What to watch for in WPIAL sports on Dec. 9, 2025: Upper St. Clair, Norwin set for early section opener

By: Don Rebel
Monday, December 8, 2025 | 10:00 PM

There will be 834 WPIAL boys basketball section games played this season, and the first one takes place Tuesday.

In an early Section 2-6A clash, two-time defending WPIAL champion Upper St. Clair hosts Norwin at 7 p.m. in a game you can watch here on Trib HSSN.

USC is off to a 3-0 start, but it has not been easy for the new-look Panthers.

After beating Bishop Canevin decisively in the season opener last week, Upper St. Clair struggled shooting from the field in the first half in both games of their annual USC tipoff tournament. The Panthers picked up their offense in the second half while continuing to play great defense as they defeated Belle Vernon by 12 points and Kiski Area by 11.

In the championship game, junior forward Ryan Robbins led all scorers with 20 points.

Norwin has also won three straight as it enters its section opener with a 3-1 record.

After losing to North Allegheny in overtime and beating rival Penn-Trafford, the Knights won two tight ones in the Mike Rettger tournament, edging Pine-Richland, 66-64, and beating host Franklin Regional, 61-60.

In the Saturday win over the Panthers, seniors Nathan Kuch scored 16 points and Christopher McKnight added 14 for the Knights.

Last season, Norwin qualified for the playoffs when it finished in fifth place in Section 2-6A, seven games behind section champion Upper St. Clair.

The Panthers swept the Knights a year ago, winning 57-42 at home and then cruising to victory at Norwin, 81-59.

From gridiron to hardwood

Two schools that battled twice late in the recently completed football season and who have a history on the basketball court will meet Tuesday in a Class 3A nonsection matchup.

Seton LaSalle is off to a perfect 4-0 start as it heads south to take on a Washington team that has split its first four games.

The Rebels have notched double digit wins in all four games, defeating Brashear, Riverview, Serra Catholic and Sto-Rox.

The Little Prexies dropped both games in the Armstrong tipoff tournament, to Deer Lakes and River Valley, before winning two in a row over Ellwood City and, in overtime, Waynesburg.

Two years ago, both teams won their section titles but lost in the opening round of the Class 3A playoffs.

The year prior, the Rebels edged the Little Prexies in the first round of the 2023 WPIAL playoffs, 59-57.

In the recently concluded WPIAL football season, WPIAL Class 2A champion Seton LaSalle first defeated Washington in a Week 9 showdown for the Century Conference crown, then three weeks later, the Rebels eliminated the Little Prexies in the district semifinals, 27-19.

Head for the Hills

Two old eastern rivals will collide in a girls/boys doubleheader Tuesday when Penn Hills visits Woodland Hills.

In the boys game at 7:30 p.m., it’s the final tuneup before section play begins Friday for both teams.

The Indians are searching for their first victory of the season after falling twice in the Central Catholic Jack Twyman Tournament.

Penn Hills lost to Moon, 43-38, and then fell to Mohawk by a near-identical score, 43-39.

The Indians visit Indiana in a Section 2-5A opener Friday.

The Wolverines are 2-1 heading into Tuesday’s fray.

Woody High beat Carrick and Steel Valley in the Play 4 Mae Tournament, then lost by four points to Allderdice.

Woodland Hills begins Section 1-6A action Friday by hosting Pine-Richland.

In the girls game at 6 p.m., it was 30 years ago that Penn Hills won the last of its eight WPIAL championships.

Two years later in 1997, Woodland Hills captured its only girls basketball crown.

This season, both are in the hunt for victory No. 1.

The Indians lost to Penn-Trafford in their only game thus far, while the Wolverines are 0-2 following losses to Carrick and McKeesport.