WPIAL Basketball Playoff Recaps From Tuesday, February 19th

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, February 20, 2013 | 12:11 AM

The First Round is in the books in four of the eight tournaments as the Quarterfinals field was finalized Tuesday in Boys Class AAA, Boys Class A, Girls Class AAAA and Girls Class AA. Here are recaps from the 24 boys and girls basketball playoff games played on Tuesday night.

Thanks to Jim Frederick, Justin McKim, Mark Uriah, Lee Mohn, Terry Neary, Bob Gregg, Mark Schaas, Glenn Thompson, Jason Tennannt, Matt Vandriak, Steve Nagler, Josh Rowntree, Melissa Carle, Sam Hall, Scott Briggs, Randy Gore, Greg Kuntz, Mike Sackley, Lanfer Simpson, Brian Mroziak and Bob Barrickman for their help on these recaps.

WPIAL CLASS AAA First Round:

Chartiers Valley Colts 77 – Knoch Knights 43 
The Chartiers Valley Colts showed why they are the #1 seed in class AAA with an impressive win over the Knoch Knights in round one of the WPIAL Playoffs.  The Colts (20-3) sprinted out to a 24-9 first quarter lead and really never looked back.  Well almost.  After leading 36-22 at the half, the Colts saw their lead dwindle away as Knoch battled back to draw close halfway through the third quarter by trimming the margin to eight – 40-32.  But the Colts kicked it into a higher gear and ran off 17 straight, before finishing the quarter on a 20-2 run – and leading 60-34 going into the final frame. The Knights had no answer an Chartiers Valley cruised to a 77-43 win, and advance on to the quarter finals.  The Colts were led by Michael Boulos who sliced and diced his way through the Knights to score 23.  Matty McConnell chipped in 20, and 6’6” Spencer Casson added 13 – including a half dozen or so blocks.  The Knights were led by senior Dakota Bruggeman’s 12 points and sophomore Matt Zanella’s 8.  Knoch finishes the season at 12-12 – their first non-losing season since the 2006-07 campaign. 

South Fayette Lions 40 – West Mifflin Titans 34 
In a grind-it-out, low-scoring Class AAA slugfest befitting of a #8 vs. #9 matchup, the South Fayette Lions outlasted the West Mifflin Titans, 40-34 at Baldwin High School in the first round of the basketball championships.  The Lions got 16 points from their leading scorer, Evan Bonnaure.  The son of head coach Rich Bonnaure not only led the way in the scoring column but did a masterful job defending Titan Ryan Maya, only allowing the junior to score 10 points, 8 points under his season average of 18 points.  With the score tied at 6-6 in the first quarter, South Fayette went from a man-to-man defense to a trapping zone which created several turnovers allowing the Lions to go on a 7-0 run to end the quarter.  The Lions then outscored West Mifflin 8-5 in the 2^nd quarter to take a 10-point lead into halftime.  The Titans battled back and cut the Lion lead to two points, however, with an 8-0 run of their own in the 3^rd quarter.  But, South Fayette scored the final 5 points of the quarter to regain a 7-point lead heading into the final quarter and was able to hold off the Titans in the final 8 minutes of the game.  Lions seniors Zach Challingsworth and CJ Rudisill both chipped in with 8 points each.  With the loss, West Mifflin’s season ends with a 16-6 record.  South Fayette (14-9) will now face familiar Section 5 foe, Chartiers Valley.  The Lions fell twice to the Colts in the regular season but will try to upset the top seed in the quarterfinal round when the two face each other again on Friday.

Beaver Bobcats 56 – Indiana Little Indians 53 
The Bobcats got quite a scare but were able to sink three free throws down the stretch to claim the win and advance to Friday’s quarterfinals. Indiana led 15-10 after one quarter of play, the Bobcats were able to take a 27-26 lead, helped out by Aaron Barlow's nine points in the quarter, Barlow finished with 22 points on the night. Beaver led by 12 points midway thru the third quarter at 42-30 with the help of a 10-0 run, but the Little Indians would not go away. Blake Shields hit a three pointer near the end of the quarter to cut the Beaver lead to four. Indiana took two 2-point leads down the stretch, but Beaver took back the lead at 53-51 on an Aaron Barlow bucket. Riley Stapleton tied the game at 53 with 40 seconds left. Both teams had opportunities, Malik Harden was fouled with 11.9 seconds left to send Beaver to the line, but he missed the front end of a one and one, Barlow got the rebound and was fouled, he hit both free throws. Riley Stapleton drove down the right baseline but could not get a shot off, Anthony DiNuzzo hit a free throw, the Indians could not get a good chance to tie the game at the buzzer.  Beaver was led by Barlow with 22 points, Cory Nesmith added 16 and DiNunno 10 for the Bobcats, now 18-3 overall. Beaver will meet Kittanning in the quarterfinals on Friday, the Bobcats have won three straight games.  Indiana was led by Darrious Carter with 17, Riley Stapleton added 11 for the Little Indians, who fall to 17-7. Indiana won the battle of the boards 36-26, Beaver committed 12 turnovers to Indiana’s 17.

Kittanning Wildcats 67 – Central Valley Warriors 62 
Despite a 19-4 overall record, the Kittanning Wildcats'layoff history worked to their disadvantage when the pairiungs were announced a week ago.  The WPIAL Selection Committee forced the Cats to play a preliminary-round game against Yough for the right t play Central Valley in the 1st Round.  Kittanning's 77-56 win in that game against the Yough Cougars was their first WPIAL playoff win snce 1984.  To add a little more historical perspctive to the plot, the Wildcats had not won two consecutive playoff basketball games since 1925.  Despite the disparity in seeding, the 12th-seeded Wilcats were confident going into their matchup with the #5-seeded Central Valley Warriors, who had a 16-6 record.  Both teams established the run-and-gun style early.  While there was quite a lot of scoring between both teams in the 1st half, neither team could establish the defined momentum, and Kittanning had a slight 32-30 edge at halftime.  Tony Gates was the early leading scorer for the Warriors with 8 points coming off the bench while Jacob St. George had 7 before he left the game after catching an elbow to the eye.  Sterling Henry, who earlier this yer passed the 1,00-point plateau for his career, led the Cats with 9.  Neither team led by more than 6 in this one, and the toght man-to-man defenses continued to force turnovers on both sides.  Henry was a force for the Wildcats in the 2nd half as he exploded for 20 points in the 2nd half and had 4 blocked shots in the game as wel, including a pivotal blocked shot on a 3-point attempt near the end of the game.  His play inspired the Wildcats in a 67-62 upset victory over the Warriors, who finish the season at 16-7.  Also contributing in big ways for Kittannng were Vince Mead and Alek Schaeffer, who each had 10, and Noah Kunst, who came off the bench with 9.  CV was led by St. George, who came back from his injury and had 10 of his 17 in the 2nd half, Michael Sims, who had 13, and Brian Kolich, who despite being the leading scorer for the Warriors all season long as he averaged 13 pts/game, was held in check as he had 11.  The Kittanning Wildcats (20-4) will carry the momentum of this upset into their next game as they face the Class AAA Section 2 champion Beaver Bobcats in the quarterfinal round, which all can hear as always on the MSA Sports Network.

Mars Fighting Planets 65 – South Park Eagles 37 
The #2 Seed Mars Planets were able to handle their first-round WPIAL playoff game pretty easily on Tuesday night at Fox Chapel High School.  Mars was taking on #15 seed South Park and the Planets got the victory by a final score of 65-37.  Mars never trailed in this game, and besides a 4-4 score, they were never tied with Eagles either.  Mars used aggressive man-to-man defense to force nine South Park turnovers in the first half of action and hold the Eagles to only 10 points in the first two quarters.  South Park tried a combination of different defenses ranging from a 2-3 zone, 1-3-1 half court set, and straight man, but no matter what they tried Mars had an answer for it.  The game was 26-10 at the half and 45-25 at the end of the 3^rd.  Mars is a team that is very guard oriented and uses their three-point shooting ability a lot, but on this night, the Planets only made four three-point shots, and were led in scoring by their center Josh Goetz.  Goetz had 23 points in the game, and was key in the offensive attack for Mars since their outside shot was cold.  Mitchell Buzard added 15 points and Matt Getsy had 14 for Mars.  For South Park, their big man Ryan Smider had an impressive night with 21 points, and had the only three-point basket for the Eagles.  South Park finished with 14 turnovers and shot 80-percent from the foul line while Mars had 10 turnovers and show 75-percent from the stripe.  Mars will move on to face the Uniontown Red Raiders on Friday at a site and time to be determined.

Uniontown Red Raiders 66 – Blackhawk Cougars 61 
The Uniontown Red Raiders avenged a loss suffered in the 1st round of the WPIAL Playoffs to the Blackhawk Cougars a year down, downing Blackhawk 66 to 61 in a Boys "AAA" first round game on Tuesday Night at Canon Mac.  The Raiders took advantage of a short -handed Cougars team who played without three of their top four scorers who were out with injuries including Pitt Football Recruit Chandler Kincade, Tyler Engle and Alex Caratelli.  Uniontown lead 32 to 22 at halftime and lead by as many as 15 in the 2nd half before the Cougars cut the margin to 5 in the closing seconds, but never drew any closer.  The Raiders were paced by Jordan Pratt who scored a game high 24 points.  Pratt, who suffered a broken nose in Mid-January played in a game without a protective face shield for the 1st time in over a month.  Christian Kezmarsky(15 points) and Xavier Ellis(10 points) were also in double figures for the Raiders.  Chase Migleore lead Blackhawk with 23 points.  The Cougars who were making their 30th straight appearance in the playoffs end their season with a 12-11 record.  Uniontown improves to 17-3 and will face Mars in the quarterfinals on Friday. The Red Raiders defeated the Planets in the 1st Round of the 2011 WPIAL Playoffs.      

Montour Spartans 43 – Ambridge Bridgers 25 
A tight, low scoring game on Tuesday at Moon High saw Montour lead Ambridge at the half, 18-15.  The Bridgers, however, only mustered 10 points in the final 16 minutes and lost to Montour, 43-25 in a first round WPIAL AAA boys contest.  The Spartans received 13 points from senior standout Devin Wilson while Malik Walker paced Ambridge with 12 as the Bridgers had their season end at 14-9.  Montour, the defending PIAA west champion, improved to 20-4 and its next assignment will be against Thomas Jefferson in the quarterfinals on Friday.

Thomas Jefferson Jaguars 48 – Laurel Highlands Mustangs 41 
If you like the physical style of Big East basketball, you would have been a happy camper at Gateway High School watching this opening round matchup, as the #6 seeded Jaguars outlasted the #11 seeded Mustangs. Thomas Jefferson outscored Laurel Highlands 10-8 in the first two quarters to take a 20-16 lead to the locker rooms after a very rough and tumble first half.  In the 3rd quarter though, the Jaguars pulled away.  Taking advantage of several Mustangs turnovers, the Jaguars pushed their lead to as many as a 11 in the quarter, but Joe Pegg's three-pointer at the buzzer got Laurel Highlands within 7 at 36-29 as the 3rd quarter came to an end.  Laurel Highlands cut that lead to 4 points with three-minutes left in the 4th quarter, but the Jaguars remained poised and held off the Mustangs for the 48-41 win. T-J was led by Joe Carroll, who led all scorers with 14 points.  Chase Winovich added 10 for the Jags (17-6) who move on to play Montour in the Quarterfinals Friday night.  Keith Liptock led the Mustangs with 11 points. 

WPIAL CLASS A First Round:

Lincoln Park Leopards 95 – Mapletown Maples 37 
This just in…..Lincoln Park is good. There is a reason the leopards are the number one ranked team in class A. This game between the Mapletown Maples and the Lincoln Park Leopards was a mismatch from the opening tip. Behind the stellar play of Maverick Rowan and Elijah Minnie, Lincoln Park eased out to a 62-9 halftime lead. Then they were able to put it in cruise control the rest of the way. Mapletown did get 18 points from Derek Riggleman but it was not nearly enough to contest the taller, faster Leopards. The final score was Lincoln Park 95 Mapletown 37.

Wilkinsburg Tigers 63 – Carmichaels Mighty Mikes 42 
The Wilkinsburg Tigers led from the start and held a double-digit lead throughout the final two-and-a-half quarters to advance to the WPIAL Quarterfinals with a 63-42 win over Carmichaels at Peters Township High School.  Play was a bit sluggish to start and the Tigers held a 13-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.  The first three minutes of the second quarter were scoreless, but then Wilkinsburg started to find their stride.  The Tigers opened up a 29-13 lead at the half as Carmichaels' outside shooting, which is the staple of the Mikes' offense, was completely cold.  Wilkinsburg also dominated the glass on both ends of the floor.  The Mikes would cut the lead to 12 after the opening possession of the fourth quarter, but that was as close as they would get as the Tigers pulled away down the stretch, scoring 24 points in the fourth quarter.  Wilkinsburg was led by Jonathan Blue with 18 points with D'Shawn Adair and Isaiah Pete each adding 14.  All of the Tigers points came inside, with no 3-pointers made and only 5 successful free throws.  All but 7 points for the Mikes came from two players, Brandon Lawless with 18 and Ty Cole with 17.

WPIAL CLASS AAAA First Round:

Mount Lebanon Blue Devils 50 – Franklin Regional Panthers 30 
It only took 16 minutes, but defending WPIAL AAAA girls champion Mount Lebanon finally shook off the rust from a 12-day layoff. Led by Alex Ventrone’s game-high 16 points and a dominating second half, the Blue Devils beat Franklin Regional, 50-30, at North Hills to advance to the quarterfinals of the WPIAL playoffs on Friday night. Mount Lebanon (21-2) trailed the Panthers 12-9 after the first quarter and then led, 24-21, at halftime before outscoring Franklin Regional (11-13) 26-9 in the second half en route to its 14^th consecutive victory. Christine Ehland sparked the second half surge, scoring nine of her 13 points in the third. Jordan Holmes added nine and several blocked shots for the Blue Devils. Baylee Buleca with 10 points and Maggie Kimmich with eight were the top scorers for the Panthers.

Fox Chapel Foxes 45 – Butler Golden Tornado 36 
From the start the Fox Chapel Foxes seemed to be in control of this first round AAAA girls playoff game – but the Butler Golden Tornado saw it differently.  After falling behind 15-5 after one quarter, Butler used a smothering full court defense to battle back into the game and eventually take the lead mid way through the 4^th quarter.  After a couple of lead exchanges – the Foxes took control in the final minute as guard Kayla Slovenec, who had been on the bench with four fouls, made two big plays down the stretch finishing the game with 10 points, and solidified a 45-36 Fox Chapel win.  Butler’s Caitlyn Baxter drained the only three-pointer of the game at the end of the third to spark the Golden Tornado’s fourth quarter run.  Julia Baxter netted seven of her game high 16 points in the fourth and MacKenzie O’Donnell added 10, but it wasn’t enough to keep Butler in the Playoffs.  Fox Chapel’s Alexa Yaksich led the Foxes with 12, while Taylor Cohen and 6’3” Erin Mathias each added nine. 

North Allegheny Tigers 56 – Baldwin Highlanders 33 
North Allegheny opened the game on a 15-2 run and rumbled into the WPIAL Class AAAA Quarterfinals with a 56-33 win over Baldwin on Tuesday night. By the time the Highlanders found their rhythm in the second quarter, it was too late as the Lady Tigers knocked down five treys for a 30-17 lead at intermission.  In the second half, the Tigers used crisp back-door passing to balloon their advantage behind a 17 point performance from junior Taylor Brennan. Freshman Abby Gonzales added 14 points for NA and sophomore Meg Mornigstar posted a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. For the Highlanders, Nikki Corcoran pumped in a team-high 10 points. The Tigers held Baldwin to 25% shooting on the night and allowed just 5 of 16 from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, North Allegheny knocked down 51% from the field and dropped in 5 of 9 from three-point land. The second-seeded Tigers improve to 20-3 on the season and will face Gateway in the WPIAL Quarterfinals. Baldwin’s season ends with an 11-12 record overall.

Gateway Gators 55 – Oakland Catholic Eagles 40 
The 7^th seeded Gateway Gators looked more like a team in the top four seeds of the Class Quad-A bracket as they dismantled a very good 10^th seeded Oakland Catholic Eagles team in the first round of the basketball championships.  The Gators rushed out to a 11-5 lead at the end of the first quarter and led by 8 points at the half.  Oakland Catholic was able to cut the deficit to less than 5 points in the 3^rd quarter but Gateway outscored the Eagles by a 17-9 advantage in the 4^th quarter.  The Gators were led by Katey Wilson who had 12 points, many of which coming from the foul line in the pivotal final quarter.  Both Chelsea Richardson and Jada Epps added 10 points apiece for Gateway.  Oakland Catholic was led by three players with 8 points each (Paige Bianchin, Taylor McCorkle and Mara Fitzgerald).  Oakland Catholic’s season comes to an end with a record of 9-14 while Gateway (19-4) moves on to face 2^nd seeded North Allegheny in the quarterfinals on Friday night.

Bethel Park Black Hawks 61 – Norwin Knights 31 
The 3^rd-seeded Bethel Park Lady Black Hawks were never really challenged Tuesday night at Woodland Hills High School, coasting to a 61-31 first round victory over the 14^th seeded Norwin Lady Knights. Bethel Park got out to a 10-0 lead in the first few minutes of the game and delivered a tough and unrelenting performance defensively, limiting Norwin’s ability to drive the lane and get good looks down low. Megan Marecic and Samantha Simpson both had big nights for Bethel Park, with each scoring 14 points to lead all scorers. Nine Black Hawks registered points on the scoreboard throughout the game. Norwin started to play better in the 4^th quarter, but by then it was too little too late. Norwin senior Rachel Dellefemine lead her team with 12 points, as she played inspired basketball in the final quarter of her final game as a Lady Knight. But it was all about Bethel Park Tuesday night as the Lady Black Hawks move on to play 6th-seeded Penn-Trafford in the quarterfinals Friday night.

Penn-Trafford Warriors 50 – Plum Mustangs 40 
Penn-Trafford got off to a hot start from beyond the arc early on, with three threes from Taylor Cortazzo and Maria Palarino.  The Warriors outscored Plum 18-7 in the first quarter.  Plum turned things up offensively in the second quarter with 11 points, but a relaxed 2-3 zone defense was no match for Penn-Trafford's offense.  The Warriors took a 27-18 lead to the locker room.  The Mustangs picked up the defensive intensity in the third quarter, holding the Warriors to only seven points.  Plum struggled offensively, however, posting only three points in the period.  At the midway point of the final quarter, Plum found some success with a full court pressure defense, forcing several turnovers of Penn-Trafford, and scoring 19 points.  Just as the Mustangs pulled within seven, the Warriors' Maddy Mossellum hit a huge three pointer to kill Plum's momentum.  The Mustangs would never recover, and fell 50-40.  Plum was led by Krista Pietropola's 13 points.  Courtney Zezza finished with 11 for the Mustangs.  Plum's season comes to an end at (17-6).  Penn-Trafford was led by Taylor Cortazzo's 16 points and Maria Palarino's 15 points.  The Warriors move to (19-4) and will face Bethel Park Friday night at a site and time to be determined.

WPIAL CLASS AA First Round:

Seton-LaSalle Rebels 61 – Washington Little Prexies 20 

Seton-LaSalle ran out to a 21-2 lead and never looked back, beating Washington, 61-20, in the Sweet 16 round of the WPIAL AA girls playoffs. After Washington got a second field goal and a couple foul shots in the first quarter, the Rebels held Washington without another point for the next 13 minutes while rolling up 33 straight points of their own.  In that opening period, Katherine Hart and Naje Gibson each scored 9 points–Hart mostly from the foul line, Gibson from in close, several times on put-backs.  In a demonstration of style diversity, Seton-LaSalle (22-1) popped in five three-pointers in the second quarter, two each from Nicolette Newman and Madalena Psillidis.  The Rebels used a half court zone in the second half with the "quick time rule" keeping the clock running.  Gibson was the only player in double figures, finishing with 17 points.  The defending PIAA and two-time defending WPIAL champions have not lost to a WPIAL team since December 28, 2010,  going 75-2 overall since that 47-42 setback to Vincentian Academy.

Greensburg Central Catholic Centurions 60 – Beaver Falls Tigers 55 
Greensburg Central Catholic trailed Beaver Falls 49-39 after three quarters but the Lady Centurions outscored the Lady Tigers 21-6 in the fourth period to win their WPIAL AA girls first round game 60-55.  Beaver Falls once enjoyed a 12-point lead in the game played Tuesday at Canon-McMillan High School before GCC caught fire in the final quarter.  Carolyn Appleby led the Lady Centurions with 24 points while Nikki Adisey added 14.  Ayana Vaughn, the daughter of Beaver Falls coach Brad Vaughn, led the Lady Tigers with 25 points.  Beaver Falls saw its season end at 15-9.  Now 17-6, GCC will meet number one seed Seton-LaSalle, the defending WPIAL and PIAA AA champion, on Friday in the quarterfinals.

Deer Lakes Lancers 52 – Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Chargers 43 
The Deer Lakes Lady Lancers rode a strong first quarter performance to victory tonight as they defeated the Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Lady Chargers 52 – 43 in a first round Girls Class AA WPIAL playoff contest at Hampton High School.  The Lady Lancers outscored OLSH 17 – 8 in the first frame and were never headed from there.  The Lady Chargers closed to within four points early in the third quarter but Deer Lakes went on a mini run to lead by nine again.  OLSH got within three in the fourth quarter but couldn't climb all the way back.  Becca Babincak led the Lancers with 21 points and Danielle Kearns scored 15 while Jackie Mathews had 17 for the Chargers.  Deer Lakes (20 – 3) advances to a quarterfinal game against the Jeannette – Steel Valley winner on Friday.  OLSH finishes their season at 19-5.

Jeannette Jayhawks 68 – Steel Valley Ironmen 60 
Jeannette star Ciara Gregory knows a thing or two about scoring. Unfortunately for Steel Valley, they now know a little too much about Ciara Gregory. No. 5 Jeannette (16-6) overcame an 11-point 3rd quarter deficit and rallied to beat No. 12 Steel Valley (15-8) 68-60 on Tuesday night at Fox Chapel High School. Gregory, a UNC Charlotte recruit who entered play averaging a WPIAL best 30.4 points per game, scored 31 of her season high 41 points in the 2nd half, including 19 in the 4th quarter. However, it was Steel Valley that controlled the majority of the game, leading 30-23 at halftime and extending their lead to 39-28 in the 3rd quarter. However, that was when Gregory would take over, hitting a three pointer before the buzzer to give Jeannette a 46-44 lead after three quarters. Remarkably, Jeannette was outrebounded 62-31 in the contest. Steel Valley, who was plagued by 20 turnovers, received terrific performances from Sydney Smith (18 points, 24 rebounds) and C.C. Dixon (26 points, 11 rebounds). Lacey Gori chipped in 10 points and 7 rebounds for the Ironmen, while Monique Redman added 14 points and 7 rebounds for the Jayhawks. But the real story was Gregory, who moves into 31st place in WPIAL scoring history amongst girls with 2049 career points. Jeannette moves into the Quarterfinals for the fourth time in five years, where they will meet No. 4 Deer Lakes on Friday at a site and time to be determined.   

Bishop Canevin Crusaders 65 – Neshannock Lancers 28 
2nd seed Bishop Canevin dominated in a huge way against number 15 Neshannock in jumping out to a 9-0 1st quarter lead. The Lady Lancers pulled back to within 9-4 but that was as close as they would get as B-C picked up a 65-28 victory in the WPIAL Girls AA tournament at Moon High School.  Erin Waskowiak, bound for Duquesne University, was superb  in scoring 33 points including 18 in the first half while Carly Forse added 13 for 19-4 Bishop Canevin, which is hoping to get another shot  at top seed Seton LaSalle down the road.  The Rebels beat the Crusaders twice during the regular season and in last year's WPIAL title game. 12-12 Neshannock was led by Madison McHale's 14 points. Next up for Bishop Canevin will be 17-6 Mohawk on Friday.

Mohawk Warriors 45 – Beaver Bobcats 36 
Mohawk jumped out to an early 20 point lead and watched Beaver make a furious comeback before taking control late and securing a 45-36 victory on Tuesday night.  Mohawk led 14-3 at the end of the first quarter and 27-11 at the half.  Beaver had plenty of opportunities out rebounding Mohawk in the first half but could not buy a bucket.  Beaver picked up the defensive pressure in the 2nd half and forced 18 turnovers but good foul shooting down the stretch preserved the victory.  Mohawk was 20-28 from the foul line.  For Mohawk Shelby brown led all scorers with 17 points while Lucia Fe chipped in with 14.  For Beaver Eleanor Neeley had 15 points.  Beaver season ends at 17-5 while Mohawk improves to 17-6 and will take on Bishop Canevin in the quarterfinals on Friday night.

Burrell Buccaneers 47 – Carlynton Cougars 23 
The Burrell Bucs brought the top scoring defense in the WPIAL to their opening round contest in the WPIAL Girls AA tournament Tuesday night allowing opponents just 27.1 points per game for the season. That number got better by the time the night was over as Burrell rolled over the Carlynton Cougars 47-23. Burrell held Carlynton to a total of five points in the first half allowing just a single field goal in the first and second quarters to take a 19-5 lead into the break. Burrell sophomore Sydney Bordanaro scored 8 of her game high 16 points in the first half to help Burrell build that lead. Buccaneer freshman Natalie Myers also reached double digits scoring 8 of her 13 points in the second half as Burrell cruised to their 21st win of the season. The Cougars season, which saw them get to and win a playoff game for the first time in 8 years ends at 13-11. Carlynton was led by junior Hannah Murray who scored all of her team's points in the first half and added three treys in the third quarter to bring her team high total to 14 for the evening. Burrell improves to 21-2 on the year and moves on to the quarter finals for the first time since 1995 where they will face the McGuffey Highlanders for the right to play in the semi finals. All of that action can be heard right here on the MSA Sports Network.

McGuffey Highlanders 53 – Riverside Panthers 38 
Three McGuffey players scored in double figures to lead the Highlanders over Riverside Tuesday night in the WPIAL AA girls basketball playoffs. Sophomore Sammy Weiss lead all scorers with 23 points, Cassie Weiss added 12 and Rachel Czulewicz 11. McGuffey jumped out to a 17-9 lead after one quarter, led by ten at the half, and Riverside could only get as close as 8 early in the third quarter. Nicole Mansfield led the Panthers (15-9) with 16 points and Alex Deep scored 12 for Riverside. McGuffey (20-2) advances to face Burrell in the quarter finals Friday at a site and time to be determined.