By: Don Rebel


Sunday, February 23, 2025 | 8:56 PM

Welcome to the second of three days of WPIAL basketball semifinal action Monday with boys 6A, boys 2A, girls 4A and girls A in the spotlight.

It is becoming a postseason tradition — Upper St. Clair facing Central Catholic in the boys 6A semifinals.

Their meeting Monday marks the third straight year the Panthers and Vikings have clashed in the final four. The winner has gone on to claim gold the past two seasons.

In the 2023 semifinals, Central Catholic cruised past Upper St. Clair, 65-41.

Dante DePante had a game-high 25 points to lead the Vikings, who later knocked off New Castle in the WPIAL finals, 61-52.

Last season, the two met again in the semis with Upper St. Clair coming out on top, 61-46.

Christian Ito led the Panthers with 17 points. USC advanced to the finals and cruised past Baldwin, 64-41.

Following quarterfinal victories Thursday, top-seeded Upper St. Clair (21-2) is set to battle No. 5 Central Catholic (14-9) for the third time this season at Peters Township at 7 p.m. in a game you can hear on Trib HSSN.

The Panthers eliminated Woodland Hills, 63-41, thanks to 17 points from senior forward Tyler Robbins.

The Vikings won on the road, defeating Fox Chapel in the quarters, 52-45, with senior guard Calvin Vento scoring 13 points.

USC swept Central in two Section 2-6A regular season meetings. The Panthers won at home 46-31, then claimed victory at Chuck Crummie Court in Alumni Hall, 57-43.

In the other 6A semifinal, No. 2 New Castle (20-3) will take on No. 6 Mt. Lebanon (17-7) at North Allegheny at 8 p.m. Listen to the contest on Trib HSSN.

The Section 1-6A champion Red Hurricanes advanced with a 64-43 win over Butler in the quarterfinals.

Freshman Kai Cox led the ‘Canes with 16 points.

The Blue Devils ousted 2023 and 2024 district and state Class A champion Imani Christian in the quarters, 64-61.

Senior Liam Shealy paced Lebo with 23 points.

Top-seed slayers

Through two rounds of the WPIAL basketball playoffs, the only top-seeded team to fall was Greensburg Central Catholic in the boys 2A bracket.

Used to playing the underdog role, No. 8 Union (18-6) stunned GCC, and now sets its sites on rival Neshannock (20-2) when the two Section 4-2A foes square off at Ellwood City at 8 p.m. for a third time this season.

Listen to the game on Trib HSSN.

Scotties senior Lucas Stanley was held to 14 points, 10 points below his season average, but he put Union ahead with a 3-pointer with 1:35 left, made a free throw with 15 seconds remaining and iced the game with a big rebound with 1 second left in the 44-42 upset of the Centurions.

Stanley was coming off a 36-point performance in a first round victory over Fort Cherry.

The Lancers may not even have their legs back by Monday after needing four overtimes in a quarterfinal win over Northgate, 72-64.

Junior guard David Kwiat led Neshannock with 27 points in dousing the Flames.

In the other 2A semifinal, No. 2 Sewickley Academy (19-4) is set to battle No. 3 Jeannette (21-2) at Fox Chapel at 7 p.m.

Junior forward Lucas Grimsley led the Panthers with 14 points in a quarterfinal victory over Chartiers-Houston, 48-39.

Sophomore guard Jayce Powell pumped in 18 points to lead the Jayhawks past Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, 55-50.

Catholics collide

Traditional girls basketball powers are set for a rubber game to their season series between the co-champions of Section 1-4A.

Defending champion North Catholic will battle Oakland Catholic at Fox Chapel at 6 p.m.

There is little difference between the two, including identical records.

Both finished atop the section with 13-1 records, and the two come into this showdown with an overall mark of 21-3.

In the quarterfinals, sophomore guard Brady Wehner scored 18 points as the Trojans bounced South Park, 59-32.

Also in the second round, junior forward Josie Fontana tallied 16 points in the Eagles’ rout of Central Valley, 66-29.

These two hoops powers first met Dec. 11 with North Catholic winning at home, 42-34.

In the rematch Jan. 29, Oakland Catholic held serve by winning at home, 39-37.

In the other 4A girls final four contest, top-seeded Blackhawk (22-2) will be challenged by No. 4 Elizabeth Forward (19-5) in a matchup of section champions at North Allegheny at 6 p.m.

Junior forward Aubree Hupp has been unstoppable in the postseason for the Section 2 champs, scoring 51 points in two wins, including 27 in the Cougars’ quarterfinal triumph over Laurel Highlands, 59-32.

Junior guard Mia Sostaric has led the Section 3 winners in two playoff wins with a combined 36 points, including 19 in the Warriors’ second round win over Beaver, 63-52.

These two teams last met in the district playoffs in the 2022 Class 4A semifinals in which Blackhawk defeated Elizabeth Forward, 76-53.

Wade vs. Larkin

Yes, the Class A girls semifinal is between No. 2 Geibel Catholic (22-1) and No. 3 Clairton (18-4) at Charleroi at 7 p.m. with audio on Trib HSSN.

However, it feels like a showdown between the top two scorers over the last couple of seasons with senior Iyanna Wade of the Bears and junior Emma Larkin of the Gators.

Last winter, Wade averaged 38.7 points per game and Larkin was right behind at 33.2 points per game.

This season, it wasn’t as close, but they were still No. 1 and No. 2.

Wade averaged an incredible 41.6 ppg and Larkin was at 27.6 ppg.

However, Larkin helped Geibel Catholic win the Section 2-A title, one game ahead of Wade and Clairton.

Both led their teams to quarterfinal victories.

Larkin scored 20 points as the Gators defeated West Greene, 60-48.

Wade dropped 30 points in a home Clairton win over last year’s district runner-up St. Joseph, 71-44.

The two teams split their regular season contests with the Bears winning at home in December, 67-51, and the Gators gaining revenge at home in overtime in January, 65-62.

In the other Class A semifinal Monday, top seed and undefeated Union (23-0) will face No. 5 Aquinas Academy (16-7) at Ellwood City at 6 p.m. with audio on Trib HSSN.

The two-time defending champion Scotties defeated Bishop Canevin in the quarterfinals, 38-16, as junior Mierra Gunn scored 12 points.

The Crusaders went on the road and won at Serra Catholic, 64-45, behind a big night from junior guard Tess Duer, who scored 27 points.

This is the third meeting of the year between the two Section 1-A foes with Union winning both games over Aquinas Academy, 56-37 in December and 58-24 in January.

Consolation Monday

There are plenty of district basketball consolation games set for Monday with action in boys 5A, boys 4A, boys 3A, girls 2A and girls A.

• All four teams in boys 5A have already qualified and now they are playing for seeding. Latrobe (19-5) visits Moon (18-6) and Uniontown (20-4) hosts Penn-Trafford (14-10) with both games tipping off at 7 p.m.

• The top 5 teams from the WPIAL qualify for the state playoffs in boys 4A, so the two winners on Monday will remain alive for a PIAA postseason spot while the season is over for the losers. Knoch (17-7) is home to Elizabeth Forward (18-6), with audio on Trib HSSN, and Deer Lakes (17-6) visits Central Valley (19-5) with both games starting at 7 p.m.

• The top 7 teams in boys 3A from the district will participate in the state playoffs, meaning both winning teams will clinch a berth while the losing teams will later meet in a win-and-your-in game. On Monday, Shady Side Academy (10-13) travels to Keystone Oaks (17-7) at 7:30 p.m. and Southmoreland (18-6) hosts Ellwood City (14-10) at 7 p.m.

• In girls 3A, Keystone Oaks (20-3) and Avonworth (17-8) qualified for the state playoffs with consolation wins on Friday. The Golden Eagles host the Antelopes at 6 p.m. to determine which team will be No. 5 and which will be No. 6 out of District 7.

• The top 7 teams in girls 2A from the WPIAL will play on into the state playoffs, meaning both winning teams will clinch a berth while the losing teams will later meet in a win-and-your-in game. On Monday, Laurel (10-14) travels to Fort Cherry (19-4) and Chartiers-Houston (19-5) hosts Rochester (10-13) with both games tipping off at 7 p.m.

• The top 6 teams from girls A will qualify for the state playoffs, meaning the winners of the two consolation games Monday are in, and the season is over for the two losers. Bishop Canevin (12-10) travels to Serra Catholic (12-11) and St. Joseph (16-8) is home to West Greene (16-8) with both contests starting at 7 p.m.

Tags: Aquinas Academy, Avonworth, Bishop Canevin, Blackhawk, Central Catholic, Central Valley, Chartiers-Houston, Clairton, Deer Lakes, Elizabeth Forward, Ellwood City, Fort Cherry, Geibel, Jeannette, Keystone Oaks, Knoch, Latrobe, Laurel, Moon, Mt. lebanon, Neshannock, New Castle, North Catholic, Oakland Catholic, Penn-Trafford, Rochester, Serra Catholic, Sewickley Academy, Shady Side Academy, Southmoreland, St. Joseph, Union, Uniontown, Upper St. Clair, West Greene