Jan 30, 2017 7 min read

The backcourt of Sierra Kotchman and Alayna Cappelli combined for 35 points and Trinity cruised to the Class 5-A Section 3 championship with a 74-26 thumping of visiting Laurel Highlands Monday night.

It is the first section championship for Trinity since 2004. The Hillers improved to 10-0 in section and 17-2 overall.

Trinity was in command from the outset as the Hillers forged a 29-4 lead after one quarter and 46-6 at halftime against the outmanned Mustangs (2-7, 2-16).

Riley DeRubbo also scored in double figures for Trinity as she finished with 10 points.

Brooke Kusniar led LH with seven points.

Beth-Center 39, California 34: Beth-Center helped its playoff chances by knocking off California, 39-34, in a Section 3-AA game.

Kinlee Whited scored 19 points and Mary Gustovich added 13 for the Bulldogs (7-4, 10-6), who can clinch a playoff spot with a win Thursday at Serra Catholic.

Bailey Vig had 17 points for the Trojans (8-3, 16-3), who have now lost their past two games.

Peters Township 53, Upper St. Clair 32: Makenna Marisa scored 20 points and Peters Township pulled into a tie with Mt. Lebanon for first place in Class 6-A Section 3 with a 53-32 win over Upper St. Clair.

Isabella Mills added 12 points for the Indians (7-1, 12-4), who play at Mt. Lebanon – which lost to Bethel Park Monday night – Thursday.

Sam Smith led USC (0-8, 2-16) with seven points.

Avella 46, Mapletown 43: Avella held visiting Mapletown to eight first-half points, then staved off a late comeback by the Maples for a 46-43 victory in Section 2-A. The win boosts Avella’s chances of making the WPIAL playoffs as the Eagles moved 1½ games ahead of the Maples in a battle for the section’s final postseason berth.

Grace Lengauer led a balanced attack for Avella (4-4, 8-10) with a game-high 14 points. Kodi Georgetti also scored in double figures with 11 points for the Eagles, who led 17-8 at halftime and 35-22 after three quarters.

Mapletown (2-5, 6-12) scored 21 fourth-quarter points and had a chance to tie on the game’s final possession but missed a three-point attempt. Hannah Dingle, with 13 points, led the Maples in scoring and was followed by Kayla Smith with 12 and Hannah Dusenberry with 11. Kelsi Smith grabbed 12 rebounds.

West Greene 86, Monessen 17: Madison Lampe scored a career-high 32 points and West Greene moved closer to the Section 2-A title with an 86-17 victory over visiting Monessen.

West Greene, which clinched a playoff berth with the victory, improves to 7-0 in the section and 15-3 overall. The Pioneers dominated Monessen from the start, forging leads of 35-2 after one quarter, 66-6 at halftime and 86-10 after three quarters. West Greene did not score in the fourth quarter.

Lampe scored 28 of her 32 points in the first half. She was followed in double figures by her sister, McKenna Lampe, who scored 17 points, Kaitlyn Rizor with 13 and Savannah Pettit with 10.

Monessen remains winless at 0-8, 0-20.

Canon-McMillan 50, Baldwin 41: Cheyenne Trest scored a game-high 25 points and Canon-McMillan went a long way toward clinching a playoff berth from Class 6-A Section 3 with a 50-41 victory over visiting Baldwin.

Canon-McMillan (4-4, 8-9) is in a tie for fourth place and the final playoff spot with Bethel Park and moved two games ahead of Baldwin (2-6, 7-9).

The Big Macs pulled away from Baldwin in the second half after leading by only 25-21 at halftime. C-M did much of its damage at the free-throw line, making 13 of 15 attempts. Baldwin was 6-for-13 at the line.

Tamara Mathis was the only other C-M player to score in double figures as she finished with 10 points.

Lauren Gilbert led Baldwin with 24 points.

Burgettstown 32, Fort Cherry 31: Burgettstown held off two Fort Cherry possessions in the final 16 seconds and the Blue Devils gave their playoff chance a huge boost by defeating the Rangers 32-31 in Section 1-AA.

Burgettstown (6-5, 12-6) trailed 20-15 at halftime but Kacie Prasko led a second-half comeback. The Blue Devils outscored Fort Cherry (4-7, 8-9) 9-2 in the pivotal third quarter to take a 24-22 lead.

Shannon Relihan led FC with eight points.

Ringgold 46, Greensburg Salem 40: Nya Adams scored 19 points and Ringgold moved into a tie for second place in Class 5-A Section 3 with a 46-40 victory over visiting Greensburg Salem.

The Rams (6-3, 8-10) used a 17-4 scoring advantage in the second quarter to take a 27-16 lead. Adams made a pair of three-pointers in the second quarter to spark the Rams’ attack.

Greensburg Salem (6-4, 8-10) rallied and closed to within 36-32 with 4:50 remaining but several clutch free throws by Ashley Briscoe down the stretch kept the Rams in the lead. Ringgold was 9-for-12 at the free-throw line in the fourth quarter.

Taylor Mendicino scored 13 points for Ringgold.

Carmichaels 61, Bentworth 14: Freshman Kylie Sinn scored 16 of her 18 points in the first half and Carmichaels cruised to a 61-14 victory over Bentworth in Section 3-AA.

Carmichaels (3-8, 7-12) had a big first half, building leads of 21-2 after one quarter and 43-6 at halftime.

Megan Walker also scored in double figures for the Mikes as she tossed in 13 points.

South Fayette 68, Lincoln Park 20: Sam Kosmacki led 11 scorers for South Fayette with 15 points as the Lions wrapped up at least a tie for the Class 5-A Section 1 title with a 68-20 win over Lincoln Park.

Maddie Gutierrez had 11 points and Skylar Aitken added 10 for South Fayette (8-0, 13-3).

Lincoln Park is 0-8, 4-16.

Chartiers-Houston 67, Aliquippa 28: Alexa Williamson’s 28 points helped Chartiers-Houston to a 67-28 rout of Aliquippa in a Section 1-AA game.

Jules Vulcano chipped in 13 points and Jala Walker had 12 as the Bucs (11-0, 17-2) cruised to a 43-13 halftime lead.

Brielle Simms scored 10 points to lead the Quips (2-9, 3-14).

Charleroi 78, Waynesburg 21: Adrianna Gottheld’s 25 points helped Charleroi clinch a playoff spot in Section 2-AAA with a 78-21 win over Waynesburg.

Maria Claybaugh added 19 points and Sierra Short had 12 for the Cougars (8-1, 15-3).

Clair Garber’s seven points led Waynesburg (0-8, 1-17).

OLSH 57, Washington 38: Maddy Hoff scored 18 points as Our Lady of Sacred Heart dealt Washington at 57-38 defeat in a Section 1-AA game.

Jocelyn Nogy added 13 points and Kennedy Mickle and Ashley Norlin had 11 each for OLSH (9-2, 14-5), which has clinched a playoff spot.

Carly Allen scored 12 points for Washington (5-6, 9-9), which fells a game behind Burgettstown and Shenango in the race for third and fourth place in the section.

South Side Beaver 57, McGuffey 31: Alexis Chiccarello scored 21 points and South Side Beaver used long-range shooting to down host McGuffey, 57-31, in Section 2-AAA.

South Side Beaver (5-5, 10-9) made 11 three-point field goals, including seven by Chiccarello. Jess Barber had 15 points and three baskets from three-point range. The Rams led 21-2 after one quarter but made only three of their three-pointers in the opening eight minutes.

Emily Durila was the high scorer for McGuffey (1-8, 2-15) with seven points.