Quad-A Girls Hoops Round Up For PIAA 1st Round
Fox Chapel 48, McDowell 36
A strong second quarter and performance at the free-throw line helped the Fox Chapel Foxes oust the McDowell Trojans from the PIAA playoffs. The Foxes outscored the Trojans, 18-5, in the second period and held a 28-14 lead at the half. Fox Chapel connected on 23 of 26 free-throw attempts to put the game away in the second half. Sophomore Kayla Slovenec paced the offense for Fox Chapel with a 14 point night. Erin Mathias and Taylor Cohen added 10 points apiece. McDowell’s Marissa Molnar scored a dozen.
Hempfield 54, Obama Academy 33
Another outstanding shooting display by senior Monica Burns helped the Hempfield Spartans to a 54-33 win over City League champion Obama Academy on Friday night at Allderdice High School. Burns dropped in a game-high 21 points and Leah Knizner added 10 to spearhead the Spartans win. Obama’s Michaela Porter scored seven in the loss. Hempfield opened up a 22-8 first quarter lead and ran away with the PIAA opening round win.
State College 51, Mt. Lebanon 50
The Mt. Lebanon Blue Devils trailed the entire game, but a fourth quarter rally fell just short as the District 6 champion State College Lady Lions held on for a 51-50 victory at Altoona High School. State College led by as much as 13 points and was paced by Jaylyn Shelton-Burleigh’s 19 point effort. However, the Blue Devils mounted a comeback on the back of Christine Ehland who scored a team-high 16 points. Down by one point, Mt. Lebanon had possession of the basketball with 16 seconds remaining and a chance to win. State College’s defense refused to give in and forced the Blue Devils into a hurried, frantic possession that ended without a shot attempt, allowing the Lady Lions to advance to the PIAA second round.