Westmoreland H.S. lookahead: Week of Feb. 4-9

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, February 3, 2019 | 12:09 AM

MONDAY

Girls basketball: A number of local teams are on the playoff bubble as the final week of WPIAL section play tips off.

Games with playoff implications include: Penn-Trafford at Laurel Highlands and Woodland Hills at Latrobe in Section 3-5A, Indiana at Greensburg Salem in Section 1-4A and Deer Lakes at Derry in 3-3A.

Matchups of teams already in the playoffs but still in the section-title hunt include Southmoreland at Belle Vernon (3-4A) and No. 2 Greensburg Central Catholic at Clairton (3-A).

Boys basketball: No. 1 Latrobe visits Norwin in a Section 3-6A make-up game from Friday. Ligonier Valley will play at United in the District 6 Heritage Conference.

Hockey: Neighboring teams Plum and Franklin Regional will meet in a PIHL Class AA Southeast Division matchup at 8 p.m. at Center Ice in Delmont.

At Ice Castle in Castle Shannon, Hempfield faces Baldwin at 9 in another game from the same division.

Wrestling : The PIAA team wrestling playoffs begin with preliminary-round matches.

TUESDAY

Boys basketball : Ligonier Valley is chasing another District 6 Class 3A Heritage Conference title, and the Rams are a win away as they host a semifinal game against Purchase Line. The winner goes to the championship Friday night at IUP against the winner of United and Washington.

Greensburg Salem is still alive for a playoff spot in Section 1-5A, but the Golden Lions have work to do and need some help. They visit Laurel Highlands, and other top games are: Norwin at Penn-Trafford (3-6A), Shaler at Franklin Regional (3-5A), Highlands at Derry (1-4A), Jeannette at California (2-2A) and Yough at Mt. Pleasant (1-4A).

Hockey: Penn-Trafford takes on Upper St. Clair at 7:10 at Center Ice Arena in a Class AA Southeast game.

WEDNESDAY

Girls basketball : Penn-Trafford lost to Woodland Hills earlier in the season, but the Warriors have a chance to even the season series as they host the Wolverines in a Section 3-5A game. Butler, meanwhile, travels to Norwin for a Section 1-6A matchup. Both of these games are make-ups from Friday’s weather-related postponements.

Three nonsection playoff tune-ups have Brentwood at Franklin Regional and Greensburg Central Catholic at East Allegheny.

Football : National signing day will sweep the country as Division I and II players make their commitments to college programs official. This will kick off the regular signing period.

Many D-I recruits already signed during the early period, which the NCAA reinstated in 2017.

THURSDAY

Hockey: In the PIHL Class AA game of the night, Southeast leader Latrobe faces Northwest leader Pine-Richland at 7:15 at Nevin Arena.

Girls basketball : Top local games include Mt. Pleasant at Southmoreland (3-4A), Belle Vernon at Elizabeth Forward (3-4A) and Greensburg Salem at Apollo-Ridge (1-4A).

Wrestling: The PIAA team wrestling tournament starts at Giant Center in Hershey.

FRIDAY

Boys basketball : Hempfield at Latrobe makes for a nice finale in Section 3-6A. Latrobe won the first meeting 58-56 on a controversial call with less than a second remaining.

Serra Catholic visits Jeannette in Section 2-2A. Jeannette will recognize its inaugural athletic hall of fame class.

Additional local games to watch: Franklin Regional at Kiski Area (3-5A), Greensburg Central Catholic at Clairton (3-A) and Uniontown at Greensburg Salem (nonsection).

Girls basketball : Norwin hosts Fox Chapel in Section 1-6A, and Latrobe at Penn-Trafford is an important Section 3-5A game for playoff positioning.

Wrestling: Teams that advance out of Thursday’s round will look to continue a run to the championship in the PIAA team playoffs.

SATURDAY

Wrestling: The PIAA team finals will be in Hershey.

Girls basketball : Hempfield visits Latrobe in nonsection action, and Southmoreland at South Park is a formidable playoff tune-up.

Boys basketball : Mt. Pleasant plays at Greensburg Central Catholic in a nonsection matchup.

Bill Beckner is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Bill at bbeckner@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BillBeckner.