Jan 18, 2024 4 min read

Raney Staub was too much for McGuffey, scoring a game-high 30 points as surging Fort Cherry defeated the visiting Highlanders 71-38 in a non-section girls basketball game Thursday on the Rangers’ home court.

Staub’s big game helped FC (10-4) race out to leads of 17-10 after one quarter and 41-18 at halftime. The loss dropped McGuffey’s record to 12-3. Fort Cherry has won five of its last six games.

The Rangers put four players in double figures as Ava Menzies, Kaylee Weinbrenner and Bella Bianchini each contributed 11 points.

Taylor Schumacher paced McGuffey with 19 points.

Chartiers-Houston 65, California 44

Ella Richey scored a career-high 20 points as Class 2A Section 4 leader Chartiers-Houston defeated visiting California 65-44.

Chartiers-Houston (7-0, 11-4) has won four in a row. The Bucs took control early, leading 17-6 after one quarter and 34-15 at halftime. Richey scored 11 of her points in the first half.

Ava Capozzoli added 15 points, including four three-pointers, for the Bucs. Amelia Brose chipped in with 14 points and Mia Mitrik had 10.

Rakiyah Porter paced California (4-3, 7-7) with 20 points.

Washington 60, Bentworth 20

Kaprice Johnson and Olivia Woods combined for 35 points as Washington defeated visiting Bentworth 60-20 in Class 2A Section 4.

The win improves Wash High to 6-1 in the section and pulls the Prexies to .500 overall at 7-7.

Johnson led Wash High in scoring with 18 points, Woods followed with 17 and Taraysia Finley contributed 13.

Bentworth is 0-7 in section, 3-12 overall.

Avella 49, Jefferson-Morgan 45

Ava Frank poured in a career-high 34 points, including a key basketball in the closing seconds, as Avella defeated visiting Jefferson-Morgan 49-45 in Class A Section 2.

With Avella (1-4, 3-12) leading 47-45, Frank scored off an in-bounds play with 10 seconds remaining to clinch the victory.

Leighana Gooden had a big game for Jefferson-Morgan (0-5, 2-13) with 15 points on five three-point field goals, of which four came in the came in the second quarter. Kayla Larkin followed with 14 points. The Rockets led 26-25 at halftime and 36-35 after three quarters but were outscored 14-9 in the fourth.

Burgettstown 61, Sto-Rox 22

Burgettstown was on pace to score 100 points after the first quarter of its 61-22 victory over the Vikings in Class 2A Section 2 play at Sto-Rox.

Burgettstown (5-0, 9-8) had a 26-1 lead after the first quarter and a 45-5 halftime advantage. With a continuous clock running in the second half, the Sto-Rox (0-4, 4-11) outscored the visitors, 17-15.

The Blue Devils’ Kaitlyn Nease scored a game-high 23 points. Paige Klodowski added 12.

The Vikings’ Kamiyah Thompson scored 10 points.

West Mifflin 45, Belle Vernon 11

West Mifflin’s defense stymied Belle Vernon in a 45-11 triumph in Class 4A Section 3.

West Mifflin had a 10-4 lead after the first and a 19-6 halftime advantage. The Titans (5-2, 7-6) outscored the Leopards 8-2 in the third quarter and 18-3 in the fourth.

West Mifflin’s Savaughn Wimbs was the game’s leading scorer with 17 points.

Chessa Metz led Belle Vernon (3-4, 7-9) in scoring with 6 points.

Boys results

Union 79, Avella 57

Lucas Stanley scored 24 points and Union moved into a tie for first place in Class A Section 1 with a 79-57 win over Avella in a game played on the Scotties’ home court.

Union is 4-1 in section and 7-9 overall. Avella, which could have moved to the top of the section with a win, slipped to 3-2 in the league and 8-8 overall.

Union jumped out to a 25-16 lead at the end of one quarter and stretched it to 44-26 at halftime.

Braylen Thomas chipped in with 19 points for Union.

Westley Burchianti led Avella in scoring with 19 points and Bryce Wright had 17.

California 73, Bentworth 67

Vinny Manzella led four California players in double figures with 20 points as the Trojans defeated host Bentworth 73-67 in a non-section game.

California led 26-16 after one quarter and increased its advantage to 49-31 at halftime.

Jacob Ziolecki tossed in 18 points, Noah Neil had 15 and caden Monticelli had 12 for california.

Ben Hays scored a game-high 26 points for Bentworth. Lucas Burt followed with 17 points and Chris Harper hit for 12.

In other games

Mt. Lebanon edged Canon-McMillan 56-46 in a Class 6A Section 2 girls basketball game. West Greene was a 45-10 winner over Carmichaels in a non-section girls game and McKeesport was a 62-44 winner over visiting South Fayette in a non-section game. No game details were reported by press time.