Feb 14, 2022 6 min read

The WPIAL released pairings and seeds for its boys and girls basketball tournaments Monday.

Postseason play begins Friday, and preliminary and first-round games will be contested through Tuesday, Feb. 22.

The local girls teams that received the highest seeds are South Fayette (18-4), which finished tied for second in Class 5A Section 1 but is the No. 2 seed in the field, and West Greene (18-3), which is second-seeded in Class A.

South Fayette won a three-overtime game Saturday at Trinity (17-4). The Hillers are the No. 3 seed in Class 5A. Both the Lions and Hillers begin play Feb. 22 at home. South Fayette will host Greensburg Salem (15-7) and Trinity plays Armstrong (13-9).

West Greene has a first-round play and will host either Bishop Canevin (13-8) or section rival Avella (10-11) in the quarterfinals Feb. 24.

The local boys team that received the highest seed is Belle Vernon (18-3). The Section 3 champion Leopards are the No. 3 seed in Class 4A. The Leopards have a first-round bye and will not play until the quarterfinals Feb. 23.

Complete preliminary and first-round pairings can be found in the Scoreboard section on Page B2.

Boys results

Fort Cherry 69, Waynesburg 65: Owen Norman scored a game-high 32 points, powering Fort Cherry to a 69-65 win over host Waynesburg in a battle of playoff-bound teams.

Norman scored 11 of his points in the first quarter when Fort Cherry (20-2) forged a 20-12 lead. Norman made four three-point field goals in the game, three in the opening period.

Waynesburg Dawson Fowler, who had a team-high 26 points, scored 14 points in the second quarter when Waynesburg fpulled to within 39-32. Fowler made six of the Raiders’ 10 three-point baskets.

Waynesburg closed to within 53-50 at the end of three quarters, but the Rangers stayed ahead as Norman made four free throws in the fourth quarter. Maddox Truschel, who scored 10 points, had four of those in the final period.

Dylan Rogers scored 16 points for Fort Cherry, which has won 11 in a row.

Chase Henkins tallied 19 points for Waynesburg (10-11) and Jacob Mason had 11.

The 20 regular-season wins by Fort Cherry ties the school record set in the 2004-05 season. The Rangers’ state championship team of 1960-61 won 18 regular-season games and finished the year with 23 victories.

Monessen 69, Serra Catholic 55: Lorenzo Gardner scored a game-high 26 points to help Monessen win its 15th game in a row, 69-55, over Serra Catholic in a non-section game.

The winning streak is the longest since 2016, when the Greyhounds won 15 in a row.

Jaisean Blackman tossed in 16 point for Monessen (18-4) and Leonaj Thomas added 11.

Elijah Ward led Serra Catholic (10-10) with 13 points.

Washington 72, Albert Gallatin 58: A strong start powered Washington to a 72-58 victory over Albert Gallatin in a non-section game.

Tayshawn Levy led all scorers with 24 points for Wash High, which led 20-7 after the first quarter. Brandon Patterson contributed 21 and Davoun Fuse scored 16 for the Prexies (16-2).

Mick Pegg and Mikel Belt each scored 15 points to pace AG (10-11), which has lost four of six.

Trinity 65, Elizabeth Forward 55: Three players scored in double figures to help push Trinity past Elizabeth Forward, 65-55, in a non-section game.

Connor Roberts led all scorers with 22 points for the Hillers (6-15). Dante DeRubbo scored 11 with the help of three three-point field goals and Jacob Dunkle scored a career-high 16.

Mekhi Daniels and Charlie Nigut each scored 12 points to pace EF (14-8).

Burgettstown 56, South Side Beaver 46: Caleb Russell and Jackson LaRocka each scored 15 points as Burgettstown downed SS Beaver, 56-46, in a non-section game.

James Leuice added 11 points for the Blue Devils (8-12), which snapped a five-game losing streak.

Aidan Roach’s 18 points led South Side Beaver (8-14).

South Fayette 64, Beaver 35: South Fayette prepared for the upcoming Class 5A playoffs with a 65-34 victory over Beaver in the regular-season finale.

Brandon Jakiela led a balanced attack for the Lions with 11 points. Elijah Hill was the only other player in double figures for South Fayette (14-8) with 10 points.

In other games: Canon-McMillan won at Hempfield, 57-50. Chartiers Valley edged Peters Township, 65-59. No game details were reported.

Girls results

Peters Township 62, Belle Vernon 39: Journey Thompson led three Peters Township players in double figures with 14 points and Peters Township pulled away in the second half to beat Belle Vernon 62-39 in a battle of playoff teams from different classifications.

PT (12-10) led 26-20 at halftime before taking advantage of a 19-6 scoring spree in the third quarter.

Avana Sayles scored 13 points and Gemma Walker had 10 for the Indians.

Tessa Rodriguez topped Belle Vernon (15-7) with her 12 points. Jenna Dawson followed with 11.

Chartiers-Houston 45, McGuffey 24: Dominique Mortimer scored 10 of her game-high 13 points in the third quarter, helping Chartiers-Houston to pull away for a 45-24 home-court win over McGuffey.

Chartiers-Houston (11-10), which has qualified for the Class 2A playoffs, led 20-13 at halftime. Mortimer’s 10 points, which included three of her four three-point field goals, helped the Bucs score 20 points in the quarter and move out to a 40-18 lead.

Mia Mitrick scored 10 points for the Bucs.

Taylor Schumacher’s seven points were tops for McGuffey (9-13).

South Fayette 53, Montour 24: Maddie Webber scored 23 points and South Fayette prepped for the upcoming playoffs with a 53-24 win over Montour.

The Lions (18-4) led 34-11 at halftime and crusied the rest of the way. Mia Webber tossed in 11 points to support her sister’s big game.

Olivia Lysick had 12 points for Montour (15-6).

Albert Gallatin 68, Canon-McMillan 59: Gianna Michaux scored a game-high 25 points and Albert Gallatin took advantage of a 39-point first half to beat Canon-McMillan, 68-59.

The Colonials (15-4) led 39-20 at halftime before Canon-McMillan (5-15) mounted a comeback and closed to within 46-40 at the end of three quarters. AG had to score 22 fourth-quarter points to win the game.

Julianna Borella led the Big Macs with 18 points, Stellanie Loutsion had 17 and Tori Wesolowski 10.

Frazier 37, Bentworth 32: Eliza Newcomer scored 18 points and Frazier held off Bentworth 37-32 in a non-section game.

Frazier (7-14) led at all the quarter stops, including 15-13 at halftime.

Makenzie Aloe led Bentworth (5-15) in scoring with 12 points.

Lincoln Park 58, Washington 20: Mikayla Newsome scored 15 points to help Lincoln Park take a 58-20 victory from Washington in a non-section game.

Bella Rumnier chipped in 10 for Lincoln Park (12-10), which won for only the third time in its last eight games.

Marena Malone paced Washington (1-20) with seven points.

In other games: South Side Beaver upset Burgettstown 46-44 and South Park was a 71-48 winner over Ringgold. No game details were reported.