WPIAL Class 6A girls basketball finals preview: Peters Township vs. North Allegheny
By:
Friday, March 1, 2019 | 7:30 PM
Peters Twp.’s Makenna Marisa drives to the basket past Bethel Park’s Lauren Mullen during their game Thursday, Jan. 3, 2019, at Bethel Park High School.
Class 6A girls
Peters Township (24-0) vs. North Allegheny (23-1)
7 p.m. Saturday, Petersen Events Center
Starting lineups
No. 1 Peters Township (24-0)
Coach: Bert Kendall
No. Player, Pos., Ht., Yr.
20 Makenna Marisa, G, 5-11, Sr.
21 Isabella Mills, G, 5-11, Sr.
22 Jordan Bisignani, G, 5-6, So.
23 Journey Thompson, F, 6-1, Fr.
24 Mackenzie Lehmar, F, 5-11, Jr.
No. 2 North Allegheny (23-1)
Coach: Spencer Stefko
No. Player, Pos., Ht., Yr.
3 Brynn Serbin, G. 5-6, Sr.
12 Brooke Barcia, G, 5-8, Sr.
14 Rachel Martindale, G, 5-9, Sr.
32 Lizzy Groetsch, G. 5-11, So.
35 Katerina Balouris, F, 5-11, Jr.
Title game history: Peters Township has never won a WPIAL girls basketball championship. The Indians program is 0-2 in district title games, including a 79-48 loss to North Allegheny in last year’s final. Peters Township also lost in the 2008 Class AAA finals to Upper St. Clair, 69-40. … North Allegheny has won back-to-back Class 6A championships and will be shooting for the school’s fourth girls basketball crown, with the first coming in 1972.
Stat leaders: PT: Makenna Marisa 22.3; NA: Rachel Martindale and Lizzy Groetsch 13.5
Notable: Peters Township and Chartiers Valley are the only two WPIAL girls basketball teams with undefeated records. McKenna Marisa is headed to Penn State to continue her basketball career this fall. In their 24 games, they won by double-digit points 22 times. The lone exceptions were a pair of eight-point victories over Bethel Park. … This is the 11th title game appearance for the North Allegheny. Despite winning the last two, the Tigers are 3-7 in the finals overall. This is NA’s fourth straight trip to the title game after losing to Norwin in 2016, then beating the Knights in 2017 and Peters Township in 2018. This is Spencer Stefko’s sixth straight championship game; the last four with North Allegheny and back-to-back in his two years at Seton LaSalle in 2014 and 2015. These are the two top defenses in Class 6A this season.
Predicted winner: Peters Township
Tags: North Allegheny, Peters Township
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