5A Girls Basketball First Round Recap
Photo Credit: Will McBride
GIRLS BASKETBALL
5A GIRLS FIRST ROUND
Oakland Catholic 53, Kiski Area 16
2nd-seeded Oakland Catholic (20-3) wasted no time jumping all over 15th-seeded Kiski Area (9-13) as they got out to a double digit lead five minutes into the game, and coasted to a 53-16 first round win on Tuesday night at Fox Chapel.
Oakland Catholic scored the first seven points of the game before Kiski Area’s Abigail Johns was able to get on the board. That was all Kiski Area would be able to muster as Oakland Catholic and their smothering defense had a 22-2 lead after a quarter of play. Kiski Area made a little run to start the second quarter but it was Oakland Catholic’s 13-0 run to finish the quarter that all but put this one away.
Two minutes into the second half, Oakland Catholic took a 38-8 lead, invoking the mercy rule and they were able to roll to a 53-16 win.
Alexa Washington led all scorers with 17 points for Oakland Catholic. Halena Hill added 10 points. Oakland Catholic advances to the WPIAL 5A Girls Quarterfinals where they will take on Mars on Friday at 6 pm at North Allegheny High School.
Trinity 68, Latrobe 61
4th-seeded Trinity (16-6) held off a frantic comeback attempt from 14th-seeded Latrobe (14-9) to get to the quarterfinals with a 68-61 win Tuesday night at Trinity High School.
Things were competitive in the first half with Trinity taking an 18-12 lead after the first eight minutes and took a 35-25 lead into the locker room. It looked like Trinity had pulled away for good when they outscored Latrobe 17-6 in the third quarter giving them a 52-31 lead heading into the final frame.
Latrobe knowing their season was on the line, gave their best offensive output in the fourth quarter putting up 30 points in the final eight minutes. Unfortunately for them, it wasn’t enough as Trinity was able to hold on and advance with a 68-61 win.
Eden Williamson led Trinity with 14 points while Kristina Bozek had 12 points. Macie Justice added 11 points and Riley Corrins added 10. Josie Straigis did everything she could for Latrobe finishing with 30 points. Elle Snyder had 15 points for them and Camille Dominick added 11.
Woodland Hills 53, Armstrong 48
12th-seeded Woodland Hills (12-11) was down by 13 points late in the first half but fought all the way back on the road to stun 5th-seeded Armstrong (19-4) 53-48 on Tuesday night at Armstrong High School. It was the second time in three years Woodland Hills eliminated Armstrong in the first round.
Woodland Hills trailed 32-19 in the second quarter when their defensive pressure rose and they started to make their push. Camren Vasquez hit a three-pointer with two minutes left in the game to give Woodland Hills a 48-45 lead, a lead they would never get up. Jhalynn Wilson hit four free throws in the final minute and Woodland Hills came away with the 53-48 upset.
Vasquez led Woodland Hills with 17 points. Wilson added 13 points. Emma Paul led Armstrong with 19 points. Sarai Weaver had 11 points all in the first half. Woodland Hills outrebounded Armstrong 50-29.
Woodland Hills advances to the WPIAL 5A Girls Quarterfinals where they will meet Trinity on Friday at 6 pm at Mt. Lebanon High School.
McKeesport 62, Penn Hills 29
3rd-seeded McKeesport (19-4) jumped all over 14th-seeded Penn Hills (10-12) and rolled to a 62-29 victory in the first round, Tuesday night at McKeesport High School.
McKeesport had a great start to the game jumping out to a 20-7 lead after a quarter of play and was able to extend the lead to 37-18 at the half. The fourth quarter is where McKeesport’s defense came to play holding Penn Hills to one point for the final eight minutes that put an exclamation point on a 62-29 victory.
Malina Boord had 20 points for McKeesport while Brooke Evans added 13 points. Hannah Pugliese led Penn Hills with 12 points. McKeesport advances to the WPIAL 5A Girls Quarterfinals where they will take on Hampton at 6 pm at Fox Chapel High School.
Penn-Trafford 29, Shaler 28
Olivia Pepple hit a game-winning layup with 3.8 seconds left in the game and lifted 8th-seeded Penn-Trafford (16-7) to their first playoff victory since 2014-15 with a 29-28 triumph over 9th-seeded Shaler (16-7) on Tuesday night at Penn-Trafford High School.
Penn-Trafford could not of started the game any better jumping out to an 11-0 lead after a quarter of play. Shaler did not panic and just started to chip away at the lead, finally tying the game up halfway through the fourth quarter.
The final minute was absolute pandemonium. Penn-Trafford led by one with under a minute to go. Got called for a five-second violation with 43 seconds remaining. Bella Battaglia gave Shaler a 28-27 lead with 20 seconds remaining then Pepple got called for a travel for Penn-Trafford. Shaler then turned the ball over on the inbounds so Penn-Trafford had the ball underneath their own hoop which set the stage for Pepple to get a go-ahead layup with 3.8 seconds remaining, Shaler got called for a travel with 1.9 seconds to play and Penn-Trafford escaped with a 29-28 win.
Pepple led Penn-Trafford with nine points. Haley Kosterick had nine points for Shaler. Penn-Trafford advances to the WPIAL 5A Girls Quarterfinals where they will take on top-seeded South Fayette at 6 pm at Peters Township High School.
Mars 56, Lincoln Park 29
After struggling to finish the regular season, 7th-seeded Mars (16-6) got back to their old form in a dominant 56-29 first round win over 10th-seeded Lincoln Park (18-5) Tuesday night at Mt. Lebanon High School. Both teams came into the game short handed as each team had transfers that were ruled ineligible for the postseason.
Mars was dominant from start to finish getting the lead to 30 and invoking the running-clock mercy rule in the second half. Alexis Cashdollar and Olivia Donnelly each had 17 points for Mars. Sarah Scott led Lincoln Park with 12 points.
Mars advances to the WPIAL 5A Girls Quarterfinals where they will take on Oakland Catholic on Friday at 6 pm at North Allegheny High School.
Hampton 45, Indiana 44
11th-seeded Hampton (15-8) struggled with the size of 6th-seeded Indiana (15-8) but was able to outscore the Indiana bigs and shut everyone down en route to a 45-44 first round upset victory Tuesday night at Fox Chapel High School.
Meghan Murray was the catalyst for Hampton as she had 21 points. Katie Kovalchick led Indiana with 15 points and Eve Fiala had 12. Hampton advances to the WPIAL 5A Girls Quarterfinals where they will take on McKeesport at 6 pm at Fox Chapel High School on Friday.
South Fayette 72, Plum 29
Top-seeded South Fayette (21-2) made a huge statement showing everyone why they earned that top spot dominating 16th-seeded Plum (13-11) 72-29 Tuesday night at South Fayette High School.
South Fayette wasted no time getting off to a good start scoring the first 22 points of the game and led 26-5 after a quarter of play. The offense continued to roll into the second quarter as they had a 48-13 lead at the half. With the running clock in the second half the offense slowed down, but the defense continued to roll as South Fayette coasted to a 72-29 first round victory.
Maddie Webber led South Fayette with 13 points while Ava Leroux added 12 points and Juliette Leroux pitched in 11. Megan Marston led Plum with 15 points. South Fayette moves on to the WPIAL 5A Girls Quarterfinals where they will take on Penn-Trafford on Friday at 6 pm at Peters Township High School.