Fort Cherry cruises to victory in first round of playoffs
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Fort Cherry scored all the points it would need in the first quarter, as the Rangers cruised to a 66-16 victory over Beth-Center on Friday night in the first round of the WPIAL Class 2A girls basketball playoffs at Peters Township High School.
Fort Cherry (18-4) not only qualifies for Wednesday’s quarterfinals, but will be in the state tournament, as the PIAA takes eight teams from the WPIAL. The Rangers will play South Side Beaver quarterfinals.
Fort Cherry had a 29-8 lead after the first quarter and a 48-13 halftime advantage that put the Mercy Rule into effect during the second half. The Rangers outscored the Bulldogs, 12-1, in the third and 6-2 in the fourth.
Fort Cherry’s Raney Staub led all scorers with 30 points. Staub’s total was a playoff career-high. Teammate Olivia Kemp added 11.
Beth-Center’s Lauren Brown had six points.
South Side 43, Chartiers-Houston 38:
Bailey Strnisa scored nine of her game-high 20 points in the fourth quarter as South Side held on for a 43-38 victory over Chartiers-Houston in the first round of the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs.
The Rams move to Wednesday’s quarterfinals against Fort Cherry with the site and time to be determined. The victory qualifies South Side for the PIAA playoffs as six teams from the WPIAL are taken in Class 2A girls.
With her team holding a 31-30 lead entering the fourth period, Strnisa made three field goals and was 3-for-4 at the foul line.
The Bucs had an 11-10 lead after the first quarter, but the Rams used an 18-11 advantage in the second for a 28-22 halftime lead. An 8-3 edge in the third cut the Chartiers-Houston deficit to one.
Ali Wingard had 19 points to lead the Bucs.
Rochester 48, Burgettstown 39:
Burgettstown pulled within six late in the fourth quarter, but Rochester had too much of a lead to earn a 48-39 triumph in the first round of the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs.
The Rams play Greensburg Central Catholic on Wednesday in the quarterfinals at a site and time to be determined. Rochester also qualified for the state playoffs as one of the top eight teams in the WPIAL.
Rochester led after every quarter break, as Marqui Taylor scored a game-high 21 points.
The Blue Devils’ Paige Klodowski had 14 points. Teammate Kaitlyn Nease added 13 and Martina Whyte 10.
Boys basketball:
Monessen 78, Summit Academy 56:
Lorenzo Gardner scored nearly half of his team’s points as Monessen rolled to a 78-56 victory over Summit Academy in the first round of the WPIAL Class A playoffs at Monessen.
The Greyhound senior had 44 points to help lead Monessen (18-4) to a quarterfinal matchup with Union (13-10) on Wednesday at a site and time to be determined.
The Greyhounds’ Darryl Ray added 15 points.
Abdullah Abdirahman led Summit Academy in scoring with 13 points.
Monessen had an 18-11 lead after the first quarter but Summit Academy outscored the home team 17-14 in the second to cut the halftime deficit to 32-28. The Greyhounds took control with a 21-10 advantage in the third period, and had a 25-18 edge in the fourth.
South Allegheny 71, Belle Vernon 62:
Belle Vernon trailed by two at halftime, but a six-point advantage in the third quarter was enough to propel South Allegheny to a 71-62 triumph in the first round of the WPIAL Class 4A playoffs at South Allegheny.
The Gladiators (17-6) advance to Wednesday’s quarterfinals against Hampton (20-3) with the site and time to be determined.
The Leopards (12-9) were led in scoring by Zion Moore’s 22 points. Alonzo Wade put in 16 and Tommy Davis 15.
South Allegheny was led in scoring by Michael Michalski, who tied Moore with high-game honors with 22. Cam Epps dropped 19 and Jetson Beatty 12.
Aquinas Academy 84, California 50:
Aquinas Academy’s offense was too much for California in the Trojans’ 84-50 setback in the first round of WPIAL Class A playoff action at Peters Township High School.
Aquinas’ Jacob Guillen had a game-high 37 points on 12 field goals, including seven 3-pointers, and was 6-for-8 at the foul line. Teammate Sam Duer added 22 points.
California’s Noah Neil led his team in scoring with 18 points on eight field goals and was 2-of-4 at the foul line. Vinny Manzella had 16 points on seven field goals (one 3-pointer) and was 1-of-2 at the line.
Aquinas had a 27-12 lead after the first quarter and a 49-29 halftime advantage. After both teams scored 15 in the third period, Aquinas had a 20-6 edge in the final frame.
In other games: Carlynton defeated Jefferson-Morgan 55-41 in the first round of the WPIAL Class A playoffs.