Dec 27, 2022 6 min read

McGuffey 63, Avella 49: McGuffey’s Taylor Schumacher scored a game-high 25 points, leading the Highlanders into the championship game of their own tournament with a 63-49 first-round win over Avella on Tuesday night.

Avella’s Katie Dryer scored a team-high 20 points, including her 1,000th career point.

McGuffey (8-2) led 35-20 at halftime.

Libby Mallah scored 14 points and Lexi Ewig had 11 for McGuffey.

Hannah Brownlee tossed in 11 points for Avella (5-3), which had its three-game winning streak snapped. Syd Strope scored 10 points.

Fort Cherry 42, West Allegheny 41: If you plan to attend a Fort Cherry girls basketball game, here’s some advice: don’t leave early.

The Rangers have a knack for playing down-to-the-wire games this year and Tuesday night in the opening round of the McGuffey tournament was no exception.

Rainey Staub completed a drive to the basket and put in a game-winning layup with 4.2 seconds left to give Fort Cherry a 42-41 victory over West Allegheny.

It was Fort Cherry’s second close win over West Allegheny this season. The Rangers pulled out a three-point win over the Indians 15 days earlier in McDonald.

Fort Cherry (5-3) has played five games decided by three points or fewer and have a 3-2 record in those contests.

This time, Fort Cherry had to rally from a 22-17 halftime deficit. West Allegheny (2-5) led 32-28 heading into the fourth quarter, but Staub helped FC complete the comeback as she finished the night with a game-high 20 points.

Alaina Holtz led WA with 14 points and Olivia Ginocchi scored 12. The Indians had a chance to win the game after Staub’s final field goal but they threw the ball out of bounds after advancing it past midcourt.

Canon-McMillan 56, Southmoreland 12: Canon-McMillan led from wire to wire and steamrolled Southmoreland 56-12 in the opening game of the California University Hoopfest.

The outcome was never in doubt as the Big Macs (2-6) shut out Southmoreland 19-0 in the first quarter and blanked the Scotties again in the third period.

Nadia Davis led C-M in scoring with 14 points and Madison Clair had 10.

Southmoreland is 1-7 and has lost seven straight.

South Fayette 68, St. Elizabeth (Del.) 51: Maddie Webber led three South Fayette players in double figures with 21 points and the Lions defeated St. Elizabeth (Del.), 68-51.

South Fayette (6-1) led by only 21-17 at the end of the first quarter but outscored St. Elizabeth 19-7 in what turned out to be the key second quarter. The Lions led 40-24 at halftime and stretched the advantage to 55-36 after three quarters.

Rachel Black scored 14 points for the winners and Erica Hall chipped in with 11.

Erica Higgins had 19 points to lead three St. Elizabeth players in double digits.

Waynesburg 53, Jefferson-Morgan 11: Waynesburg had no trouble getting back on the winning track and marching into the championship round of the Carmichaels Lions Club tournament with a 53-11 victory over Jefferson-Morgan.

The outcome was never in doubt as Waynesburg (7-1) led 16-0 after one quarter and 38-2 at halftime.

Josie Horne led the Raiders’ attack with 13 points and Kaley Rohanna had 10. Peyton Cowell controlled the boards by grabbing 10 rebounds.

Ava Wood led J-M (0-8) with five points.

Brentwood 47, Carmichaels 30: Brentwood had too much balance in its offense and the Spartans pulled away in the second half to beat Carmichaels 47-30 in opening round of the Carmichaels Lions Club Tournament.

Brentwood (3-5) will play Waynesburg in the championship game Wednesday (5:30 p.m.). Carmichaels will play Jefferson-Morgan in a consolation.

Brentwood led 20-18 at halftime and outscored the Mikes 27-12 in the second half.

Jenna Yee and A’maree Henry each scored 12 points for the Spartans and Mia March chipped in with 10.

Sophia Zalar led the Mikes with a game-high 16 points.

Mapletown 48, Turkeyfoot 45: Bailey Rafferty and Krista Wilson combined for 35 points and Mapletown fought off a late comeback to edge Turkeyfoot 48-45 in the first round of the Maples’ holiday tournament.

Mapletown (3-5) will face Hundred (W.Va.), which beat Jeannette, in the championship game Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

The Maples led 29-20 at halftime before Turkeyfoot changed defenses and climbed back into contention in the second half. The Rams had the game’s final possession but couldn’t get off a good shot from midcourt.

Rafferty led the Maples with 18 points, four assists and two steals. Wilson had 17 points, six rebounds and three steals. Isabella Garnek grabbed 18 rebounds.

Turkeyfoot’s Ava Hair scored a game-high 26 points.

Thomas Jefferson 33, Belle Vernon 32: Thomas Jefferson held off a fourth-quarter rally for a 33-32 victory over Belle Vernon in the Cal U Hoopfest.

Belle Vernon (3-5) led 7-4 after the first quarter, but trailed at halftime, 17-13. Both teams scored eight points in the third quarter and the Lady Leopards had a slight 11-9 advantage in the fourth quarter.

Farrah Reader finished with eight points and nine rebounds for Belle Vernon.

Julie Berberich scored 11 points and Laikyn Flynn added 10 for Thomas Jefferson (6-2).

Belle Vernon plays Aquinas Academy in Wednesday’s game.

Ringgold 36, Propel Montour 19: Ringgold’s Alexa Schwab and Zoey Mundorff were too much for Propel Montour as the Rams picked up their first victory of the season, 36-19, in the opening round of the Bentworth tournament.

Ringgold (1-7) outscored Propel Montour in every quarter, leading 10-5, 17-8 and 27-15 at the stops.

Schwab led the way with a game-high 13 points and Mundorff followed with 11.

Geibel Catholic 30, Bentworth 29: Bentworth went cold in the fourth quarter and Geibel rallied to snatch a 30-29 victory in the Bearcats’ holiday tournament.

Geibel (4-4) led 15-11 at halftime but Bentworth (3-6) roared back and grabbed a 27-22 lead entering the fourth quarter. The Bearcats’ scoring touch from the third quarter then disappeared as they were limited to just two points over the final eight minutes.

Geibel’s Emma Larkin scored a game-high 17 points. Grace Skerbetz’s 11 points were tops for Bentworth.