High school basketball roundup:
Senior Madeline Newark scored 15 points and Jillian Frazier made three clutch free throws in the closing moments as Burgettstown’s girls basketball team remained undefeated by edging Quaker Valley 35-31 in the championship game of the Blue Devils’ tournament Wednesday.
Burgettstown (6-0) had to come from behind as Quaker Valley led 14-11 at halftime. The Blue Devils grabbed a 24-21 after three quarters and stayed ahead, though QV pulled to within three points late in the fourth quarter. That’s when Frazier’s free throws came in handy and kept Burgettstown in the lead.
Amelia Herrmann led Quaker Valley (3-4) with nine points.
Trinity 60, Pine-Richland 50: Trinity played in its first close game of the season and the Hillers handled it well, defeating Pine-Richland 60-50 at the North Allegheny tournament.
For Trinity (6-1), it was the first Hillers game that was decided by fewer than 19 points.
Pine-Richland (2-5) led 19-15 after one quarter, but Trinity held the Rams to only 17 points over the next two quarters and the Hillers opened up a 54-36 lead. They key was a 24-8 scoring edge in the pivotal third quarter.
Alyssa Clutter paced three Hillers in double figures with 18 points. Macie Justice followed with 14 and Maddy Roberts had 12.
Sarah Pifer and Christina Yarbrough had 14 each for the Rams and Madison Zavasky scored 11.
Monessen 45, Charleroi 40: Mercedes Majors is difficult to stop.
That was proven at the Mount Pleasant Holiday Classic where Majors scored a game-high 28 points and led Monessen to a 45-40 victory over cross-river rival Charleroi.
Majors’ output helped Monessen (4-2) hold off a second-half charge by Charleroi (4-3). The Greyhounds led 23-16 at halftime and Charleroi closed to within 37-33 after three quarters. An 8-7 edge in the fourth period gave Monessen the win.
McKenna DeUnger led Charleroi with 20 points and Riley Jones hit double figures with 10.
Peters Township 47, North Hills 26: Good defense and balanced scoring were keys as Peters Township defeated North Hills 47-26 in the Hampton tournament.
Journey Thompson led the Indians (4-5) with 12 points, and Natalie Wetzel and Grace Kail were close behind with 11 and nine points, respectively. PT held North Hills (0-8) to 13 points in each half. The Indians led 29-13 at halftime.
Thomas Jefferson 56, West Greene 40: Graci Fairman, a Wheeling University recruit, scored 24 points and Thomas Jefferson held West Greene to only 12 first-half points en route to a 56-40 victory over the Pioneers in the Cal U. Holiday Tournament.
Fairman’s scoring helped TJ (4-4) jump out to a 28-12 halftime lead and the Jaguars pushed it to 46-22 after three quarters.
Wrst Greene (4-3) put three players in twin figures, led by Brooke Barner’s 14 points. Katie Lampe had 11 and Anna Durbin contributed 10.
Upper St. Clair 68, Belle Vernon 36: Belle Vernon’s four-game winning streak was snapped by a 68-36 loss to undefeated Upper St. Clair in the California University Holiday Tournament.
USC (7-0) took charge early, racing out to a 19-8 lead after one quarter and a 32-12 edge at halftime.
Katie Robbins led the Panthers with a game-high 22 points and Mia Brown followed with 12.
Belle Vernon (5-2) was led in scoring by Viva Kreis, who scored nine points.
Boys results
Burgettstown 44, Chartiers-Houston 40: Burgettstown was shut out during one quarter but still found a way to generate enough offense to defeat Chartiers-Houston 44-40 and advance to tonight’s championship game of the Avella tournament.
Caleb Russell scored 18 points for Burgettstown (5-1), which will face Avonworth in the final. The Antelopes beat McGuffey 65-51 in the other semifinal game.
Burgettstown had a 15-9 lead over C-H (2-4) after one quarter, then failed to score in the second quarter, but the Bucs could only cut five points off their defricit. Burgetoowns went into halftime leading 15-14. It remained a one-point game into the fourth quarter, when the Blue Devils stretched their lead in the early stages and held on down the stretch.
Chartiers-Houston’s Lucas Myers scored a game-high 20 points.
Fort Cherry 72, Cornell 28: Owen Norman and Maddox Truschel each scored 24 points and Fort Cherry shut out Cornell in the third quarter en route to a 72-28 victory in the Avella tournament.
Truschel had a double-double as he pulled down 15 rebounds to go with his season-high points total. Dylan Rogers also scored in twin figures, with 10 points, for Fort Cherry (6-1), which bounced back from its first loss of the season on Tuesday to Avonworth.
Fort Cherry led 24-14 after one quarter and 40-20 at halftime. Then the Rangers outscored Cornell 17-0 in the third quarter.
M.J. Smith was the leading scorer for Cornell (4-4) with 12 points.
Brownsville 71, Avella 46: Ayden Teeter and Antwan Black each scored 15 points and Brownsville, sparked by a big first quarter, defeated Avella 71-46 in the Eagles’ tournament.
Brownsville (4-4) raced out to a 27-7 lead after one quarter and was never threatened.
Avella (1-7) was led by Brandon Samol with 18 points and Westley Burchianti tossed in 12.
Washington 59, Sewickley Academy 15: Washington ran its winning streak to five games with a 59-15 thumping of Sewickley Academy in the Delvin Miller Memorial Tournament at Monessen.
The outcome was never in doubt as Washington (5-1) led 18-6 after one quarter, then shut out Sewickley Academy 18-0 in the second quarter for a 36-6 halftime lead.
Davoun Fuse led the Prexies with 22 points, seven more than the entire Sewickley Academy team netted. The Panthers’ record fell to 1-5.
Linsly 82, Monessen 36: Linsly School erupted for 34 points in the first quarter and 59 in the first half en route to an 82-36 thumping of Monessen in the Greyhounds’ Delvin Miller Memorial Tournament.
Linsly led 34-7 after one quarter and 59-18 at halftime.
Caleb Murray led three Cadets in double figures with 26 points.
Lorenzo Gardner scored 13 points for Monessen (3-4) and Devontae Ross had 11.
Southmoreland 74, California 50: Southmoreland pulled away in the second half and defeated California 74-50 in the Charleroi tournament.
Southmoreland (3-3) led by only seven points, 31-24, at halftime but outscored California (2-5) by a 43-26 margin in the second half.
The Scotties’ Ty Keffer scored a game-high 19 points. Caden Powell led california with 11 points and Aiden Lowden had 10.