Jan 28, 2019 8 min read

Zamierah Edwards took a pass from Dominique Mortimer in the left corner and let fly with a game-winning three-pointer as time expired to give Chartiers-Houston a 32-30 victory over visiting Fort Cherry and give the Bucs’ playoff hopes a huge boost.

The win moves Chartiers-Houston to 5-4 in Class 2A Section 3 and 7-11 overall. Fort Cherry fell to 5-5, 7-10. The Bucs, Rangers and Burgettstown began the night battling for the final two playoff spots from the section.

Fort Cherry led 11-4 after one quarter and 14-9 at halftime. The Rangers still led, 21-17, after three quarters before Edwards led the Bucs’ charge over the finale eight minutes. Edwards scored 10 of her game-high 14 points in the fourth quarter.

Abby Cooper led Fort Cherry in scoring with nine points.

Avella 50, California 44: Avella strengthened its hold on second place in Section 2-A with a 50-44 victory at California.

Avella (7-2, 13-4), which won its fourth in a row, did so with balanced scoring a strong first half. The Eagles forged a 23-14 halftime lead and put three players ind double figures.

Bess Lengauer’s 13 points led all Avella scorers. Brianna Jenkins followed with 12 and Jordyn Rush had 11. The Eagles made 16 of 28 free throws to protect their lead.

California’s Sydney Smichnick scored a game-high 21 points and Makayla Boda also hit double figures with 11 points.

Seton-La Salle 50, McGuffey 47: Seton-La Salle kept the pressure on Class 3A Section 2 leader South Park but not before getting a mighty scare from McGuffey.

Seton-La Salle forged a 10-point lead at the end of one quarter, then watched as McGuffey rallied and took a fourth-quarter lead before the Rebels scored their final five points of the game from the free-throw line to trip the host Highlanders, 50-47.

The win moves Seton-La Salle to 9-2 in the section and 10-7 overall. McGuffey slipped to 3-7, 6-11.

The Highlanders’ Keira Nicolella sparked the McGuffey comeback by scoring a game-high 18 points. Rachel Shingle followed in the scoring column with 10 points. The Highlanders scored 20 second-quarter points to close to within 33-28 at halftime, then pulled to within 41-39 after three quarters.

Vanessa Hudson led Seton-La Salle in scoring with 16 points.

South Fayette 50, Moon 43: South Fayette took an important step at clinching a playoff berth as a big second quarter led to a balanced finish in a 50-43 victory over Moon in Class 5A Section 1.

The Lions, who were being chased by Moon (5-6, 9-8) for fourth place and the final playoff spot in the section standings, trailed 12-9 after the first quarter but scored 19 points in the second to lead 28-21 at halftime.

Maura Castelluci led South Fayette (7-4, 13-6) with 15 points. Karyssa Larson and Clare Relihan each added 13.

Moon tried rallying in the fourth quarter but that effort came up short. Reilly Sunday led all scorers with 24 points.

Beth-Center 40, Brownsville 36: Elizabeth Trump, Madi Hunyady and Frankie Pryor each scored 11 points as Beth-Center held off Brownsville, 40-36, in a Class 3A Section 2 game.

Beth-Center (7-4, 11-7), which ended its two-game losing skid, took the four-point lead in the opening quarter. The Bulldogs led 16-12 at halftime.

Trump grabbed eight rebounds and Hunyady had six boards. Pryor finished with five assists and five rebounds.

Alexis Carson kept Brownsville (3-8, 9-9) in the game in the second half. She scored 19 of her 21 points in the third and fourth quarters, including five three-pointers.

Washington 57, Charleroi 14: Riding its leading scorers once again, Washington put together an all-around performance to defeat Class 3A Section 2 foe Charleroi, 57-14.

Carley Allen led the Prexies with 15 points, while Torri Finley scored 13 and Randi Thomas add 10.

Washington (9-2, 14-4) limited the Cougars to four first-half points to lead 30-4 at halftime.

Bella Skobel scored six points for Charleroi (1-9, 4-13).

Jefferson-Morgan 37, Geibel Catholic 23: Outscoring Geibel Catholic 15-2 in the fourth quarter, Jefferson-Morgan ended its five-game losing streak with a 37-23 win over the Gators in Class A Section 2.

Jefferson-Morgan (2-7, 5-12) held a one-point lead entering fourth.

Brynn Boyd led the Rockets with 18 points. Autumn Gustovich scored 15.

Sarah Ehrhardt had 10 points for Geibel (0-9, 1-15).

West Greene 68, Mapletown 35: West Greene dominated the second and third quarters en route to a 68-35 victory over Mapletown in a Class A Section 2 game.

Outscoring the Maples 37-11 in the middle quarters, West Greene (10-0, 17-1) was led by Kaitlyn Rizor’s 16 points. Jersey Wise finished with 11 points for the Pioneers.

Kelsi Smith was the only player in double figures for Mapletown (4-5, 9-8) with 10 points.

Belle Vernon 59, Yough 17: Jumping out to a 19-0 lead in the first quarter, Belle Vernon cruised to a 59-17 victory over Class 4A Section 3 foe Yough.

Lindsay Steeber led the Leopards with 15 points. Rachel Wobrak and Taylor Rodriguez, who each had three three-pointers for Belle Vernon (8-3, 12-6), scored 14 and 11 points, respectively.

Cara Rosetti scored six points for Yough (0-11, 3-15), which trailed 30-8 at halftime.

Chartiers Valley 67, Trinity 55: Undefeated Chartiers Valley used a big first half and balanced scoring to defeat host Trinity 67-55 in a Class 5A Section 1 game.

Chartiers Valley improved to 11-0 in section and 19-0 overall. The Colts, behind the high-scoring combination of Mackenzie Wagner (21 points) and Megan McConnell (16 points), built a 34-16 lead at halftime. But Trinity (7-4, 9-7), which started four sophomores and a freshman, outscored Chartiers Valley 39-33 in the second half.

Kaylin Venick and Ashley Durig paced Trinity’s attack, each scoring 18 points. Courtney Dahlquist 11 points.

Aislin Malcolm scored 14 points for Chartiers valley and Gabby Legister had 13.

Bishop Canevin 78, Carmichaels 18: Class 2A Section 3 leader Bishop Canevin put four players in double figures and ran its winning streak to nine games with a 78-18 victory over host Carmichaels.

Shamyjha Price led the Crusaders with 22 points. Diajha Allen followed with 16 points, Emma Theodorsson had 15 and Alyssa Price 12. The Crusaders scored 33 points in the first quarter.

Gina Ranieri, Mia Ranieri and Kylie Sinn each scored five points for Carmichaels (1-8, 5-14).

South Park 71, Waynesburg 31: Maura Huwalt and Daneille DeProspo combined for 45 points and Class 3A Section 2 frontrunner South Park won its seventh in a row, 71-31, over host Waynesburg.

Huwalt led the way for South Park with 23 points and DeProspo contributed 22, including four of the Eagles’ seven three-pointers. Cassidy Zandier also scored in double figures, contributing 12 points.

Clara Paige Miller had 10 points to lead Waynesburg (1-10, 5-13).

In other games: Canon-McMillan picked up a key Class 6A Section 2 win at Connellsville, 59-48; Southmoreland stopped Ringgold 47-35 in Class 4A Section 3; and Frazier defeated visiting Burgettstown 56-35 in a Class 2A Section 3 contest.

Boys results

Carmichaels 58, Avella 34: Carmichaels had four players score in double figures and the Mikes took advantage of a big second quarter to defeat host Avella 58-34 in a nonsection game.

Carmichaels (9-9), which snapped a four-game losing streak, outscored Avella 22-6 in the second quarter to build a 33-15 lead at halftime. The Mikes then used their balanced scoring attack to remain int he lead.

Matt Barrish and Al Cree each topped the Mikes in scoring, tossing in 12 points. Dylan Wilson was right behind with 11 points and Garrett Ponick had 10.

Avella (5-12), which had a two-game winning streak end, received nine points each from Tanner Terensky and Owen English.

Brownsville 56, West Greene 32: Extending its lead by only allowing three points in the second quarter, Brownsville used balance to defeat West Greene, 56-32, in a non-section game.

After the Falcons took a 17-11 lead in the first quarter, they outscored West Greene 13-3 in the second quarter to lead 30-14 at the half.

Nick Seto led Brownsville (4-13) with 14 points. Aiden Tecter and Phil Pace each had 10.

Ben Jackson led the Pioneers, who fall to 5-11 overall, with nine points.

Yough 79, Bentworth 37: Jarrett Bach scored a game-high 27 points as Yough rolled to a 79-37 victory over Bentworth in a non-section game.

Gamal Marballie scored 17 points and CJ Waldier added 16 for Yough (6-12), which led 20-4 after the first quarter.

Jacob Burke led Bentworth (0-18) with 11 points. Cameron Bell also scored 10 for the Bearcats.