Dec 12, 2013 6 min read

The Trinity girls basketball team had a challenge opening section play at home against Keystone Oaks. The Hillers passed the test.

Three players scored in double figures as Trinity defeated Keysone Oaks, 56-45, Thursday night in Section 5-AAA.

One year after missing the playoffs and finishing one spot behind Keystone Oaks in the standings, the Hillers (1-0, 3-0) got their revenge. Trinity carried a four-point lead into halftime when stingy defense and clutch shooting pushed the Hillers to the win. Sierra Kotchman led the Hillers in scoring with 14 points, and Mary Dunn added 13 and Kelly Korpus finished with 12 points.

Trinity will continue Section 5-AAA play Monday at Quaker Valley.

Charleroi 68, Beth-Center 31: Behind a dominant performance by Mia Woytovich, Charleroi defeated Beth-Center in the first Section 5-AA game of the season.

Woytovich led the Cougars (1-0, 4-0) with 22 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Charleroi started the game fast by building a 21-8 lead after the first quarter. From there, the Cougars outscored the Bulldogs in every quarter to record their first section win of the young season. Beth-Center has now dropped two games in a row.

Washington 68, Bentworth 28: As Wash High opened section play against Bentworth, it was a senior who led the Prexies to a win on the road. Wash High senior guard Indian March scored 19 points as the Prexies coasted to a 68-28 win over the Bearcats.

Sophomore Tajah Gordon added 10 points for Wash High and Bentworth (0-1, 0-2) missed 12 free throws to seal the Section 5-AA win for the Prexies (1-0, 2-1).

Seton-La Salle 60, Chartiers Houston 29: Addy Knetzer’s big performance was not enough for Chartiers Houston. Despite Knetzer scoring 24 points and grabbing 11 rebounds, the Buccaneers lost to Seton-La Salle, 60-29.

The Rebels, led by Yacine Diop’s 14 points, started quickly and mounted a 39-9 lead at halftime. While Knetzer’s was the game’s leading scorer, she was just one of three Chartiers Houston players to score a point.

Elizabeth Forward 77, Waynesburg 15: Waynesburg’s first game of section play did not go as planned. The Raiders made just four field goals and dropped the section opener 77-15 against Elizabeth Forward.

The Warriors (1-0, 4-0) were led by Natalie Sekula 17 points and double-digit point performances from four other players. Elizabeth Forward built on a 32-4 lead at the end of the first quarter as they handed Waynesburg their third-straight loss to start the season.

Belle Vernon 47, Ringgold 31: Kaitlyn Slagus scored 18 points to lead Belle Vernon to a 47-31 victory over host Ringgold in Section 4-AAA.

Belle Vernon led 20-17 at halftime but broke open the close game by holding the Rams to only four field goals and 14 points in the second half.

Bailey Cooper was the only Ringgold player to score in double figures. She had 13 points.

Mt. Lebanon 50, Canon-McMillan 32: Margie McCaffrey scored 16 points and made four of Mt. Lebanon’s six three-pointers as the Blue Devils defeated Canon-McMillan 50-32 in the Section 4-AAA opener.

It was the first basketball game played in Mt. Lebanon’s new gymnasium.

The Blue Devils (1-0, 3-0) led 34-28 after three quarters and pulled away down the stretch, scoring eight points in the game’s final minute.

Madeline Collins had 10 points for Mt. Lebanon.

C-M (0-1, 1-2) was led by Olivia Lorusso’s 14 points.

Brentwood 58, Fort Cherry 46: Laura McGowan and Alecia Folino were too much for Fort Cherry as hot-shooting Brentwood defeated the visiting Rangers 58-46 in Section 4-AA.

McGowan and Folino each scored 24 points, with Folino making six three-pointers.

Fort Cherry (0-1, 0-2), which received 17 points each from Jenna Lucas and Rachel Bellhy, trailed by only two points at halftime. Folino, however, made four of her three-pointers in the third quarter, when Brentwood (1-0, 4-0) opened up a 46-35 lead.

Hannah Greene had 10 points for Fort Cherry.

South Side Beaver 50, Burgettstown 47: Sammy Gibson scored 16 points and South Side Beaver rallied to beat Burgettstown 50-47 in the Section 5-AA opener.

Burgettstown (0-1, 0-2) led 22-19 at halftime but SSB (1-0, 2-3) outscored the Blue Devils 19-11 in the third quarter. Burgettstown, which was led by Michaela Bertovich’s 15 points, had two chances to tie the game with free throws in the final minute but was unable to convert as SSB ended a three-game losing streak.

Lexi Dhayer scored 13 for SSB and Cheyenne Seik had 10.

Burgettstown’s Sam Scopel scored 10 points.

Jefferson-Morgan-Geibel postponed: Jefferson-Morgan was scheduled to host Geibel Catholic in a non-section game but that contested was postponed because Geibel could not get a bus to take the team to Greene County. The game is expected to be rescheduled for later this month or January.

California 71, Mapletown 44: Despite a 25-point performance from Mapletown’s Dereck Riggleman, California defeated the host Maples, 71-44, in a non-section game.

The Trojans and Maples were tied after one quarter but California’s dominant defensive performance in the second and third quarters allowed them to pull away. California picked up its first win of the season. Mapletown (1-3 )has lost two in a row.

Carrick 63, Fort Cherry 52: Tyler Quenen scored 16 points to lead Carrick to a 63-52 victory over host Fort Cherry in a non-section game.

Carrick (2-2) led 28-22 at halftime and maintained the advantage throughout the second half as Fort Cherry (0-3) struggled at the free-throw line, which prevented the rangers from building a comeback. Fort Cherry had only one fewer field goal than Carrick but made just five of 16 free throws.

Sean Daragh had a big game for FC with a game-high 19 points. Jabar Atkins scored 10 points for Carrick.

Laurel Highlands 50, Ringgold 35: Michael Hooper scored a team-high 13 points, and visiting Laurel Highlands held Ringgold to five fourth-quarter points, as the Mustangs pulled away for a 50-35 victory in a non-section game.

LH led by only 26-21 at halftime, but Ringgold was held to just five field goals in the second half.

Nick Lancaster scored eight of his 11 points in the second half for Laurel Highlands, and the Mustangs’ David Rusko had 10 points.

George Martin scored a game-high 15 points for Ringgold.