What to watch for in WPIAL sports for Jan. 6, 2025: Class A championship rematch on tap

By: Don Rebel
Sunday, January 5, 2025 | 8:55 PM

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One of the top games on a busy night of district section girls basketball on Monday is a rematch of the 2024 WPIAL Class A championship game as two-time defending champion Union heads to Natrona Heights to visit St. Joseph.

The 2023 and 2024 champion Scotties are alone in first place at 4-0 in Section 1-A and are a perfect 10-0 overall.

The average margin of victory in the 10 wins for Union has been 21 points.

The Spartans are 7-4 overall and trail the Scotties by a game with a 3-1 section record.

St. Joe’s has winning streaks of three and four games this season, but has dropped two in a row, including its only section loss on Thursday at Aquinas Academy.

The last time these two Class A powers met was for district gold as St. Joseph enjoyed an early seven-point lead after one quarter before Union fought back to eventually tie the game and send it into overtime.

There, the Scotties earned a second straight title by outscoring the Spartans, 8-1, in overtime to claim victory and more gold, 50-43.

Two graduated stars led their teams in that championship game as Kelly Cleaver scored 25 points for Union while Julie Spinelli led St. Joseph with 19 points.

Middle of the road

While the Upper St. Clair girls basketball team is alone in first place in Section 2-6A, there are four teams riding the middle of the section road.

All four will collide Monday.

Hempfield, Mt. Lebanon, Canon-McMillan and Norwin are all 1-1 in section play heading into their battles for second place.

Hempfield (7-3) ended a three-game losing streak Thursday when it picked up its first section victory with a 32-point triumph over Connellsville.

The Spartans will try to make it two straight wins when they host Canon-McMillan (6-5) at 7:30 p.m.

The Big Macs are coming off a big home win Friday over Mt. Lebanon (6-4).

Speaking of the Blue Devils, they had won four in a row before the loss at Canon-McMillan. Lebo tries to get back on the winning track Monday when it hosts Norwin (4-5) at 7:30 p.m.

The Knights won four of their first six games, but have now dropped three straight games.

Butler County showdown

Butler, Seneca Valley and Pine-Richland are off to 2-0 section starts while Woodland Hills, North Hills and North Allegheny sit at 0-2 in Section 1-6A girls basketball.

At least a share of first place is up for grabs Monday when Butler County rivals go head-to-head as the Golden Tornado visit the Raiders at 7:30 p.m.

Butler is enjoying a turnaround season this year with a 7-4 overall record. A year ago, it won seven games the entire campaign and finished 3-7 in the section.

While the Golden Tornado are 4-2 in their last six games, the Raiders, who are also 7-4 overall, have been victorious in six of their last seven contests.

Pine-Richland (3-8) will share first place with the Butler-Seneca Valley winner if it can win at home against North Hills (3-7) at 7:30 p.m.

Tags: Butler, Canon-McMillan, Hempfield, Mt. lebanon, Norwin, Pine-Richland, Seneca Valley, St. Joseph, Union