By: Don Rebel


Sunday, February 16, 2025 | 4:54 PM

They say that opposites attract.

If that’s the case, then Woodland Hills and Seneca Valley were destined to meet for a third time in the postseason.

That matchup is one of three Class 6A boys basketball first round playoff games and one of 22 WPIAL basketball postseason games Monday.

Both Woodland Hills and Seneca Valley finished the season with overall records of 11-11, even though the Wolverines were two games behind the Raiders in the Section 1 standings.

However, the path these two teams took to a .500 finish had them going in opposite directions by the end of the regular season.

Seneca Valley sat in first place in the section for a good part of the season.

Following a win over North Allegheny on Jan. 21, the Raiders had won 10 straight and were alone in first place with an 8-1 section record.

But the boys in black and blue were beat up near the end of the regular season, losing their last five games.

Woodland Hills started slowly, sitting at 1-6 in the section at the midway point.

With their backs to the wall, the Wolverines rallied to win their last four games and finish in a tie for the fifth and final playoff spot with a North Hills team they beat by 25 points in the section finale to clinch.

On Jan. 10, Seneca Valley won at home, beating Woodland Hills, 61-51. Senior guard Tyler Pepin led Seneca Valley with 17 points.

In the rematch Feb. 4, the Wolverines edged the Raiders on two free throws by sophomore Donshae Mosely, 53-51. Mosely led Woody High with 17 points.

No. 9 Woodland Hills visits No. 8 Seneca Valley at 7 p.m. with the winner advancing to the 6A quarterfinals on Thursday to play at top-seeded Upper St. Clair.

There are two other 6A boys opening round contests Monday, and both of those also are section rematches.

• No. 10 North Hills (7-15) heads north to challenge No. 7 Butler (15-6) in a game you can listen to on Trib HSSN at 7 p.m. The Indians won 69-66 at home Dec. 17, while the Golden Tornado won 51-39 at home Jan. 21. The winner visits No. 2 New Castle in the quarterfinals.

• No. 6 Mt. Lebanon (15-7) will host No. 11 Norwin (10-11) at 7 p.m. The Blue Devils won big at home in the second meeting 84-60 on Jan. 28, after the Knights won the first contest 51-49 in overtime Jan. 3. The winner advances to face No. 3 Imani Christian at a site to be determined.

Big bracket sliced again

The largest bracket in the 2025 district playoffs was the boys 2A playoffs.

It started at 21 teams, was sliced to 16 schools last Thursday and will be cut in half to eight by the end of Monday.

One matchup already set before the preliminary round has No. 9 Fort Cherry (13-8) traveling to No. 8 Union (16-6) at 7 p.m.

The Rangers finished in a three-way tie for second place in Section 3-2A, three games behind section winner Chartiers-Houston.

Once the calendar flipped to 2025, Fort Cherry has looked like the team that made a long run in the district and state boys basketball playoffs a year ago, finishing 11-2 in its last 13 games.

The Scotties ended up in third place in Section 4-2A, two games behind Our Lady of the Sacred Heart and three games back of Neshannock.

Union won five of its last seven games and finished 9-3 in its final dozen games of the regular season.

Scotties senior Lucas Stanley finished fourth in the WPIAL in scoring in the regular season with an average of 24.8 points per game.

Senior Shane Cornali led the Rangers with 393 points and an average of 18.7 points per game.

Listen to the game on Trib HSSN.

In the other seven 2A opening round contests:

• No. 16 Laurel (12-11) heads southeast to challenge top-seeded Greensburg Central Catholic (20-2) at 7 p.m. The Spartans defeated Eden Christian Academy in the preliminary round, 50-42, while the Centurions were the runners-up a year ago in 2A. Listen on Trib HSSN.

• No. 13 Winchester Thurston (16-7) will travel north to take on No. 4 Neshannock (19-2). In the preliminary round, the Bears knocked off Beth-Center, 50-39. The Lancers are the Section 4 champions. Listen on Trib HSSN.

• No. 5 Northgate (13-9) welcomes No. 12 Springdale (14-8) at 7 p.m. The Flames reached the 2A finals two years ago. The Dynamos ousted host Jefferson-Morgan in the prelim round, 42-33.

• No. 2 Sewickley Academy (17-4) will be home to No. 15 Bentworth (11-10) at 7 p.m. The Panthers claimed the Section 2-2A crown this season, while the Bearcats reached the first round with a home win over South Side in a prelim game, 65-40. Listen on Trib HSSN.

• No. 10 Shenango (11-11) visits No. 7 Chartiers-Houston (19-3) at 7 p.m. The Wildcats finished in fourth place in Section 4 with wins in three of their last four games. The Buccaneers ran away with the Section 3-2A title and had a 13-game win streak halted with a loss to McGuffey in the regular season finale. Listen on Trib HSSN.

• No. 14 Brentwood (10-12) heads east to battle No. 3 Jeannette (19-2) at 7 p.m. The Spartans had lost three straight before winning on the road in the preliminary round at West Greene, 59-49. The Jayhawks’ only two losses this season were to section rival and top seed Greensburg Central Catholic. Listen on Trib HSSN.

• No. 11 Clairton (8-10) goes up against No. 6 Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (17-5) at Cornell at 7 p.m. These two schools hold the longest district and state winning streaks in football and basketball. The Bears own the football mark with 66 in a row, and the Chargers set the hoops record a few years ago with 74 straight victories.

Curtain goes up on 4A girls

Hopewell has won three WPIAL girls basketball championships with the most recent coming 13 years ago.

On their way to the 2012 3A title, the Vikings knocked off Elizabeth Forward in the quarterfinals, 46-35.

The following season, those two teams nearly met in the 3A championship game. The Warriors stunned top-seeded Blackhawk in one semifinal, but the Vikings were ousted in the other final four contest by South Park.

All these years later, the two are set to collide again in the postseason when No. 4 Elizabeth Forward (17-5) welcomes No. 13 Hopewell (9-13) in a Class 4A girls basketball first round game at 7 p.m. Monday.

This season, the Warriors won another Section 3-4A crown and had won 16 straight games before ending the regular season with back-to-back losses to South Park and Baldwin.

Hopewell finished tied for fourth place in Section 2-4A with Hampton and, following a 2-10 start, went 7-3 in its final 10 games, including four wins in its last five contests.

Here is a rundown of the other seven 4A girls opening round matchups:

• Top seed and defending PIAA 4A champion Blackhawk (20-2) will host Yough (12-11) in a battle of the Cougars at 7 p.m. Blackhawk won the Section 2 title this winter while Yough defeated Highlands in a preliminary round game in double overtime, 53-47.

• No. 8 Laurel Highlands (16-5) welcomes No. 9 Knoch (12-10) at 7 p.m. The Mustangs have won five in a row and are 10-1 in their last 11 games. The Knights are also hot, ending the season by winning four of five and going 8-2 in their last 10 games. Listen on Trib HSSN.

• No. 12 Freeport (6-16) travels to No. 5 Beaver (16-5) at 7 p.m. The Yellowjackets lost four of their last five games while the Bobcats had won five in a row before losing in their regular season finale to Aliquippa.

• No. 2 Oakland Catholic (19-3) will be home to No. 15 Hampton 10-11) at 7 p.m. The Eagles are on a seven-game winning streak that helped carry them to a share of the Section 1-4A title. The Talbots struggled down the stretch, losing three straight and going 2-8 in their last 10 games.

• No. 10 Belle Vernon (11-11) is set to visit No. 7 Central Valley (14-7) at 7 p.m. The Leopards are on a three-game winning streak and were 7-3 in their final 10 games. The Warriors have won their last two and went 6-2 in their final eight contests.

• No. 14 Mt. Pleasant (6-15) heads to Cranberry to take on Section 1 co-champion and No. 3-seeded North Catholic (19-3) at 7 p.m. The Vikings have yet to win a WPIAL girls basketball championship while the crowns have been plentiful for the Trojans, who last year captured their 23rd district title.

• No. 6 South Park (15-5) will play host to No. 11 Burrell (13-9) at 7 p.m. The Eagles are 7-1 in their last eight games while the Buccaneers are 4-4 in their last eight.

Three to make eight in A girls

The smallest girls basketball classification has the fewest first round games outside of 6A.

Six teams will hit the floor Monday in an effort to qualify of the quarterfinals, while the top five seeds sit back and wait.

A year ago, St. Joseph reached the district championship game and came so close to taking home gold but fell in overtime to Union, 50-43.

This season, St. Joseph tied Aquinas Academy for second place in Section 1-A, three games behind section winner Union.

As the No. 6 seed, St. Joseph (15-7) will host No. 11 Sewickley Academy (5-14) in a third meeting between the two this season at 7 p.m.

The Spartans beat the Panthers decisively twice this winter, 59-31 on the road, and at home two weeks ago, 61-18.

The winner advances to visit No. 3 Clairton on Thursday.

There are two other Class A girls opening round contests Monday.

• No. 9 Bishop Canevin (11-9) will visit No. 8 Springdale (11-11) at 7 p.m. The winner advances to the second round to visit top seed and two-time champion Union on Thursday.

• No. 7 West Greene (15-7) will host No. 10 Eden Christian Academy (5-15) at 7 p.m. To the victor goes a trip to Fayette County and a matchup against No. 2 Geibel Catholic.

Tags: Beaver, Belle Vernon, Bentworth, Bishop Canevin, Blackhawk, Brentwood, Burrell, Butler, Central Valley, Chartiers-Houston, Clairton, Eden Christian, Elizabeth Forward, Fort Cherry, Freeport, Greensburg C.C., Hampton, Hopewell, Jeannette, Knoch, Laurel, Laurel Highlands, Mt. lebanon, Mt. Pleasant, Neshannock, North Catholic, North Hills, Northgate, Norwin, Oakland Catholic, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Seneca Valley, Sewickley Academy, Shenango, South Park, Springdale, St. Joseph, Union, West Greene, Winchester Thurston, Woodland Hills, Yough