious Nesbit reached a milestone last week when he recorded his 200th career win.

While only 11 wins have come at Belle Vernon, Nesbit has had success at other programs.

Nesbit had 107 wins at Gateway and 82 at Shaler.

Belle Vernon (11-11) opens the WPIAL 4A playoffs at 7 p.m. Monday at Central Valley (14-7).

The last time

Franklin Regional (15-6) can continue to shake up its history with a win over visiting Bethel Park (11-11) on Friday night in the WPIAL 5A first round.

Fresh off their first section title since 1979, the fifth-seeded Panthers will look to post their first playoff win since 2019 and the first under fourth-year coach Bernie Pucka.

A rematch could await Franklin Regional in the quarterfinals. If it wins, it will play the winner of No. 13 Mars (13-9) and No. 4 Shaler (20-2).

Franklin Regional shared the Section 1 title with Shaler, splitting two section matchups with the Titans.

Mars beat Franklin Regional, 47-17, in the season opener.

Familiar foes

Penn-Trafford edged past Upper St. Clair last Saturday to cap a 22-0 regular season.

The Warriors had a quality scouting report on at least three of the Panthers’ players.

Forward Lauren Marton , one of Penn-Trafford’s top scorers, plays on the same Drill 4 Skill AAU team as USC’s Rylee Kalocay, Olivia Terlecki and Meridith Huzjak.

Penn-Trafford, ranked third in Class 5A, clipped the 6A No. 2 Panthers, 59-57.

Rematch?

If Penn-Trafford (22-0) and Latrobe (11-10) win in the first round Friday, they will meet for a third time this season, in the quarterfinals.

Penn-Trafford, the No. 3 seed, swept the 11th-seeded Wildcats in two Section 2-5A games: 70-58 and 61-45.

Latrobe, which rallied in both games, will have its hands full with No. 6 Thomas Jefferson (18-4).

Penn-Trafford hosts No. 14 Plum (10-12).

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

Tags: Franklin Regional, Latrobe, Penn-Trafford, Yough