WPIAL Basketball Playoff Recaps for Friday, February 17th

By: Bruce Markey
Saturday, February 18, 2012 | 12:26 AM

The 2012 WPIAL basketball playoff began with First Round action in Boys Class A and Girls Class AAAA, along with Preliminary Round play in Boys AAA and Girls AA. Here are ALL of the recaps from the 14 girls and 15 boys basketball games played on opening night of the Battle to the Bluff.

Special THANKS to Paul Paterra, Mark Uriah, Bob Barrickman, Scott Briggs, Randy Gore, Bob Gregg, Sam Hall, Jason Tennant, Justin McKim, T.J. DiStefano, Brian Mroziak, Bobby Fox, Mark Schaas, Johnny Lee, Greg Kuntz, Melissa Carle, Bob Orkwis, Terry Neary, Don Rebel, Matt Vandriak, Lee Mohn and Dan Zangrilli for their help on these recaps.

WPIAL BOYS CLASS AAA Preliminary Round:

Highlands Golden Rams 56 – Southmoreland Scotties 48 
It is thought the Highlands Golden Rams are Micha Mason and little else. In this victory over Southmoreland that wasn't the case, as Highlands had four players score in double figures for the first time this season. The WPIAL's two time leading scorer had an off night, which included being held scoreless in the first half, but the Golden Rams still were victorious. Mason did lead the way with 18 points – 11 below his season average. The Drake recruit went 7 for 9 from the foul line in the fourth quarter. Aiding Highlands' cause was 16 points from Tyler Kazmierczyk. Tyler Szymkiewicz added 12 and Glenn Saunders pitched in with 10. Leading Southmoreland was Asa Costelnock with 15 points and Tommy Szatkowski with 11. Southmoreland went 2 for 11 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter hurting its chances at a comeback. Highlands plays top seed New Castle Tuesday at a site and time to be determined.

Trinity Hillers 61 – Kittanning Wildcats 45  
Trinity jumped on Kittanning 19-3 after one quarter on their way to a 61-45 victory Friday night in the first round of the Triple-A boys WPIAL basketball playoffs. The Wildcats outscored the Hillers 27-21 over the next to quarters to pull within ten at the start of the fourth. But the Wildcats could only get to within 8 points of Trinity midway through the fourth quarter before the Hillers pulled away for the win. Christian Koroly and Corey Hunsberger each had 17 points to lead Trinity. Berton Miller was also in double-figures with 10. Sterling Henry led Kittanning with 18. The Wildcats finish their season at 9-14. Trinity improves to 13-10 and will play fourth-seeded Keystone Oaks Tuesday night at a site and time to be determined.

Beaver Bobcats 57 – Thomas Jefferson Jaguars 47  
Aaron Barlow came off the bench to score 18 points including 11 in the fourth quarter to lead the Beaver Bobcats to a 57-47 win over Thomas Jefferson in a WPIAL AAA preliminary game Friday night at Moon High School.  The game was tied 20-20 at the half before the Bobcats led 35-31 after three quarters.  Beaver outscored the Jaguars 22-16 in the final period to improve to 16-6 on the season.  It was the school’s first playoff win in 25 years.  Cory Nesmith added 16 points for the winners while Joe Shaffer led Thomas Jefferson with 14 points, as the Jaguars end their season at 10-13.  Beaver faces South Fayette in a first round game on Tuesday.

Indiana Little Indians 66 – Knoch Knights 53 
Tyrayl Veney scored 17 points and surpassed the 1,000 career point mark as the Indiana Little Indians earned the 15th seed in the class AAA playoffs with a 66-53 win over the Knoch Knights.  Indiana jumped out to a 17-9 first quarter lead, then stretched that lead to 10 by the half – 32-22.  However, the Knights wouldn’t go quietly into the off-season as they cut the lead to just two points midway through the third frame.  But turnovers, missed shots, and timely shooting by the Indians ended Knoch’s post-season run as Indiana led by 9 after three, and extended their lead in the 4th with solid foul shooting and good defense.  In addition to Veney’s 17, Darrious Carter led all scorers with 18, and Indiana’s Logan Weaver added 14 – including a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe.  The Knights had three players score in double figures with seniors Michael Schenk and Tavita Lio netting 15 and 12 respectively, and junior Dakota Bruggeman adding 14.  Indiana was 19 or 24 from the foul line while the Knights were only 5 of 13.  Indiana, 15-9, now advances on to face the defending AAA Champion Montour Spartans.  Knoch finishes 10-13.

Blackhawk Cougars 50 – South Park Eagles 25  
Making their 29th consecutive post-season appearance, the Blackhawk Cougars stormed past the South Park Eagles, 50-25, in the Preliminary Round of the Class AAA playoffs on Friday night.  Blackhawk opened the game with a three-pointer by Brian Alviani for an early 3-0 lead, but that bucket was quickly answered by South Park’s Carter Grote with a trey of his own to tie the score at 3-3.  From the outset, it appeared the game could be a track meet as the Blackhawks held off a feisty South Park team for a 14-8 lead after the first quarter.  The Cougars switched to their trapping defense in the second quarter and converted turnovers into an 11-2 run and a 25-10 halftime lead.  Blackhawk coasted to the victory in the second half with that same style of defense hampering the Eagles all night long.  Senior Nick Martin led the way for the Cougars with a 21 point effort.  While he only scored eight points in the game, senior Cory Ostach returned to the Blackhawk starting line-up after missing the last four games with an injury.  With Ostach and the Cougars now at full strength, they will face Uniontown on Tuesday night in the First Round of the Class AAA playoffs.  Blackhawk improves to 13-9 on the year while South Park finishes their campaign with a 7-16 record.

Elizabeth Forward Warriors 48 – Washington Little Prexies 46
Nate Pelco's three-pointer with 14 seconds to play lifted Elizabeth-Forward to an exciting 48-46 win over Washington.  The Little Prexies had taken a one-point lead 30 seconds earlier on Josh Wise's three pointer field goal.  Early on, it looked like E-F would run away with the game, building a 12-point lead less than a minute into the second quarter.  Washington missed more than a dozen shots within five feet during game, including four in one 10-second stretch.  But a flurry late in the first half saw the Little Prexies battle back even with 8 points in the final 75 seconds, including a two-hand Wise dunk and the junior guard's baseline jumper that tied it at 24-all.  Wash High built a 6-point lead in the third a couple times, but poor ball security and hawking E-F defense kept the game tight.  Nick Fekula and Eric Danko had field goals to help E-F to a 4-point lead with less than 2 minutes to play, setting the stage for the three-balls deciding the contest.  Both teams are 13-10.  Elizabeth-Forward now faces #3 Hampton Tuesday.  

Central Valley Warriors 55 – McGuffey Highlanders 33  
Central Valley got 18 points from Daniel Steffine and ran away from McGuffey to a 55-33 win in a AAA preliminary playoff game Friday night at Keystone Oaks high school. Steffine hit four threes on the night in leading the Warriors, but it was really a tremendous pressure, trapping defense that made the difference in the basketball game. Warrior senior Curtis Lewis added 16 for Central Valley in the win and his ball-handling skills and speed made it very tough for McGuffey to get any defensive momentum going in the game. Central improves to 15-9 on the year and moves on to face the six – seed, Greensburg – Salem in the first round Tuesday night. Mcguffey was led by senior Kyle Rose with 13 points on the night including hitting three shots from beyond the arc. The Highlanders though failed to get another player into double digits and fell to 13-9 on the year after reaching the playoffs for the first time in ten years.
 

WPIAL BOYS CLASS A First Round:

Lincoln Park Leopards 77 – Jefferson-Morgan Rockets 26 
In what may have been expected out of the #1 vs. #16 matchup in Class-A, the Lincoln Park Leopards blew past the Jefferson-Morgan Rockets into the quarterfinals with a 77-26 win.   The Leopards were led all night by the trio of Trey Hosack, Ryan Skovranko, and Devontae Watson, who opened up a 24-4 lead in the first quarter and never looked back.  Offensively, quick ball movement, 3-point shot accuracy, and shear height advantage was too much for the Rockets to handle.  The Leopards even converted 4 slam dunks, 2 each for the 6'6 Skovranko and the 6'10 Watson, which included an alley-oop finish for both.  The height of Watson, who is headed to Temple next year, showed up huge on defense too, making every trip for the Rockets underneath nearly impossible as he ended up with at least 8 blocks and maybe more.  Even on the outside open looks for the Rockets, the gaps were quickly closed by the speed of Lincoln Park.  The Leopards at the half, led 48-10 and barely into the 3rd quarter, the mercy rule went into effect.  The trio combined for 57 points with 22 for Hosack, 19 for Skovranko, and 16 for Watson.  Five other players combined for the other 20 points.  Jefferson-Morgan's leading scorer was Brandon Faieta with 10.

Sewickley Academy Panthers 44 – St. Joseph Spartans 33  
After a slow start, Sewickley Academy regrouped and then moved on. Carrington Motley scored a game-high 18 points and Keenan Hickton added 13 as the Panthers eliminated St. Joseph, 44-33, Friday night in a WPIAL Class A boys basketball first round game at North Hills High School. Sewickley Academy (11-11) fell behind 10-5 after the first quarter and then outscored the Spartans 39-23 the rest of the way.  During the regular season, St. Joseph (11-11) averaged nearly 40 points a contest combined from Michael Connelly and John Arcuri. The Panthers defense limited the duo to 11 points, including zero for Arcuri, who fouled out in the closing seconds. Next up for the Panthers is a familiar opponent—Lincoln Park. The two will meet next Friday in the quarterfinals. The top-seeded Leopards walloped Sewickley Academy, 80-31, on Jan. 21.

Serra Catholic Eagles 73 – Western Beaver Golden Beavers 59
The number 4 seed Serra Catholic Eagles only led 17-14 after the first quarter over the 13 seed Western Beaver Golden Beavers, but after that it was all Eagles as they went on to win 73-59 Friday night at Northgate High School.  The Golden Beavers could only keep up with the fast paced, up tempo style of play from the Eagles for the 1st quarter before things began to get away from them. The Eagles outscored the Golden Beavers 16-4 in the second quarter to take a 33-18 lead into the locker room. The 3rd quarter was also dominated by Serra as they outscored Western Beaver 27-11 making the score 60-29 after three frames. The subs hit the floor mid 4th quarter for Serra and that allowed the Golden Beavers to make the score alittle more respectable as they outscored Serra 30-13 in the fourth. The Eagles were led in scoring with 22 points from Shawn Menzies. Max Kaminsky added 18 and had four three pointers on the game, acouple of which were from NBA range. The team's leading scorer Brandon Camic added 15. Western Beaver was paced by 19 points from Nick Miller and 14 points from Brandon Sheeler, who had four three pointers on the evening. Serra Catholic is now 16-7 and will face number 5 seed Vincentian Academy next Friday night at a site and time to be determined. These two teams met back on January 7 at Serra Catholic with the Eagles prevailing 88-82. It is also a rematch of last year's quarterfinals game in which Vincentian won 67-47. Western Beaver ends the season at 10-12.  

Vincentian Academy Royals 79 – Geibel Gators 36  
THE DEFENDING BOYS "A" CHAMPION ROYALS SCORED THE 1ST 18 POINTS OF THE GAME AND CRUISED TO A 79 TO 36 WIN OVER THE GEIBEL GATORS IN A BOYS "A" FIRST ROUND GAME AT FOX CHAPEL HIGH SCHOOL ON FRIDAY NIGHT.  CHRIS KORYAK INCREASED HIS CAREER POINT TOTAL TO 1193 AND WAS ONE OF 13 ROYALS PLAYERS TO GET IN TO THE SCORING COLUMN BY PICKING UP 24 POINTS AGAINST THE UNDERMANNED GATORS. AARON AGOSTONI LEAD GEIBEL WITH 9 POINTS.  THE GATORS SEASON ENDS FOR THE 2ND STRAIGHT YEAR WITH A 10-12 OVERALL RECORD.  VINCENTIAN ACADEMY IMPROVES TO 20-3 AND THEY WILL TRY TO AVENGE A LOSS FROM EARLIER IN THE SEASON AS THEY TAKE ON SERRA CATHOLIC IN THE QUARTERFINALS NEXT FRIDAY NIGHT.

North Catholic Trojans 66 – Carmichaels Mighty Mikes 38  
North Catholic looked the part of the number-two seed in the 2011-12 McDonalds WPIAL Class A Boys Basketball Championships as the Trojans advanced to the quarterfinals with a 66-38 win over Carmichaels at West Allegheny High School on Friday night. The Mikes managed to keep the game relatively close after eight minutes of action, as North Catholic held a 17-7 after one quarter of play. However, the returning PIAA tournament qualifier grabbed a 33-17 halftime lead and put the game out of reach by outscoring the Mighty Mikes 20-10 in the third quarter. While 6-10 senior center Jon LeGrande may have grabbed the crowd's attention during pre-game warmups, North Catholic's smaller players quickly proved to be the Trojans' biggest weapons. Junior forward Danny Savulchak led the way with a game-high 25 points, while senior guard Brandt Gribbin added 15 points. LeGrande chipped in nine points in the victory. Though it came in a losing effort, Carmichaels senior forward Colton Yoders posted a strong showing in his final high school game by pouring in a team-high 16 points. Sophomore guard Brandon Lawless recorded 10 points on the evening, including all seven of Carmichaels' first-quarter points. With the win, the Trojans advanced to the quarterfinals of the tournament, where they will meet the Union Scotties, who upset Betnworth in the early game at West Allegheny.

Union Scotties 88 – Bentworth Bearcats 74
The Union Scotties used a 12-0 run in the third quarter to take the lead and pulled away with a 10-1 run in the fourth to claim the victory in a mild upset in first round Class A action at West Allegheny. Union led 21-18 after one, but Bentworth pulled even at the half at 33, helped by Gannon Walls-Mitchell and his 15 points over the first two periods. The Bearcats made a run to end the third and pulled within two points on two occasions in the fourth, but Markel Peace scored 10 of his 23 points in the final quarter and the tenth seeded Scotties advanced to the quarterfinals next Friday, they will take on North Catholic. All five Union starters finished in double figures. Peace led with his 23, Ben Young scored 17, Joe Salmen added 16, Tre Major with 15 and Drew Robinson with 10. The Scotties are now 12-9 on the season. Walls-Mitchell ended with game high honors, with 31 points. Chris Blackburn and Tyler Delval each scored 11. Eric Schoedel, the Bearcats leading scorer at 16.3 points per game, was in foul trouble all night and ended with just 5 points. Bentworth ends their season at 18-4.

Clairton Bears 66 – Avella Eagles 24  
Take a continually improving Clairton Bear team, the number 3 Seed in the Class A tournament.  Mix in an Avella Eagle basketball teaming playing without their best player and leading scorer out with Mononucleosis  What do you get? You get a 42 point mercy rule victory by the Bears.  This game was never in doubt as Clairton led 22-4 after the first quarter, 37-11 at halftime and 54-15 after 3.  Clairton, as it is most often, was led by Titus Howard with 20 points, superb point guard Bryon Clifford with 19, and Armani Ford with 17.  Playing without leading scorer Joe Yamber, their 6'4 Senior Forward, the Eagles were led by Soph. Chippy Miller and Senior Timothy Waddell with 6 points apiece.  The #3 seeded Bears will try to stay on their roll next Friday as they take on the Cornell Raiders at a site and time to be determined.

Cornell Raiders 41 – Quigley Spartans 37  
The Cornell Raiders came in to the WPIAL Class A Playoffs as the #2 team out of Section 1 while the upstart Quigley Catholic Spartans entered as the #4 team from Section 2.  The Raiders went on an 8-0 run to start the game, but that would be the biggest lead they would have throughout the game.  The Spartans would claw their way back to tie game at 12 after 1 quarter.  The Raiders had a hard time throughout the game attempting to solve Quigley's zone defense as the Spartans forced bad shot after bad shot.  The Spartans remained close throughout the game, but they did not gain the lead until a 3-pointer by Anthony Herman, his third of the game, made the score Quigley 36, Cornell 35.  Quigley's hold on the lead would be short lived, however, as Cornell's Corey Mackey hit a key jumper to regain the lead.  Dustin Goins, who had been shoutout by Quigley's defense all game long finally got on the board by hitting 4 clutch free throws to ice the game for the Raiders.  Mackey led a fairly balanced Raiders' attack with 10 points.  Dorian Maynard had 9, and Rodney Payne and Dane Jackson each had 7.  Quigley was led by jay Fyda with 11 and and Anthony Herman with 9, and the Spartans have their season ended at 9-14.  Cornell moves on to face the winner between Clairton and Avella.  The Raiders record stands at 17-5.
 

WPIAL GIRLS CLASS AAAA Preliminary Round:

Peters Township Indians 40 – Franklin Regional Panthers 38 
The Peters Township Indians rallied from an eight point halftime deficit for a 40-38 victory over the Franklin Regional Panthers in the Preliminary Round of the Class AAAA Playoffs.  In a see-saw game of runs, the Panthers broke a 17-17 tie with an 8-0 run to take a 25-17 lead into halftime.  Undaunted, Peters Township chipped away in the second half and grabbed the lead on a Morgan Matetic three-pointer to the put the Indians in front, 37-36, early in the fourth quarter.  Matetic led the comeback charge for the Indians, scoring all 10 of her points in the second half and draining a pair of treys along the way.  Franklin Regional claimed the lead back minutes later, 38-37, on a lay-in by Baylee Buleca who finished with 11 points for the Panthers.  Peters Township senior Sarah Grippi scored three points in the second half, but they were the biggest points of the game.  Grippi hit one-of-two free throws with two minutes left to tie the game, 38-38.  With 40 seconds remaining, Grippi hit two more free-throws to give the Indians a 40-38 lead.  Franklin Regional’s efforts in the final 30 seconds failed and Peters Township held on for the two point victory.  The Indians improve to 12-11 on the season and will face the top-seed in the Quad-A bracket, the Oakland Catholic Eagles, on Tuesday night.  Franklin Regional’s season ends with a 15-8 record.
 

WPIAL GIRLS CLASS AAAA First Round:

Shaler Titans 42 – Penn-Trafford Warriors 41  
It was the tale of two halves at Plum High School Friday night.  The rematch of last year’s WPIAL Class AAAA girls quarterfinal between Penn-Trafford and Shaler got off to a sluggish start.  Taylor Cortazzo, the leading scorer for the Warriors, was the only player on the board for her team in the first quarter.  A young Shaler squad pulled an early lead over Penn-Trafford, thanks to three pointers from veteran guard Cate Potter and CJ Harris.  Freshman Andrea Lydon also made her presence known for the Titans with four points and four rebounds in a first quarter that ended with the defending WPIAL champs up 10-7 over the #4 Warriors. Baskets were few and far between early in the second quarter, with the first points not scored until the 3:37 mark.  Olivia Rizzo came alive to jump start Penn-Trafford, dumping in five points in the remaining minutes of the half.  Warriors Coach John Giannikas implemented a full court press, which clearly rattled the Titans, and held them to only six points on two three pointers.  The teams headed to the locker room knotted at 16. Shaler made adjustments at the half that saw them breaking P-T’s pressure defense with ease.  The Titans distributed the ball well, putting five different players on the scoreboard.  Olivia Rizzo continued to pace the Warriors on offense, however, and helped her squad outscore the Titans 13-8, ending the third quarter with a 29-24 lead. Then, things got interesting.  After being down by 11 at one point, Shaler slowly began to chip away at the Penn-Trafford lead.  Cortazzo and her teammates struggled to get anything to fall when it mattered most in the fourth quarter.  Shaler turned on a swarming defense, forcing several turnovers.  The frustrated Warriors sent four different Titans to the foul line, where they accounted for 11 fourth quarter points and the late lead. Cortazzo converted two key free throws in the final seconds, but the Warriors were behind, and in a must-foul situation, sending the Titans to the foul line in the double bonus.  Penn-Trafford got the ball back with two seconds remaining, but a half-court shot fell short as the Titans held on for the huge upset of the Warriors, 42-41. Shaler’s underclassmen played a huge role in the win.  Sophomore CJ Harris and freshman Lizzie Kline each converted three key free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.  Senior Cate Potter led the Titans with 13 points.  Freshman Andrea Lydon finished with eight points and eight rebounds.  Harris also finished with eight points.  Shaler improves to (14-9) and will face Baldwin on Friday, February 24, at a site and time to be determined. Taylor Cortazzo led all scorers with 16 points.  Olivia Rizzo turned in 14 for the Warriors.  Penn-Trafford’s season ends at (18-5)

Baldwin Highlanders 46 – Kiski Area Cavaliers 41  
The Fighting Highlanders jumped out to a 7-0 first quarter lead in this WPIAL Girls AAAA First Round contest and never trailed on their way to the victory at Gateway High School. The Cavaliers whittled the lead to two points and got as close as 1 point several times, including midway through the fourth quarter, but could never take the lead. Senior guard Taylor Wentzel paced Baldwin with 14-points. She was the only Fighting Highlander in double figures. Carly Corcoran and Mandi Johnston added 9-points apiece while sophomore forward Taylor Letender pulled down fifteen rebounds and added 6 points in the win. Senior forward Carlie Zatko led Kiski Area with 14-points. Junior forward Maddie Antone added 13-points and grabbed 12-rebounds in a losing effort. The 12th seeded Cavaliers ended their season at (16-7). Baldwin is now (16-6). The Fighting Highlanders, seeded 5th in the tournament, move on to face 13th seeded Shaler in the quarterfinals. The Titans, the defending WPIAL Girls Quad-A Champions, edged Penn-Trafford 42-41. That matchup will take place Friday February 24th at a site and time to be determined.

Upper St. Clair Panthers 55 – Gateway Gators 53 
Upper St Clair Girl's Basketball Coach Ernie Koontz has had tremendous success in his 27 years at the helm of the USC program.  His teams have won numerous section titles, 5 WPIAL Crowns, and a PIAA Championship. If you asked Coach Koontz, the hunch would be that he would probably tell you that Friday nights opening round playoff win against the Gateway Gators ranks right up there as one of his most satisfying wins ever.  His USC Panthers, a young bunch who did not know their playoff fate until the last week of the regular season upset the Gateway Gators 55-53 at Baldwin High School.  It looked as though the Gators would run away from the Panthers at the very beginning, taking an 8-0 lead with just over a minute gone by in the game.  But with the incredible steady play of USC point guard Jordan Serio, the shooting of her sister Madison Serio,and the clutch play of Constance Raftis, the Panthers hung tough and only trailed 13-10 at the end of the first quarter.  The second quarter was all USC, as the Panthers stymied the Gators with a triangle and 2 defense and some superb off the bench contributions by Amanda Vargo and Rachel Mazzie, actually outscoring the Gators 17 to 2 and taking a 12 point lead into halftime, 27-15.  The third quarter started out much the same, as USC increased their lead to 14 just 3 minutes in, but the Gators found some energy and went on a big run of their own to tie the game at the end of 3.  A lesser group of girls might have conceded.  After all, Gateway has the ultra talented Baylor recruit Destiny Brown, who in close game would probably be the difference.  These Panthers would have none of it.  Behind stellar inside play by Natalie Condo and Elayna Kaylor the Panthers continued to battle the Gators and a key 3 pointer by Raftis put the Panthers up for good with just under a minute to play.  Brown, on her way to Baylor University next year, had 19 points for Gateway.  USC was led by Raftis with 11, Jordan Serio with 11, Madison Serio and Amanda Vargo with 9 points apiece.  Upper St Clair will next take on the Hempfield Spartans in the quarterfinals next Friday at a site and time to be determined.

Hempfield Spartans 52 – Woodland Hills Wolverines 36  
HEMPFIELD SNAPPED AN 8 GAME PLAYOFF LOSING STREAK AND WON THEIR 1ST PLAYOFF GAME SINCE 2005 DEFEATING WOODLAND HILLS 52 TO 36 IN A GIRLS AAAA 1ST ROUND PLAYOFF GAME AT FOX CHAPEL HIGH SCHOOL ON FRIDAY NIGHT.  THE LADY WOLVERINES LEAD 22 TO 20 AT HALFTIME, BUT THE SPARTANS OUTSCORED THE WOLVERINES 33 TO 14 IN THE 2ND HALF TO RUN AWAY WITH THE WIN.  TAYLOR LUBINSKY LEAD HEMPFIELD WITH 19 POINTS, WHILE THE BURNS SISTERS, MONICA AND MARY WERE BOTH IN DOUBLE FIGURES SCORING 13 POINTS A PIECE.  DESIREE GARLAND LEAD WOODLAND HILLS WITH 13 POINTS.  THE LADY WOLVERINES SEASON ENDS AT 11-12.  HEMPFIELD IMPROVES TO 20-3 AND ADVANCES TO THE AAAA QUARTERFINALS TO TAKE ON UPPER ST CLAIR WHO UPSET THE NUMBER 3 SEED GATEWAY IN THE 1ST ROUND.
 

WPIAL GIRLS CLASS AA Preliminary Round:

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Chargers 38 – Beth-Center Bulldogs 14  
The Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Lady Chargers used a combiation of good early shooting and stifling defense to easily defeat the Beth Center Lady Bulldogs 38 – 14 in a preliminary round WPIAL Class AA playoff game Friday evening at Chartiers Houston High School.  OLSH scored the first nine points of the game and were never challenged, leading by 16 – 2 after one quarter and 25 – 5 at halftime.  Sophomore Tia Sciulli and freshman Jackie Matthews each scored 11 for the Chargers, while freshman Anna Bartman led Beth Center with 8. With their victory the Lady Chargers moved to 15 – 8 and earned a matchup in the next round with defending WPIAL Class AA champion Seton LaSalle, who last year beat OLSH three times and knocked them out of the 2011 playoffs.  Beth Center ended their season at 16 – 9.

Quaker Valley Quakers 55 – Springdale Dynamos 20  
Quaker Valley led 12-6 after one quarter but outscored Springdale 26-4 in the second frame as the Lady Quakers rolled to a 55-20 win in a girls AA preliminary game Friday night at Moon High School.  The Lady Dynamos were injury riddled headed into the contest and foul problems hurt their cause even more.  Quaker Valley was led by DeAnn Ryan with 15 points while Sierra Pertile added 12.  Amanda Koprivnikar paced Springdale with eight points, which ended their season at 8-15.  The 14-9 Lady Quakers will meet Beaver Falls Tuesday evening in a first round game.

Beaver Falls Tigers 53 – South Side Beaver Rams 22 
The Beaver Falls Lady Tigers wasted no time establishing a lead against the South Side Beaver Rams, and it was a lead they would not relinquish.  BF jumped out to a 23-0 run to start the game, and the Lady Tigers did not allow a point until 9:57 into the game (1:57 inot the 2nd quarter), playing their trademark stifling defense.  The Rams committed 11 turnovers in the 1st quarter and 33 for the game.  Junior guard Ayana Vaughn led the way for BF with 17 points while sophomore forward Kiana Law added 10.  Despite the mistakes, SS Beaver senior forward Katie Dennis put up a valiant effort, leading the rams with 12 points in her final game with the Rams.  Feaver Falls is now 14-9 and moves on to face the winner between Quaker Valley and Springdale.  SS Beaver's season ends at 8-14.

Keystone Oaks Golden Eagles 56 – Shady Side Academy Indians 53 
Keystone Oaks needed a furious fourth quarter comeback to keep their season alive as they edged Shady Side Academy by three points Friday night at North Hills High School.  Golden Eagles leading scorer Alexa Xenakis was huge in the fourth quarter, finishing with a game-high 29 points. Maryssa Agurs, who struggled on offense for most of the game, hit some key buckets late and finished with 8 points for KO. The Eagles trailed 30-24 at the half thanks in part to Xenakis' buzzer beater from just inside half court. Shady Side Academy led 40-31 after three quarters before Keystone Oaks turned up the pressure on both ends of the floor and outscored SSA 25-13 in the final quarter. The Indians had three players hit double figurres in scoring led by Kelcei Edmonds 20 points. Audrey Koi had 15 points before fouling out while Katie Natoli chipped in with 12 points. Shady Side Academy's season ends at 10-13 while Keystone Oaks improves to 17-6 and will face fourth-seed Deer Lakes on Tuesday at a site and time to be determined.

Burrell Buccaneers 45 – Charleroi Cougars 40 
The turn around season continues for Burrell, as the Buccaneers turned back Charleroi in this Preliminary Round game at Yough High School.  Burrell, coming off of a 7-15 season last year, and playing in their first playoff game since the 2008-2009 season, won their 18th game of the season to advance in the WPIAL playoffs.  The Bucs defense held Charleroi top scorer Shannon Flement to 11 points.  Flement, who's 17.4 points per game average was 9th best in Class-AA, was held in check by the Bucs, who were giving up just 32.3 points against per game, the 3rd lowest in Class-AA.  Burrell got a strong game from Jaila Manga, who's 21 points led all scorers.  Jessica Cercone chipped in 10 points and 5 rebounds for Burrell, while Jenna Ehlrich added 6 points and 10 boards.  Charleroi was led by Mia Woytovich's 16 points.  Burrell (18-4) will move on to play Greensburg Central Catholic on Tuesday night.  Those two teams met in the final game of the regular season, with the Centurions netting a 46-40 victory.  Charleroi finishes 2011-2012 with an overall record of 12-9.

Mohawk Warriors 28 – Washington Little Prexies 24  
Mohawk built an 11-point lead midway through the third quarter, then survived a scoring drought of more than 11 minutes, holding on to a 28-24 win over the Little Prexies.  Early in the game, it was Washington that had trouble scoring, trailing 16-4 more than halfway through the second quarter.  The Warriors (18-5) used a 6-0, including two buckets by Taylor Yarletts, to lead 22-11 early in the third.  Wash High (11-12) closed the gap to eight points at the end of three.  Then neither teams scored again for more than 5 1/2 minutes.  Mya Williams' field goal cut the Warriors' lead to 26-21 with 1:45 to play before Shelby Brown's two free throws sealed the Mohawk win.  Williams finished with 10 points.  Devon Giancola led Mohawk with eight points, including back-to-back three-pointers in a 30-second span of the second quarter.  Mohawk faces #2 Bishop Canevin in the second round Tuesday at a site/time to be determined.

Avonworth Antelopes 38 – Elderton Bobcats 21  
For Avonworth, it was simple Friday night: play its usual suffocating defense and give the ball to its lone senior on the offensive end. That formula produced another win, a 38-21 victory over Elderton in a WPIAL Class AA girls basketball preliminary round game at North Hills High School. The Antelopes (18-4) advance to a Tuesday night first round matchup with Bentworth. Avonworth’s defense held the Bobcats without a point for the game’s first 7 minutes, 34 seconds. Another drought of 5:30 followed as Elderton (12-11) scored seven points in the first half. On the other end, Lauren Mayernik outscored the Bobcats on her own, delivering a game-high 24 points, including two 3-point shots and plenty of overpowering moves inside the paint. Meanwhile, the Bobcats were led by Bethany Meyer’s nine points. Jill Glover, who was the Bobcats top scorer in the regular season (15 points per game) finished with two points.

New Brighton Lions 43 – Ford City Sabers 39  
New Brighton scored the final 8 points of the game to pull of a 43-39 upset of Ford City.  Both teams struggled offensively and the game was called very close which resulted in foul trouble and foul shots.  Despite New Brighton shooting 6-18 and Ford City 16-19 from the line New Brighton was able to win.  Ford City had a chance with 21 seconds left for the victory but the inbound pass went to no one and was picked up by Kiersten Manor who drove for the go ahead lay up.  New Brighton was lead by Kiyonna McFrazier with 18 points.  Ford City's Heather Davis had 17 for the Sabres.  New Brighton will now face Jeannette on Tuesday night.

Steel Valley Ironmen 69 – Freeport Yellowjackets 39  
The Steel Valley Ironmen advance in the girls' AA playoff field with a 69-39 win over the Freeport Yellow Jackets at Keystone Oaks High School on Friday night.  C.C. Dixon led the Ironmen with 17 points.  The Ironmen improve their record to 17-5 and will meet the Riverside Panthers on Tuesday.  Freeport's season ends with a record of 10-12.