Feb 12, 2016 9 min read

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Before we pencil in Trinity and South Fayette as the two teams that will play for the WPIAL championship Sat., Feb. 27, let’s take a quick look around Class AAA and potential obstacles for a Section 5-AAA title game.

Third-seeded Ambridge (19-3), the Section 2-AAA champs, ended the regular season on a nine-game winning streak and is the popular alternative to Trinity. The Bridgers are a young and extremely athletic team lead by senior guard Sydney Rabold, who averages more than 16 points per game.

What about Blackhawk? Well, the Cougars (16-6) have beaten Ambridge, plus have non-section wins over Seton-La Salle, Mercyhurst Prep, Penn-Trafford and Upper St. Clair. Oh, and there’s the championship experience. That means something this time of year.

Another team that is been forgotten about is South Park. The Eagles did lose to Trinity (17-5) by 13 points, but its five losses are to teams with a combined record of 100-20.

Though it’s certainly fun to imagine a Section 5 final, we’re thinking way too far ahead. South Fayette head coach Matt Bacco knows that there’s no time for distractions or looking toward the future.

“The seed doesn’t matter to us. We didn’t feel we were a 10 last year and we didn’t get too worked up about it,” Bacco said. “If you’re good enough, regardless of where you fall, you’ll find ways to win and advance. That’s what this time of year is all about.”

Before we go into detail about the Hillers and Lions, we have to talk about the preliminary round games that will determine their first opponents and the rest of the local games that are already set.

The Leopards used a late surge to qualify as the fourth-place team in Section 4, while the Warriors finished fourth in 2-AAA. The winner gets Trinity Wednesday at Canon-McMillan (3 p.m.).

Led by junior guard Krista Sudar, Central Valley averages just 47 points per game in a very difficult schedule. Belle Vernon, meanwhile, is inexperienced and finding a new identity without Kaitlyn Slagus, who is already a standout forward at Bucknell.

The Leopards are quick and have strong outside shooting. They are well-rounded with Ashley Russell, Kelsey Green and Caitlyn Trombley.

Prediction: Central Valley wins a close one, but the future is bright at Belle Vernon

The winner of this one plays South Fayette Wednesday at Peters Township (6:30 p.m.) and both have been inconsistent all season. The Rams have a first-year head coach and are learning to play without a 6-6 center (Marlena Schmidt is a freshman at West Virginia).

Laurel Highlands has lost four consecutive games, but it can generate some offense with Ashley Galderisi, who averages 17 points per game. Offense has been a problem for Ringgold, which averages just 46.5 points per game.

The key for the Rams is to create chances for sophomore forward Ashley Briscoe. She can take this one over.

Prediction: Ringgold gets the win

WPIAL Class AAA champion prediction: South Fayette over Trinity. Not sure any team on the Hillers’ side of the bracket to match their depth and combination of size and strong guard play. South Fayette can.

The Indians shared the Section 4-AAAA title with Canon-McMillan and the Spartans finished second in Section 1. This is as difficult a matchup you will find for a 4 vs. a 13.

It’s unusual to see a second-place team fall to that low of a seed and even more unusual when that team played in the same section as the No. 1 seed of the tournament (Norwin). Well, that’s the case.

Each of Hempfield’s losses came against playoff teams. Plus, it owns impressive non-section wins over Gateway, Bishop Canevin and Obama Academy. Senior Aubree Halusic averages 18.9 ppg for a team that scores effectively and has playoff experience.

That’s something Peters Township doesn’t have. Though the Indians have a strong senior class led by senior guard Madison Kerr, an IUP recruit, they are back in the playoffs after a rough couple of years.

That being said, the Indians are deep, talented and versatile. They can press and are extremely effective in the half court zone. This is going to be a very close and competitive game.

Prediction: Peters Township wins a close one

The Foxes finished second in Section 2-AAAA and are coming off back-to-back non-section losses to Bethel Park and Obama Academy.

They are led by junior guard Gabby Badway’s 15 ppg, but Fox Chapel lacks height. That could be a big issue when trying to stop Canon-McMillan senior center Becca Turney, an Eastern Michigan recruit.

The Big Macs are a different team when they find ways to use Turney. Their leading scorer, junior point guard Cheyenne Trest, pairs with Turney to make Canon-McMillan’s offense very difficult to stop.

I don’t think Fox Chapel can find an answer for both.

Prediction: Canon-McMillan advances to the quarterfinals

The Cougars competed for the Section 4-AA title, despite playing without arguably its best player, sophomore Sierra Short, and they had a first-year head coach. Freedom finished fourth in Section 5-AA and quite frankly, didn’t have a standout win in the regular season.

The same can be said for Charleroi, but it does have close losses to Brownsville, Ringgold and Wash High.

The winner gets fifth-seeded Neshannock.

The best is yet to come for Charleroi, which only has two seniors, but it’s still talented and has the outside shooting to win this one.

Prediction: Charleroi advances to the first round.

Six of Shenango’s losses were by less than 10 points and the Wildcats have a nice mix of size and athleticism. Senior Samantha Seaburn is averaging 16.9 ppg and Jacqui Baker can be a handful to guard.

Beth-Center is led by sophomore guard Kinlee Whited, who emerged as one of the better guards in the area. She is solid driving to the basket and is the key to the Bulldogs’ success on both ends. They also have sophomore Mary Gustovich, who has helped replaced Anna Bartman.

The winner gets second-seeded Burrell Tuesday at North Catholic (6:30 p.m.).

Prediction: Shenango grabs the win. The Wildcats are deep and their height will cause matchup issues for Beth-Center.

The Prexies defeated the Bucs, 47-37, last month by scoring 35 second-half points to overcome a 10-point halftime deficit. The key was to limit junior Jala Walker and force C-H’s role players to take make shots.

Wash High senior forward Tajah Gordon had a nice game and C-H couldn’t establish an inside presence. That’s because sophomore forward Alexa Williamson is out for the season with a torn ACL. The Bucs responded by beating Bishop Canevin and are now entering this tournament more motivated than ever.

It will take secondary scoring and limiting Gordon, but C-H can certainly find its way into the quarterfinals.

Prediction: That will happen. Chartiers-Houston will pull off the upset by stopping Gordon and forcing the Prexies’ young guards into turnovers. This will have the feel of a rivalry game. Both teams’ players know each other and the loss is still on the minds of C-H’s players.

WPIAL Class AA champion prediction: Seton-La Salle beats Bishop Canevin again. My sleeper is Carlynton, which is arguably the most athletic team in AA.

The Rockets are pretty motivated to prove that the WPIAL disrespected them with the sixth seed. That will show in this game. Jefferson-Morgan is balanced, plays tough defense and has playoff experience. It defeated Cornell in the first round last year and the six seniors have been to the playoffs four consecutive years.

That group is led by Kayla Yorko, who averages almost 15 ppg, and forward Ally Bogden, who is one of the most underrated players in the area.

“We spread the ball around offensively, so its’ kind of hard to key on one player,” J-M head coach Chris Niemiec said. “Everyone knows (Yorko) is our best scorer and shooter, but we have four or five girls who can score double figures in any game.”

Prediction: That happens here and Jefferson-Morgan advances to face third-seeded Quigley Catholic.

It’s great to see the Pioneers back in the postseason and the program will be strong for years to come. The freshman class is tremendous and the junior high players are perfect for the system, so we’ll certainly be talking about them last year.

Before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s focus on West Greene’s first-round game, which isn’t an easy draw. Cornell is led by prolific junior point guard Daeja Quick, a midseason transfer from Moon. She made an somewhat raw, but athletic team very good and trending upward at the right time.

West Greene freshmen guards McKenna and Madison Lampe are lightning quick and are handful, particularly on defense. The Pioneers are very talented, but depth is an issue and the recipe to beat them is force them into half-court sets.

Cornell will do that here.

Prediction: Cornell wins with an impressive second half.

Vincentian Academy would have been the top seed if it hadn’t lost to North Catholic last week. The Royals, who are relatively young, are the defending WPIAL champions, own wins over OLSH – the top-ranked team in Class AA – and Seton-La Salle, which is seeded third in AA.

Led by junior guard Shannon Relihan, Fort Cherry has won five of its last seven games, but this is a bad match up for the Rangers.

Prediction: Vincentian Academy wins big

The Trojans have been overlooked all season, despite not having a ‘bad’ loss on their schedule. They have a solid guard tandem with Bailey Vig and Jenna Miller, plus senior forward Destiny Gudel has helped replace Kylie Huffman, but depth has been iffy and like most teams, they’re dealing with injuries.

They’re pretty familiar with Riverview. The Raiders eliminated Cal in the quarterfinals last year and returned the bulk of its roster, including sophomore forward Ariel Rafferty and senior guard Sadie Buchser.

Riverview’s record is deceiving. It has losses to North Catholic (twice), Vincentian (twice), Brentwood (11 seed in AA), Deer Lakes (prelim game in AAA) and Seton-La Salle (No. 3 in AA).

Prediction: Riverview wins this one. It’s a tough matchup for the Trojans because they don’t really have an answer for Rafferty.

WPIAL champion prediction: North Catholic defeats Vincentian. NC is too deep and Sam Breen is too difficult to stop.