Westmoreland high school week ahead: Week of Jan. 22, 2018

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, January 21, 2018 | 10:21 PM

MONDAY

Girls basketball

Tasked with having to rally from a slow start, Greensburg Central Catholic (7-6, 6-2 Section 3-2A) has answered the call. The Centurions have won five in a row and are back in the section race. Surging GCC will host first-place Serra Catholic (9-4, 7-1) on Monday night.

• The playoff race in Section 3-4A will be aided by the results of two key games: No. 4 Keystone Oaks (12-3, 8-0) at Mt. Pleasant (5-9, 3-5) and Southmoreland (9-6, 3-5) at Belle Vernon (11-4, 7-1).

• An important Section 4-5A game has Armstrong at Franklin Regional. Armstrong won the first meeting 40-36.

• Also in Section 3-2A, Jeannette will go for an upset when it visits California.

Hockey

Franklin Regional (9-4) looks to keep pace with South/East Division-leading Latrobe as the Panthers take on Upper St. Clair (7-5) at 7:15 p.m. at Ice Castle.

• Latrobe (10-4) and Hempfield (8-3) face off at 7:15 at Kirk Nevin Arena.

TUESDAY

Boys basketball

Franklin Regional has not lost in Section 3-5A this season, but the Panthers (11-2, 5-0) will face a stern road test when they visit Highlands (9-3, 3-1). Franklin Regional won the first meeting 70-46, but coach Steve Scorpion anticipates a tougher challenge from the Golden Rams, who average 65 points.

• Another good game from that section features Armstrong (6-8, 2-3) at Greensburg Salem (8-5, 1-3).

• In ultra-competitive Section 3-6A, Hempfield (4-11, 1-7) goes to Plum (5-10, 0-8), Penn Hills (15-1, 7-1) visits Norwin (9-6, 4-4) and Penn-Trafford (6-10, 3-5) goes to Latrobe (10-5, 5-3).

• Belle Vernon (9-4, 5-2) hosts South Park (6-6, 4-3) in Section 3-4A, and Mt. Pleasant (3-13, 1-5) at Derry (5-6, 3-3) could be a decent game in Section 1-4A.

Girls basketball

Injury-plagued Penn-Trafford (7-7, 3-3), fresh off its buzzer-beating thriller against Norwin, visits Section 2-6A-leading Latrobe (11-2, 5-0), and Penn Hills (8-6, 2-3) goes to Norwin (6-8, 4-2).

WEDNESDAY

Wrestling

Seven sites will host section tournaments as the WPIAL team postseason begins. The top five teams at each tournament advance to the WPIAL finals Feb. 3. Matches begin at 6 p.m.

• Hempfield hosts Section 1-AAA with Armstrong, Greensburg Salem, Kiski Area, Plum and Franklin Regional.

• Section 2-AAA at Peters Township has Belle Vernon, Connellsville, Upper St. Clair, Thomas Jefferson and Mt. Lebanon.

• In Class AA, Derry hosts McGuffey, Elizabeth Forward, Jefferson Morgan and Mt. Pleasant.

THURSDAY

Girls basketball

The top two teams in Section 2-6A meet again as Norwin heads to Latrobe to try to avenge a 60-45 loss.

• In Section 3-5A, Greensburg Salem will play at first-place Trinity, and Belle Vernon heads to South Park in a Section 3-4A clash.

Boys basketball

Derry is in position to chase a playoff berth in Section 1-4A, and a home win over Deer Lakes would help.

Hockey

The local game to watch in the PIHL has Penn-Trafford taking on Armstrong at 8:20 p.m. at Center Ice in Delmont.

FRIDAY

Boys basketball

Gateway was flat the first time it played Franklin Regional in Section 3-5A, but the Gators look to avoid a sweep against the neighboring Panthers.

• Section 3-6A has Hempfield at Woodland Hills, Norwin at Latrobe and Plum at Penn-Trafford.

Diving

The Westmoreland County Coaches Association championships open with the diving portion of the competition, starting at 5 p.m. at Derry.

SATURDAY

Swimming

The WCCA championships continue at Derry. Swimming begins at 10 a.m. Defending champions are: Franklin Regional (Class AAA girls), Hempfield (AAA boys) and Derry (AA girls and boys).

— Bill Beckner Jr.

Tags: Belle Vernon, Franklin Regional, Hempfield Area, Jeannette, Latrobe, Norwin, Penn-Trafford