WPIAL Basketball Playoffs – Saturday 2/15 Recaps
By:
Saturday, February 15, 2014 | 9:35 PM
The focus of Day Two of the 2014 WPIAL basketball Playoffs switched to Class AAAA Boys First Round, Class AA Boys Preliminary Round, Class AAA Girls Preliminary Round and Class A Girls First Round. Outside of Latrobe throwing a scare into two-time defending boys champions New Castle, all went pretty much as expected Saturday afternoon. Here are ALL of the recaps from the 12 boys and 10 girls postseason contests.
A special thanks to Zach Zeigler, Dow Carnahan, Josh Rowntree, Dennis Fischer, Jordan Thompson, Steve Nagler, Lou Rood, T.J. DiStefano, Brandon Showers, Bob Orkwis, Sean Meyers, Mark Schaas, Sam Hall, Greg Kuntz, Chris Lackner, Bob Gregg and Mike Sackley for their help on these recaps.
WPIAL CLASS AAAA First Round:
New Castle Red Hurricane 85 – Latrobe Wildcats 66
Top seeded and defending champion New Castle defeated Latrobe this afternoon in the first round of the WPIAL AAAA boys basketball playoffs by a score of 85-66 in a game played at North Allegheny. The 16th seeded Wildcats stayed with the Red Hurricanes throughout the first half leading 20-18 after the first quarter and only trailing 41-39 at intermission. New Castle took charge of the contest in the third quarter by outscoring Latrobe 27-12 to increase their advantage to 68-51 heading into the fourth stanza. The Red Hurricanes outscored the Wildcats 17-15 in the fourth for the 85-66 final. All five New Castle starters scored in double figures led by Malik Hooker with 31 points. Jake McPhatter had 15 while Stew Allen added 12 points. Anthony Richards scored 11 and Drew Allen chipped in with 10. Matt Cullen led the way for the Wildcats with 19 points and Sean Graytok added 15. With the win New Castle improves their record to 23-0 and will now meet the winner of the Bethel Park-Fox Chapel game in the second round. Latrobe finishes their season with a record of 12-10.
Bethel Park Black Hawks 49 – Fox Chapel Foxes 45
The 8 v 9 game in the AAAA bracket is one you always expect to be competitive, in 2014 it was an absolute thriller between the Fox Chapel Foxes and the Bethel Park Black Hawks. Bethel Park took a 37-30 lead into the fourth quarter against the Foxes at North Hills on Saturday afternoon but they had to come from behind in the final minute to win 49-45. Brian Papich flushed a dunk off a blocked Bethel Park shot with just over two minutes to play, igniting the Foxes’ fans and giving the Foxes their first lead of the second half. Bethel responded when,with around a minute to play Levi Metheny came up with an offensive rebound and a putback to cut the Fox Chapel lead to two. Metheny then came up with the defensive play of the game for Bethel Park with a fantastic steal, on a diving effort to get the ball and move it ahead for his teammates who found senior Josh Krafczynski on the right wing where Krafczynski hit his sixth three pointer of the night with half a minute remaining to give the Hawks a lead they would not relinquish. The Hawks defense had a big hand in the win as they held down the Fox Chapel “Big Three” of Matt D’Amico, Billy Urso and Brian Papich to just eight combined fist half points and Bethel led at the break 25-20. Papich finally got it going in the second half when he scored all of his team high 16 points. D’Amico finished with 11 on the night less than half his season average. Krafczynski led Bethel with 20 omn the night hitting on six of 14 attempted three point shots, all of his attempted field goals were from beyond the arc. Joe Mascaro chipped in with 11 points on the night for Bethel Park which improves to 18-5 on the year and advances to the quarterfinals to take on the top seed in AAAA New Castle next week on the MSA Sports Network. Fox Chapel sees a solid 2013 – 2014 campaign come to a close as there record falls to 17-6.
Hampton Talbots 61 – Peters Township Indians 26
The #2 seed Hampton Talbots defeated the #15 seed Peters Township Rams, 61-26, in the first round of the WPIAL Quad A boys basketball tournament at Fox Chapel High School on Saturday afternoon. Hampton, second place finishers in Section 3, led 16-7 at the end of the first quarter and 26-11 at the half as both defenses controlled the tempo of play. But the Hampton offense came to life in the third quarter, pouring in 26 points, to take a 52-18 lead going into the final eight minutes of play. Hampton senior Ryan Luther led all scores with 27 points. Juniors Rylen Faloni and Tim Swope paced the Rams with four points each. Hampton (20-3), last year’s runner-up, advances to the quarterfinals where the Talbots will take on Franklin Regional, a 70-59 winner over Seneca Valley in another first round game, next Saturday at a site and time to be determined. Peters Township, who finished fourth in Section 4, ends its season at 11-12.
Franklin Regional Panthers 70 – Seneca Valley Raiders 59
The #7 seed Franklin Regional Panthers continue to roll winning their seventh game in a row over the #10 seed Seneca Valley Raiders 70-59 in the 1st round of the playoffs Saturday afternoon at Plum High School. After leading 16-15 after the first quarter the Panthers never looked back and were in control the rest of the contest. The Panthers extended the lead at halftime to 31-20, after outscoring the Raiders 15-5 in the second quarter. The Raiders would get as close 8 or 9 points a few times during the second half and only trailed 48-37 after three, but couldn’t get any closer. Franklin Regional had four players in double figures and nine players scored total. Leading the way was Matt Fisch with 18, Matt Renzi added 15, Devin Arrigo scored 13 and Charan Singh had 11. Seneca Valley had three players in double figures led by Zach Snyder with 18, Matt Darby and Dakota Topf added 13 apiece. Franklin Regional improves to 16-6 and will take on #2 seed Hampton next Saturday. Seneca Valley ends the season at 12-11.
WPIAL CLASS AA Preliminary Round:
Jeannette Jayhawks 61 – Sto-Rox Vikings 34
In a game that featured two teams with rich basketball traditions and an unfamiliarity with the preliminary round of the playoffs, the Jeannette Jayhawks soundly defeated the Sto-Rox Vikings. The Jayhawks outscored Sto-Rox 17-9 in the opening quarter and never trailed, limiting the Vikings to 0 points over an 8-minute stretch between the 1st and 2nd quarters. They also held the Vikings without a field goal for more than ten minutes in that same span of time. Jeannette was led in scoring by their outstanding junior guard Julian Batts who scored 25 points, nearly three points more than his season average. Senior Miles Sunder added 12 points for the Jayhawks, who now face the daunting task of facing top-seeded Seton-LaSalle on Wednesday in the opening round of the Class AA Boys Basketball bracket. Sto-Rox was paced by Makil Allen who scored 13 points for the Vikings. Lenny Williams chipped in with 8 points, all in the 2nd half. The Vikings’ season ends with a record of 11-12.
Washington Little Prexies 68 – Burrell Buccaneers 52
Nathan Swart hit four three-pointers leading Washington to a 68-52 win over Burrell Saturday afternoon. Dupree Jenkins pumped in 16 points in the first half, part of a 10-2 run late in the second quarter that took the Little Prexies from a 5-point lead to a 33-20 advantage. The teams were relatively even from that point but Washington (17-6) had control and never gave it up. Max Garda paced the Bucs with 19 points, going 10 of 12 at the foul line. Brendan Lettrich added 15, Joseph Cox 14. All three are underclassmen for Burrell (6-16). Dequay Isbel added 14 points for Washington which advances to take on #8 Summit Academy Wednesday in the Sweet 16, the Little Prexies seeking their first quarterfinal berth since 2010.
Brownsville Falcons 42 – Brentwood Spartans 40
The Brownsville Falcons seem to have a flair for the dramatic when it comes to boys basketball. Class AA’s section five champions played a back and forth game with the Brentwood Spartans and it was Ryan Novotney with a floater in the lane in the final seconds that sealed the deal for the Falcons in a 42-40 win Saturday at Peters Township in the preliminary round. It was a game of runs with momentum changing hands numerous times. The 2nd half is where things really heated up. Brownsville went on a run to start the half, taking a 30-23 lead. From there, Brentwood went on an 11-0 run, keyed by two big three-point shots from Connor McWilliams. In the late stages of the third and into the fourth, Brownsville retook the lead on an 8-0 run of their own. Baskets were tough to come by in the fourth quarter as both teams tightened up defensively. Brentwood would tie the game at 40 late and Brownsville called a timeout with just under a minute left. The Falcons let the clock run down under 10 seconds when Novotney drove the lane and buried the floater to give Brownsville the lead and the win. Cole Novotney led Brownsville with 11 points. DeShawntae Bell had a nice defensive game and chipped in with 10 points. McWilliams led the Spartans with 16 points. The Brownsville Falcons improve to (14-7) and earns the #13 seed in Class AA. They get #4 Beaver Falls Wednesday night. Brentwood ends its season at (12-9).
Shady Side Academy Indians 74 – Northgate Flames 56
It was all Indians in the AA Preliminary matchup between Shady Side Academy and Northgate. Shady Side jumped out to a five point lead in the first after going on an 5-0 run and led the entire game. Northgate never was able to overcome two 5-0 runs in the first by the Indians and the route was on from there. Shady Side rode a 7 point lead after the first and despite turning the ball over 8 times in the first half took an 18 point lead into the break, 40-22. Northgate was led in the first half by a pair of 8 point scorers, Taymon Russell and Shane Adams while Shady Side Academy was lead at the break by Kyle Olander with 21 and Mike Ware 10. The large lead for the Indians at the break lead to Northgate having to take three pointers in the third and the lead at the end of the third was down to 7 in favor the Indians, 59-46. In the 4th Shady Side pulled away to finish the game with a final score 74-56 with the last points for the Indians being from fan favorite Josh Levy draining a 3 pointer from the far corner and the student section erupting. For Shady Side Olander finshed with 29, Mike Ware ended with 22, Dylan Groff ended with 7, Tyler Demchak with 4, Dan Marous and Josh Levy with 3 a piece and T-Jay Cleveland/Jackson Fitzgerald/Chuck Calabrese each with 2 points for the total of 74. For Northgate they were led by Taymon Russell with 26, Shane Adams had 13, Darrell Barron had 12, Johnny Camello had 3, and Ti’rae Bernard had 2 points for the total of 56.
Laurel Spartans 46 – West Shamokin Wolves 45
The Spartans held on for dear life to advance out of the preliminary round and face second seeded Greensburg Central Catholic in the first round on Wednesday night. Laurel scored just seven points in the final quarter, going 3-11 from the field and committed six turnovers but Scott Siddal came up with two huge baskets in the quarter as the Wolves could never get the lead. Jacob Wilson had a chance to seal the win with a 1 and 1 with 4.5 seconds to play, he missed the front end, West Shamokin called timeout to set up the winning play. The Wolves went deep, hitting Jake Hough under the basket, but he was too far under and tried to come back but his shot at the buzzer hit the bottom of the backboard and the Spartans celebrated. Zac Horner gave the Wolves a chance to win the game, scoring 6 of his 15 points in the final frame. Hough also scored 15 for the Wolves. West Shamokin was 17-43 from the field and committed 19 turnovers, the Wolves finish the season at 17-6. Laurel, now 13-10, was led by Siddal with 16 points, the Spartans were 17 of 44 from the field and committed 21 turnovers.
Apollo-Ridge Vikings 52 – California Trojans 38
In the second game of a boy girl triple header at EF, Apollo Ridge jumped out to a 7-2 lead early in the 1st quarter but California answered with a run of their own and the quarter ended in a 13 all tie. Only 11 points total were scored in the 2nd quarter as California clung to a 19-18 halftime lead. Malik Jackson and Austin Wingo each had 6 points for the Trojans while freshman Duane Brown led the Vikings with 7 first half points. Asked after the game what he said to his team at halftime, Apollo Ridge Head Coach Matt Gourley admitted that he got after them a little bit. “We weren’t playing the way we are capable of playing”, he said. “The second half everyone saw the way we normally play.” Boy did they ever as the Vikings came storming out of the locker room and ran past California in the decisive 3rd quarter outscoring the Trojans 28-6 turning a close game into a decisive victory for AR. Alex Smith hit three 3’s and added a pair of free throws to lead the 3rd quarter surge for the Vikings, but had ample help from Dominic Schrecengost who tallied 7 points and Tre Tipton who chipped in 6 more in the quarter. The offensive outburst was the difference in the game as Apollo Ridge held a comfortable lead the rest of the game. Leading scorers for the game were Duane Brown and Alex Smith with 13 each for the Vikings. Tre Tipton added 10 and Dominic Schrecengost added 9. Austin Wingo was the leading scorere for California with 8 points followed by Atrayo Matthews and Kass Taylor with 7 each. With the win Apollo Ridge now will take on Quaker Valley on Wednesday at a site and time to be determined by the WPIAL.
Chartiers-Houston Buccaneers 66 – Charleroi Cougars 60
Miles Williamson and Noah Deep combined for 14 points in the second quarter for the Bucs as Chartiers-Houston put up a 10-0 run to take the lead for good, downing Charleroi, 66-60, Saturday afternoon. The Bucs face #3 Aliquippa in Wednesday’s Sweet 16. Charleroi scored first and built leads of 15-10 late in the first and 27-23 midway through the second when the Bucs rolled up 10 straight points. The Cougars got two field goals in the final 15 seconds of the half to make it 33-31 at intermission. The Bucs used a 13-4 start to the third to get some breathing room, leading 46-35 with less than three minutes remaining in the third, but Matt Indorante’s unchallenged three-pointer at the buzzer game Charleroi a lift, pulling the Cougars to within 10 with eight minutes to play. Riding that momentum, Charleroi attacked the basket, outscoring CHHS 10-2 in the first four minutes of the final quarter, getting to within two points, as close as the Cougars had been since intermission. Williamson and Ben Shade then took over, with five field goals between them, getting Chartiers-Houston (17-6) the win, the Bucs’ fourth straight and seventh in the last nine games. Williamson had 22 points, A.J. Myers 18, including four three-pointers. Shade finished with 14 for the Bucs. Ryan Konek’s 18 poitns paced Charleroi (13-8). Dakota Moorer tallied 13, John Arnold 10 for the Cougars.
Frazier Commodores 46 – South Allegheny Gladiators 43
The Frazier Commodores were looking to avenge a 25-point loss to the South Allegheny Gladiators back on December 18, but it looked in the early going that this rematch was also going to go the way of the Gladiators as despite getting the first 2 points of the game on a bucket by Charles Manack, South A went on a 7-0 run to set the tone for the balance of the first half. Ty Cook would score every point on that run and 4 more as he had the first 11 points for the Gladiators. They also played excellent perimeter defense and forced a number of turnovers which led to fast break opportunities and points on the other end of the court. South A, however, could not pull away in the half as Frazier would pull to within 4 at the break, 21-17. Cook had 13 to lead the Gladiators. The adjustments that Frazier made at the half seemed to work for them as they started to take better care of the basketball as and force soem SOuth Allegheny turnovers. The real turning point of the game took place in the 3rd quarter after an emphatic block by Cook turned into another opportunity for the Commodores as they retained possession. They were able to get the ball to Manack, who hit a 3-pointer. Frazier would go on a 9-0 run at the end of the 3rd to take the lead, which they would never relinquish. South A did their best to stay with the Commodores as they pulled to within 1, but two clutch free throws from Roger Cline with :06 to go would force the Gladiators to hit a 3-pointer to send the game to overtime. South Allegheny would come up short as they had for most of the game beyond the arc, and Frazier would win by a 46-23 score. Manack led all scorers with 20 points, but he got support with 9 each from Cline and Alvin Ross. Despite the explosive 1st half he had for South Allegheny, Ty Cook was fairly quiet in the 2nd half as he had just 5, finishing with 18. Kordell Thompson had 13 for SA, 10 in the 2nd half including 2 3’s. Frazierups their record to 15-7 and will face Avonworth in the Round of 16 in the Class A playoffs. Despite their first appearance in the WPIAL Playoffs since 2003, South Allegheny’s season ends at 14-9.
WPIAL CLASS AAA Preliminary Round:
Kittanning Wildcats 54 – Greensburg-Salem Golden Lions 38
Kittanning used balanced scoring and a dominant rebounding performance to defeat Greensburg-Salem 54-38 in WPIAL Class AAA girls qualifying round action at Plum High School. A trio of Lady Wildcats, Emily Knepshield, Emily Klingensmith and Tiffany Montgomery, each scored 11 points in the victory. Kittanning jumped out to an early 8-2 lead, as Knepshield found her scoring rhythm in the opening quarter. After the Kittanning lead was trimmed to one late in the opening quarter, the Lady Wildcats scored seven straight points to regain control. Although Greensburg-Salem played solid initial defense in the first half, Kittanning’s dominance on the offensive glass allowed the Lady Wildcats to score on second and third-shot opportunities. Greensburg-Salem failed to pull any closer than within nine points in the second half, as all six of the Lady Wildcats who entered the contest scored at least five points. Karly Mellinger netted a game-high 20 points, including 16 in the second half, for the Lady Golden Lions, while Claire Oberdorf added 14. That duo accounted for all but four of the Greensburg-Salem points, however. With the win, Kittanning claims the No. 16 seed, and advances to face top-seeded Blackhawk on Wednesday.
Ringgold Rams 49 – South Fayette Lions 42
Ringgold held South Fayette without a field goal in the opening quarter, then used an 8-0 run early in the fourth quarter to put the game away as the Rams downed South Fayette, 49-42, Saturday afternoon. All five starters for Laura Grimm’s Rams scored at least 7 points, led by Marlena Schmidt’s 13. The 6-6 junior also blocked at least 8 shots in the contest. The Lions pulled to within 10 points at the end of three quarters, and to 36-28 in the opening seconds of the fourth only to see the Rams convert back-to-back three-point plays by Bailey Cooper and Kara Foster to push the lead to 14. Cooper finished with 11 points. Eleni Radic added 10 for Ringgold (12-9) winners of six of the last 7 games heading into a Sweet 16 matchup with #4 Hopewell Wednesday. Autumn Mozick hit a trio of three-pointers as part of her team-high 14 points for South Fayette (12-11). The Lions combined for eight treys in the game.
West Mifflin Titans 76 – Freeport Yellowjackets 48
West Mifflin started strong and never trailed in this WPIAL Girls AAA Preliminary matchup at Plum High School running to a 28-point win over Freeport. The Titans strayed from their usual zone defense and the West Mifflin pressure caused all kinds of problems for Freeport. Both of the Titans 1,000 point senior scorers posted double figures in the win. Forward Taylor Thomas scored a game high 23-points while guard Ciara Patterson added 14. Senior Page Flore, who returned from injury for West Mifflin, also scored 13-points in the win. Sophomore Zoe Soilis paced Freeport with 17-points while senior Michaela Bowser netted 12 all in the second half. Macy Smolic chipped in 11 for the Yellowjackets who finish the season (10-12). The Titans, who have won 5 straight games, improve to (16-6) and enter the 1st round as the 12th seed. West Mifflin will now face 5th seeded Indiana Wednesday night at a site & time to be determined.
Moon Tigers 61 – Uniontown Red Raiders 24
The Moon Tigers and Uniontown Red Raiders battled in one of the four preliminary match-ups kicking off the 2013/2014 Class AAA Girl’s Basketball bracket on Saturday afternoon at Peters Township High School. The opening minutes were highly contested with both teams fighting for the opening basket. That pretty much proved to be the only thing to be contested in this one sided affair. The Moon Tigers dominated from there on out, cruising to a 61-24 victory over Uniontown. Moon’s senior leader Amirah Moore led all scorers with 20. Arielle Winfrey led a frustrated Red Raiders team in points with 11. 8 of those 11 Winfrey points were Uniontown’s entire scoring in the 1st half. Uniontown’s nice season comes to end at with a record of 8-11. The victorious Moon Tigers now claim the #15 seed and move on to face a very tough #2 Elizabeth Forward squad on Wednesday at a site to be determined.
Thomas Jefferson Jaguars 50 – Ambridge Bridgers 36
The Jaguars used some hot shooting in the first half to grab a 26-18 lead and never led the Bridgers back into the game as TJ moves on with the win in the Class AAA preliminary round and a date with third seeded South Park on Wednesday. Thomas Jefferson was 11 of 25 in the first half from the field and held Ambridge to just five field goals. Haley Kutscher scored eight of her team high 13 points in the first sixteen minutes. Alexis Yanief scored and Courtney Zoglemann each scored 12 points for the Jaguars, who were 19-42 from the field. Thomas Jefferson goes to 13-9. Ambridge was led by Sydney Rabold with 13 points, including three trifectas, the Bridgers shot 10-35 for the game. The cupboard is not bare for Ambridge, who finishes 13-10, all five starters return for the Bridgers next season.
WPIAL CLASS A Preliminary Round:
Carmichaels Mighty Mikes 41 – Monessen Greyhounds 37
In a game where both teams were streaky on offense and plagued by sloppy ball-handling, the Lady Mikes from Carmichaels persevered and overcame the Monessen Lady Hounds in overtime 41-37. Caroline Cree finished with 15 points, scoring 7 in the final period of regulation and all 4 in extra play.Monessen was down by double digits in the first period, and was down at halftime, only to come storming back in the 3rd to gain a 10 point lead thanks to Teraee Bradford and Mariha Johnson. The Lady Hounds were unable to take advantage from a seemingly endless amount of free throws though and that’s what kept things close. Emily Novak scored four points in the final minute of the 4th to keep Carmichaels alive and send it to OT tied at 37. Cree’s free throws sealed the deal, and now her team will advance to face defending champion Vincentian.
WPIAL CLASS A First Round:
St. Joseph Spartans 61 – Jefferson-Morgan Rockets 14
No. 4 St. Joseph (19-4) executed a suffocating full court press to perfection, cruising to a 61-14 WPIAL Class A First Round blowout of No. 13 Jefferson-Morgan (12-11) on Saturday afternoon at Elizabeth Forward High School. The Spartans forced 38 turnovers, including 17 in the first quarter, starting the game on a 25-0 run and pushing their lead to 28-2 after 8 minutes. Jefferson-Morgan, which has no Seniors on it’s roster, only managed three points in the second half. Mallory Heinle, a Slippery Rock recruit, scored a game-high 23 points and Julie Hetu added 11 for St. Joseph, which advances to the WPIAL Quarterfinals for the fourth consecutive season. They will meet No. 5 Quigley on Saturday at a site and time to be determined. Kayla Yorko scored a team-high 6 points and Ally Bogden grabbed 10 rebounds for Jefferson-Morgan in the loss.
Quigley Catholic Spartans 58 – West Greene Pioneers 14
West Greene vs. Quigley Catholic game at Peters Township high school. The final score was 58-17 Quigley Catholic. It was all Quigley all game as they dominated West Greene defensively actually shutting them out in the second period. Top scorers for Quigley were Kristin Jackson with 17 points and Kaitlyn Smith with 20. Quigley was 17 for 27 at the free throw line. For West Greene top scorers were Alyssa Raber with 8 and Emily Courtwright with 5. They were 0 for 9 at the free throw line. Mercy rule went into effect with about five minutes left to play.
Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic Trojans 51 – Winchester Thurston Bears 27
At North Hills HS, Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic defeated the Winchester Thurston Bears soundly to advance into the quarterfinals of the Class A Girls Basketball playoffs. The third-seeded Trojans were never threatened and led from start to finish. After the Bears outscored the Trojans 12-10 in the 3rd quarter, the Trojans relied on excellent defensive pressure to create numerous turnovers and outscored the Bears in the 4th quarter 16-2 to win going away. The Trojans got scoring from eight players and were led by Paige Kizior (10), Abby Goetz (9) and Sam Breen (9). Goetz scored all of her points after halftime. Winchester Thurston was paced by freshman Caroline Benec who had 10 points. Kayla Small scored 7 points off the bench for the Bears. Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic will now play California in the quarterfinals of the Class A bracket on February 22nd. With the loss, the Winchester Thurston Bears finish their season with a 9-13 record.
California Trojans 38 – Cornell Raiders 25
No. 6 California (18-3) combined superstar youth and veteran savvy to take down No. 11 Cornell, 38-25, in WPIAL Class A Girls First Round action at Elizabeth Forward High School on Saturday afternoon. Cornell (12-11) was hampered by a horrible shooting effort, scoring just 9 points through the first three quarters, including none in the 3rd quarter. Freshman Forward Kylie Huffman, who led California in scoring through the regular season and averaged a double-double this year, finished with 8 points, 10 rebounds and 7 blocks. Jenna Miller, another promising freshman, added a game-high 9 points and Senior Tristen Conaway scored 8 points for the Trojans. They move into the WPIAL Quarterfinals and will meet Cardinal Weurl No. 3 North Catholic on Saturday at a site and time to be determined. Cornell was led by Dominique Richards, who scored 7 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, as well as leading scorer Becca Robinson, who pitched in 8 points for the Raiders, who fail to make the Quarterfinals for the first time in three years.
More Basketball
• Highlands girls basketball welcomes fresh faces• 1st-year Jeannette girls basketball coach welcomes bigger roster
• Communication key as Penn Hills girls basketball seeks return trip to playoffs
• Gateway girls hungry to get back to winning ways
• Gateway boys basketball players step into increased roles after heavy graduation loss