What to watch for in WPIAL sports on Dec. 16, 2021: Girls basketball champs start section play

By: Don Rebel
Wednesday, December 15, 2021 | 11:56 PM

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Thirty games involving 60 WPIAL girls basketball teams are set to begin section play Thursday.

Despite a rather busy night of section openers, only two of the six defending WPIAL champions are set to tip off section play.

In Class 4A, Beaver will host Hopewell in a Section 2 lid-lifter.

The Bobcats were undefeated in section play a year ago while the Vikings finished sixth in the eight-team section. Both teams enter the game with 1-2 overall records.

In Class 3A, defending champion Mohawk opens up its Section 1 schedule with a visit to Ellwood City.

While the Warriors got hot in the postseason, they finished third behind North Catholic and Laurel in the section last year. The Wolverines were fifth in the seven-team section.

Like Beaver, Mohawk has also started slow, winning one of its first three nonsection contests. Ellwood City is still looking for its first victory of the new season.

Elite matchup

Three years ago, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart stunned three-time defending champion Bishop Canevin in a WPIAL Class 2A semifinal. The Chargers went on to win district gold in the winter of 2019.

Now these two golden programs are trying to find some traction in a new season when they square off Thursday at Bishop Canevin.

Last year was a down year for these programs by their lofty standards. OLSH did finish in a tie with eventual champion Neshannock in Section 1-2A but was upset by Winchester Thurston in the quarterfinals.

Bishop Canevin finished third in Section 1-A last year with a .500 overall record. The Crusaders were also knocked off in the quarterfinals by West Greene.

OLSH is 1-2 thus far while Bishop Canevin has won its only game played. You can watch this game Thursday on Trib HSSN.

Propel squared

The Propel schools are a not-for-profit federation of charter schools with three locations in the Pittsburgh area.

Propel Andrew Street is located in Hazlewood. The Panthers started playing boys basketball as a WPIAL school five years ago in the 2016-2017 season.

Since then, the two other Propel facilities have also been added to WPIAL basketball: Propel Montour and Propel Braddock Hills.

They are all in different sections; however, they each play each other once a season.

The first meeting is Thursday when Propel Andrew Street hosts Propel Montour.

PAS will also host Propel Braddock Hills on Feb. 15 while Propel Montour visits Propel Braddock Hills on Jan. 26.