Feb 1, 2016 5 min read

Sophomore Sam Kosmacki scored a game-high 18 points and South Fayette forged a 20-point first-quarter lead Monday night en route to a 65-22 victory over host McGuffey that gave the Lions the outright Section 5-AAA girls basketball championship.

South Fayette (11-0, 16-3) wasted no time taking control, leading 22-2 after one quarter and 42-12 at halftime. It was the seventh win in eight games for South Fayette.

Emily Anderson scored 13 points for the Lions and Maddie Gutierrez hit double figures with 10 points.

Katie Demi scored 14 points to lead McGuffey (0-11, 1-19).

Washington 50, Beth-Center 33: Washington clinched at least a share of first place in Section 4-AA with a 50-33 win over Beth-Center.

Tajah Gordon scored 21 points and Nicole Hoffman had 13 for Washington (10-1, 16-4), which can clinch the section title outright with a win at Frazier Thursday.

Kinlee Whited led Beth-Center (5-6, 7-10) with 18 points.

Trinity 47, Montour 27: Mary Dunn had 14 points and Trinity overcame a slow start to beat Montour, 47-27, in a Section 5-AAA game.

Sierra Kotchman added 13 points for the Hillers (9-2, 15-3), who erased a 10-4 first quarter deficit by outscoring Montour (3-8, 7-13) 12-3 in the second quarter.

Julia DiSalle led Montour with nine points.

Seton-La Salle 51, Chartiers-Houston 38: Seton-La Salle made three of its five three-point field goals in the fourth quarter and the Rebel pulled away down the stretch for a 51-38 victory over host Chartiers-Houston in a matchup of playoff-bound teams in Section 3-AA.

Seton-La Salle (9-1, 12-6) remained a half-game behind section leader Bishop Canevin.

Chartiers-Houston (7-4, 14-6) led 10-7 after one quarter and trailed by only one point, 32-31, after three quarters. Seton-La Salle outscored the Bucs 19-7 in the fourth quarter.

Shaunay Edmonds and Madalena Psillidis each scored 15 points for the Rebels. Edmonds made three of SL’s five three-pointers.

Jala Walker had a big game for C-H, making 11 field goals and scoring a game-high 25 points.

Charleroi 66, Bentworth 19: Playoff-bound Charleroi got back on the winning track, using a big first half and a 20-point performance by Kaitlyn Riley to defeat host Bentworth 66-19 in Section 4-AA.

Charleroi (9-2, 15-6), which remained one game behind section leader Washington, forged a 24-4 lead after one quarter and increased its 38-8 at halftime.

Riley and Adrian Gottheld, who finished with 10 points, each had six points for Charleroi in the big first quarter. Maria Claybaugh also reached double figures for the Cougars with 14 points.

Hester Chester did almost all of the scoring for Bentworth (1-10, 3-17), scoring 14 points.

Belle Vernon 61, West Mifflin 53: Kelsey Green scored 14 points and Belle Vernon used some torrid free-throw shooting in the fourth quarter to hold off visiting West Mifflin, 61-53, in a Section 4-AAA game.

Belle Vernon (3-8, 8-13), which avenged a five-point loss at West Mifflin last month, was 23 of 36 from the free-throw line but did its best work in the final eight minutes. The Leopards made 16 of 19 in the fourth quarter. Keira Boff, who finished with 13 points, made eight of 10 free throws down the stretch. Caitlyn Trombley was 6-for-6 at the free-throw line in the closing minutes and finished with nine points.

Belle Vernon, which kept its playoff hopes alive with the win, led 37-32 entering the fourth quarter. The Leopards play Thursday at Elizabeth Forward with the winner getting into the playoffs.

West Mifflin (3-8, 5-14) received a game-high 19 points from Miranda Ferguson.

California 52, Fort Cherry 39: Bailey Vig scored 16 points to help California outlast Fort Cherry, 52-39, in a Section 3-A game.

Jenna Miller added 12 points for the Trojans (11-2, 13-7), who have clinched second place in the section behind Jeff-Morgan.

Hannah Green scored 15 points and Shannon Relihan 12 for Fort Cherry (6-7, 9-11), which dropped into a fourth-place tie with Avella in the section standings with both teams having one game each remaining on the schedule. Fort Cherry plays at Geibel Thursday, while Avella is at West Greene.

Avella 58, Geibel Catholic 52: Kodi Georgetti’s 20 points helped Avella move into a tie for fourth place in Section 3-A with a 58-52 win over Geibel Catholic.

Raneisha Brown added 11 points for the Eagles (6-7, 9-11).

Grace Nowicki had 24 points and Gillian Yourish 17 for Geibel (3-9, 5-13).

Waynesburg 53, Springdale 41: Celine Monica’s 25 points helped Waynesburg defeat Springdale, 53-41, in a non-section game.

Kirsten Garber chipped in 15 points for the Raiders, who improved to 8-11.

Patience Ashaolu led Springdale (3-16) with 23 points.