Preview: Girls Class 5A WPIAL Championship
No. 7 Gateway Gators (22-3) vs. No. 8 Oakland Catholic Eagles (17-8) At Petersen Events Center, 3 p.m. on Saturday
is also an indication of how good Section 2 is. Both Gateway and Oakland Catholic competed in the same section and neither one came away as the section champion. That title belonged to Thomas Jefferson. Gateway and Oakland Catholic split the regular season series. On Jan. 11, the Eagles defended their home court with a 39-32 victory. The Gators returned the favor on Feb. 1 with a 37-35 win. The loss to Oakland Catholic in the first meeting was the last time Gateway came up on the losing end. Since that game, the Gators have rattled off 14 straight wins. Their 22 wins is tops in Class 5A. They are averaging 47.3 points per game and are giving up 35.7 points per game, which is best in Class 5A. In three playoff games, Gateway is outscoring its opponents, 140-124. In the semifinals, they knocked off No. 3 seed and defending WPIAL champion Chartiers Valley, 44-42. In the win, sophomore Lexi Jackson led the team with 15 points. Junior Mary Kromka added 12 points. This is the first WPIAL Championship Game appearance for Gateway…Oakland Catholic’s winning streak is not nearly as long, standing at only four games, but the Eagles are just as dangerous of a team. They are averaging 52.2 points per game and are allowing 39.6 points per game, which is second best to Gateway. In three playoff games, they are outscoring their opponents, 166-132, including knocking off top-seed Trinity in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, the Eagles defeated No. 4 Mars, 48-44. After getting off to a hot start leading 19-5 after the first quarter, the game was tied entering the fourth quarter before the Eagles pulled away a little. In the win, junior Jayde Boyd had 16 points and sophomore Cierra Christian was right behind her with 15 points. Oakland Catholic is making its second straight trip to the Class 5A WPIAL Championship Game. They lost to Chartiers Valley last year, 52-36.
For a look at the updated bracket, click here.