Westmoreland lookahead for Week of Jan. 21, 2019

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, January 20, 2019 | 6:57 PM

MONDAY

Girls basketball : Latrobe wants to be taken seriously in the Section 2-5A playoff race and the Wildcats can help their cause with an upset against visiting and No. 3-ranked Oakland Catholic.

Hempfield needs to pile up Section 2-6A wins to have a chance at the playoffs and a home win against Mt. Lebanon would help.

Other games to watch include Belle Vernon at West Mifflin in Section 3-4A and Winchester Thurston at Jeannette. Jayhawks senior Dymond Crawford is 24 points shy of 1,000 for her career.

Hockey : Latrobe will host Upper St. Clair in a matchup of the top two teams in the PIHL Class AA Southeast Division. Faceoff is set for 8:35 p.m. at Nevin Arena.

At Center Ice in Delmont, Northwest Division leader Pine-Richland takes on Franklin Regional at 7:20 p.m.

TUESDAY

Boys basketball : Class 6A No. 1 Latrobe has developed a rivalry with Fox Chapel since the teams have shared space in Section 3. They will meet again at Fox Chapel.

Other games from that section have Connellsville at Penn-Trafford and Hempfield at Norwin.

Other local matchups to watch include Greensburg Salem at McKeesport (Section 1-5A), Armstrong at No. 5 Franklin Regional (3-5A), Freeport at Derry (1-4A), Beth-Center at Southmoreland (4-3A), Greensburg Central Catholic at Imani Christian (3-A) and Blairsville at Ligonier Valley (Heritage Conference).

Girls basketball : Hempfield at Penn-Trafford is an intriguing nonsection matchup. No. 5 Franklin Regional is at Plum (Section 2-5A), and Burrell visits Greensburg Salem (1-4A).

WEDNESDAY

Wrestling: Team section tournaments will be contested around the WPIAL as a precursor to the postseason. Sites are Kiski Area (1-AAA), Thomas Jefferson (2-AAA), Seneca Valley (3-AAA), Canon-McMillan (4-AAA), Burgettstown (1-AA), Freedom (2-AA) and Burrell (3-AA).

Southmoreland goes to Highlands for a fifth-place match in 3-AA, and Latrobe travels to Franklin Regional for fifth in 1-AAA.

Hockey: Norwin will host first-place Bishop McCort in a PIHL Class A East matchup.

THURSDAY

Girls basketball : Latrobe hosts Penn Hills in a key Section 3-5A game. Penn-Trafford upset Penn Hills last week, and the Wildcats will look to do the same.

More strong matchups include Greensburg Salem at Knoch (1-4A), Mt. Pleasant at Belle Vernon (3-4A) and Jeannette at Riverview (2-AA).

Hockey : A local matchup of interest has Penn-Trafford taking on Hempfield in a Class AA Southeast game starting at 7:15 p.m. at Nevin Arena. That game will be followed by Kiski Area vs. Greensburg Salem at 9:15.

FRIDAY

Boys basketball : Greensburg Salem is looking to score a signature win in Section 1-5A, and the Golden Lions have a golden opportunity with Woodland Hills in town.

A monumental rematch in Section 3-5A has Franklin Regional visiting Mars. Other local games of importance are Derry at Mt. Pleasant (1-4A), Southmoreland at McGuffey (4-3A), Trinity Christian at Greensburg Central Catholic (3-A), Connellsville at Norwin (3-6A), Fox Chapel at Hempfield (3-6A) and Penn-Trafford at Latrobe (3-6A).

Swimming : The Westmoreland County Coaches Association Swimming and Diving Championships will begin at 5 p.m. at Derry with diving.

SATURDAY

Boys basketball : The Shootout at Seton Hill features several local teams. Greensburg Salem and Greensburg Central Catholic will play at 6:30 p.m., followed by Jeannette and Penn-Trafford at 8.

Norwin plays at Gateway in a nonsection game at 1:30 p.m.

Girls basketball : Two local games at the Shootout at Seton Hill feature Greensburg Salem vs. Greensburg Central Catholic at 2 p.m., followed by Norwin vs. Hempfield at 3:30.

Swimming : The Westmoreland County Coaches Association Swimming and Diving Championships conclude at Derry with the swimming events. Action begins at 10 a.m. at Derry.

— Bill Beckner Jr.

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