By: Don Rebel


Friday, February 21, 2025 | 12:36 AM

Welcome to the final night of elite eight WPIAL basketball action with the quarterfinal focus on boys Class 5A and 3A and girls Class 6A and 2A.

In the eight-year history of Class 5A, never has one of the top two seeds in the boys bracket not advanced to the quarterfinals — until this year.

There were some upsets in the first round, but none was bigger than No. 15 Penn-Trafford 60, No. 2 Baldwin 45.

Leading by one point at halftime, the Warriors took control of the game with a dominant third quarter in which they outscored the 2024 6A runner-up Highlanders 19-6.

Junior Zach Feldman led the P-T attack with 20 points, senior Brayden Stone had 16 and senior Evan Gross added 10 points.

Penn-Trafford (14-9) finished in fourth place in Section 1-5A, following up a 5-6 start by winning nine of its last 12 games.

Their quarterfinals opponent is another team that finished in fourth place in Section 4-5A.

No. 10 Mars (13-10) did not have a strong finish to the regular season, losing three of its final four games, all by double-digit points.

The Fightin’ Planets trailed by 10 points to South Fayette after one quarter in the first round but rallied to tie the game by halftime. A strong fourth quarter was the difference in the minor upset of the No. 7 Lions, 50-46.

Junior Ben Detisch led Mars with 19 points and junior Austin Wroblewski chipped in with 10 points.

This surprising quarterfinals contest will take place at Fox Chapel at 7 p.m. and can be heard on Trib HSSN.

Here are the other three 5A quarterfinals set for Friday.

• Top seed Montour (22-1) will battle No. 9 Latrobe (19-4) at Ringgold at 8 p.m. in a game you can hear on Trib HSSN. The Section 4 champion Spartans, winners of 16 straight, advanced to the second round with a 70-42 win over Franklin Regional as senior Ama Sow had a big night with 24 points. The Wildcats went on the road and knocked off Section 2 winner Kiski Area in their playoff opener, 59-51, with senior Max Butler pacing the ‘Cats with 26 points.

• A pair of Section 4 teams meets for the third time when No. 4 Chartiers Valley (20-3) squares off with No. 5 Moon (18-5) at Upper St. Clair at 8 p.m. with audio on Trib HSSN. The Colts were led by senior Jayden Davis in a 72-50 first-round victory over Thomas Jefferson. Senior Michael Santicola registered 25 points as the defending champion Tigers disposed of Gateway in their postseason opener, 49-42. Chartiers Valley swept Moon in their regular season games, winning 60-44 on the road and picking up the 57-52 W at home.

• No. 6 Peters Township (16-7) challenges No. 3 Uniontown (20-3) at Ringgold at 6 p.m. in a game you can listen to on Trib HSSN. Peters won the battle of the Indians over Penn Hills in the opening round, 63-30, thanks to 16 points from both junior Dylan Donovan and senior Nick McCullough. Senior Notorious Grooms scored 24 points in leading the Red Raiders in Round 1 past Hampton, 59-42.

Golden rematch

The 2021 WPIAL basketball playoffs will always be remembered for the post-covid open tournament in which all the district teams were invited to participate.

In the Class 3A boys basketball playoffs, 23 teams participated.

South Allegheny was the top seed and defeated Ligonier Valley, Seton LaSalle and Aliquippa to reach the district title game played that year at North Allegheny.

Ellwood City was a long shot as the No. 11 seed, but got hot and after beating Valley in a preliminary round game, upset No. 6 Avonworth, No. 3 Shady Side Academy and No. 2 Neshannock to defy the odds and play in the finals.

The Roth brothers led the Wolverines to one more stunner as they edged the Gladiators, 53-50.

Alexander Roth scored 19 and Joe Roth had 17 points for EC. Omar Faulkner had 18 points for SA.

Fast forward four years and the two programs meet again in the postseason.

No. 2 South Allegheny (20-3) battles No. 10 Ellwood City (14-9) at North Catholic at 8 p.m. in a game heard here on Trib HSSN.

The Section 3-3A champion Gladiators cruised past Charleroi in the first round, 61-32, behind 24 points from senior Cam Epps.

Wolverines senior Chucky Schweinsberg scored 16 points in a first round win at No. 7 South Park, 55-51.

Here is a look at the other three 3A quarterfinals.

• Top seed Aliquippa (18-4) will take on No. 9 Shady Side Academy (10-12) at Peters Township at 6 p.m. The Section 1 champion Quips destroyed New Brighton in the opening round, 83-29, with junior guard Qa’lil Goode scoring 16 points. Senior Seamus Riordan and junior Cam Mallory each scored 16 points as the Bulldogs won at McGuffey in the first round, 51-31.

• The top two teams in Section 2-3A square off for a third time when No. 5 Keystone Oaks faces No. 4 Bishop Canevin at Peters Township at 7:30 p.m. in a game you can hear on Trib HSSN. In Round 1, the Golden Eagles defeated Ligonier Valley, 72-57, as junior Erond Jakupi tallied 25 points. Junior Drew Allen scored 15 points as the Crusaders edged Seton LaSalle in their playoff opener, 59-57. In the regular season, first-place Bishop Canevin swept the two games from second place Keystone Oaks, winning 61-51 on the road and 63-46 at home.

• No. 3 Mohawk (18-5) will be challenged by No. 6 and Section 4 winner Southmoreland (18-5) at North Catholic at 6 p.m. in a game you can listen to on Trib HSSN. Junior Bobby Fadden dropped 27 points in the Warriors’ 59-40 first-round victory over Waynesburg. Junior Noah Felentzer scored 31 points to lead the Scotties past Carlynton in the opening round, 58-50.

Rivalry continues

Over the last few years, the Norwin and North Allegheny girls basketball programs have played in a lot of big games.

For years, they battled each other for section supremacy and last year collided for a third time in the WPIAL Class 6A girls championship game.

Ava Christopher scored 16 points to lead the Knights past the defending champion Tigers, 56-41.

Now North Allegheny (9-13) visits Norwin (13-7) in a Class 6A quarterfinal at 7 p.m. and heard here on Trib HSSN.

The programs went in different sections this season, so this will be their first meeting of the year.

The Knights have won two straight, four of their last five and are 9-2 in their last 11 games.

The Tigers have lost three straight and are 4-6 in their last 10 contests.

Here are the other two 6A quarterfinals on Friday. On Thursday, No. 4 Canon-McMillan ousted No. 5 Butler, 58-41, and will face the North Allegheny/Norwin winner in the semifinals Tuesday.

• No. 2 Upper St. Clair (16-6) will host No. 7 Pine-Richland (7-15) at 6 p.m. in a game you can listen to on Trib HSSN. The Panthers have won four of their last five games while the Rams ended the regular season on a three-game losing streak.

• No. 6 Mt. Lebanon (13-9) hits the road to visit No. 3 Seneca Valley (15-6) at 7 p.m. The Blue Devils ended up going 6-2 in their last eight games. The Section 1 champion Raiders also finished strong by winning five of their last six regular season matchups.

Familiar foes

Three of the four quarterfinals in girls Class 2A are rematches of section frays.

The lone exception is a battle of section champions when No. 6 Chartiers-Houston (19-4) goes up against No. 3 Winchester Thurston (20-3) at South Fayette at 7:30 p.m. in a game you can hear on Trib HSSN.

The Buccaneers won Section 3 by three games while the Bears took home the Section 4 crown by two games.

Freshman Ava Kolovich scored 13 points to lead Chartiers-Houston past Brentwood in the opening round, 51-28.

Winchester Thurston rolled past Burgettstown in the first round, 62-28, with senior Sky Still scoring a team-high 13 points.

While these two aren’t from the same section, they did play in a nonsection contest earlier this season.

On Jan. 20, the Bears won at Chartiers-Houston, beating the host Bucs 48-43.

Here is a look at the other three 2A quarterfinals, including all four teams from Section 1-2A still alive.

• From Section 1, top-seed Neshannock (21-2) will take on No. 8 Laurel (10-13) at Shenango at 7 p.m. in a game you can hear on Trib HSSN. The Lancers crushed Apollo-Ridge in the first round, 58-18, as sophomore Payton Newman scored 16 points. The Spartans won at home over Beth-Center in the playoff opener, 44-32, with senior Laelee Hill leading the way with 16 points. Neshannock swept the season series with Laurel, winning 47-6 at home and 65-19 on the road.

• Also from Section 1, No. 2 Aliquippa (17-4) will take on No. 10 Rochester (10-12) at Beaver at 7 p.m. The Quips destroyed Carmichaels in the first round, 79-6, as senior Carla Brown dropped 33 points. Junior Tia Yellock scored 27 points as the Rams upended Riverview in Round 1, 57-53. Aliquippa swept both games from Rochester in section play, winning 63-38 at home and 57-34 on the road.

• The Section 2-2A co-champs are ready for a rubber game when No. 5 Fort Cherry (19-3) battles No. 4 South Side (18-5) at South Fayette at 6 p.m. with audio only on Trib HSSN. The Rangers crushed California in their opener, 59-29, as sophomore Julia Klose scored 16 points. Senior Bailey Strnisa scored 13 points to lead the Rams over Ellis School, 54-16. In the two regular season meetings, Fort Cherry won 50-45 at home in January and South Side captured a 45-44 victory at home in February.

Consolation Friday

The consolation bracket gets underway in girls Class 5A and 3A on Friday.

In girls 5A, all four teams in action have clinched a state playoff berth and are playing for seeding.

Both games are section rematches as Baldwin (15-9) hosts Bethel Park (12-12) at 7 p.m. and Indiana (18-6) visits Penn-Trafford (23-1) at 6 p.m.

In girls 3A, only the two winners move on and qualify for the PIAA playoffs.

Riverside (15-9) visits Keystone Oaks (19-3) at 7 p.m. and Quaker Valley (15-9) travels to Avonworth (16-8) at 7 p.m.

In boys Class 4A, the two winners remain alive for a state postseason berth.

Elizabeth Forward (18-6) visits Knoch (17-7) at 7 p.m. and Central Valley (19-5) hosts Deer Lakes (17-5) at 7 p.m.

Mat mania

The WPIAL will be handing out lots of gold this weekend with both the WPIAL 3A and 2A individual wrestling championships.

The tournaments begin Friday and conclude Saturday.

The 3A finals are at Canon-McMillan and the 2A championships take place at Chartiers Valley.

Splish, splash

The best district divers in Class 2A will converge on North Allegheny on Friday for the WPIAL 2A diving championships.

The girls 2A championships begin at 9:30 a.m. and the boys finals event is set to start at 1 p.m.