Mar 9, 2017 5 min read

The next step is upon the Chartiers-Houston girls basketball team and the Bucs are welcoming the challenge.

This is not a team content with winning a section title or a WPIAL Class AA championship, the latter achieved last week. The Bucs are greedy. They want more. They want to win a state championship.

That was made clear on the eve of the season opener when C-H head coach Laura Montecalvo told each of her players to take a piece of paper and a pen and write down their goals for the season.

“Without seeing what the others were writing, every one of them wrote down the same things: section championship, WPIAL championship and state championship,” Montecalvo said. “We’ve accomplished two of the three. It’s time to go back to the drawing board and figure out how to get the last one.”

The first step toward that last goal begins tonight when Chartiers-Houston (23-2) plays Cranberry (18-6), the third-place team from District 9, in the first round of the PIAA tournament at Peters Township High School. Tipoff is 6 p.m.

Chartiers-Houston has won 17 games in a row and has not lost to a Class AA opponent. The Bucs defeated Vincentian Academy 47-35 for the WPIAL title.

“After the WPIAL championship game, we took the kids out to eat. The first question every one of them asked was ‘Do you know who we play next?'” Montecalvo said. “When I said that I did, they asked ‘Who are they? Are they any good?’ That’s a good sign for us.”

Coaches of WPIAL championship teams often worry about a letdown in the first round of the state playoffs. The WPIAL finals are played at Pitt’s Petersen Events Center, but for the first round of the state tournament it’s back to high school gymnasiums and the opponent is a team WPIAL players sometimes have never heard of until this week. As a result, the intensity level is sometimes lacking.

It’s a trap that Montecalvo has cautioned her team not to fall into against Cranberry.

“The potential for a letdown was days ago,” Montecalvo said. “We’ve been back in the gym and it’s time to get back to work.”

Cranberry might be the team that is a little rusty. The Berries have played only two games since Feb. 10. They also do not have a starter taller than 5-9.

A record 13 area basketball teams have qualified for the PIAA playoffs, which will be competed in six classifications for the first time. Chartiers-Houston is one of five teams in action tonight and will be part of a doubleheader at PT. Monessen (19-7), the WPIAL Class A boys champion, will play North Clarion (14-11) in the 8 p.m. game.

A doubleheader featuring two local teams also will be played at Johnstown High School. The California girls (20-4), the WPIAL’s seventh-place team in Class AA, plays District 6 champion Bishop McCort (21-4) at 6 p.m., followed the Washington boys (20-5) against District 6 runner-up Richland (21-5). Richland was the top seed in the District 6 tournament but lost to Central Cambia 54-43 in the title game. The Rams present a tall order for Washington as they have a pair of 6-3 forwards, Trevy Hardison and Collin Instone.

The other game tonight is Washington (13-11) against West Middlesex (20-5) in a Class AA girls contest at Farrell. Tipoff is 8 p.m.

The McGuffey boys and West Greene girls teams each will make their first PIAA tournament appearance after long road trips. McGuffey (18-6) will trek to DuBois to play District 9 champion Clearfield (23-1), winner of 14 in a row, in a Class AAAA game. West Greene (19-5) will make a nearly four-hour trip to Bradford to play District 9 runner-up Otto-Eldred (17-8).

The site of time of McGuffey-Clearfield game was changed Wednesday. The game will be played at DuBois Middle School instead of DuBois High School and has been pushed back to a 6 p.m. tipoff instead of 4 p.m.

Clearfield has a pair of 1,000-point scorers in Tommy Hazel, the school’s all-time leading scorer, and Evan Brown.

The Canon-McMillan boys (18-6) will play a little closer to home as the Big Macs face WPIAL runner-up Butler (17-9) at Baldwin in Class 6-A. The other boys teams in action are South Fayette in Class AAAA and Chartiers-Houston in Class AA. South Fayette plays District 10 winner Strong Vincent (22-3) at the Prep-Villa Center in Erie. Chartiers-Houston (19-5) plays District 10 champion Wilmington (18-7) at Sharon. Wilmington won its first district title since defeating Bentworth for the WPIAL Class AA championship in 1987.

The Trinity and South Fayette girls each will be in Class 5-A action Saturday. The Hillers play District 6 champion Bellefonte (12-12) at Bald Eagle Area High School in Wingate. South Fayette plays Pittsburgh City League champion Obama Academy (19-8) at Allderdice High School.

In Class AAA, the Charleroi girls (19-5) will play District 6 champion West Shamokin (24-2) at Armstrong High School.