By: Don Rebel


Saturday, February 22, 2025 | 12:39 AM

The first of three days of WPIAL basketball semifinal action takes place Saturday with boys Class 4A and A and girls Class 5A and 3A taking center stage.

The final four in boys 4A is a scorer’s delight.

The top three boys basketball scoring leaders this winter will be leading their teams into the semifinals Saturday afternoon.

The top gun in the regular season was Avonworth senior Rowan Carmichael.

Carmichael scored 704 points, averaging 32 points per game.

In a quarterfinals victory over Knoch, he dropped 35 points as the Antelopes eliminated the Knights, 72-63.

He will square off with the 2024 district scoring king, Zion Moore of Belle Vernon.

Moore missed some time this season but still ended up third in scoring with 432 points for a hefty average of 27 points per game.

In the Leopards’ quarterfinals win over Elizabeth Forward, Moore led the way with 17 points.

Top seed and Section 3-4A winner Belle Vernon (19-4) will battle Section 2-4A co-champ No. 4 Avonworth (18-5) at Peters Township at 3 p.m.

The second-leading scorer this winter in the WPIAL was Beaver guard Brady Mayo.

The senior scored 599 points and averaged 27.2 points per game.

Mayo scored 26 points in a quarterfinals victory over rival Central Valley, 58-50.

The only team left in 4A that relies more on a balanced offensive attack is North Catholic.

Junior guard James Fredericks led the Trojans in scoring during the regular season with 402 points and a 19.1 per-game average.

In a 65-51 quarterfinal win over Deer Lakes, it was junior guard Jude Rottmann leading the way with 20 points.

Section 1-4A winner North Catholic (18-5) takes on Section 2-4A co-champ No. 3 Beaver (19-4) at North Allegheny at 4 p.m.

Academy clash

In a small, eight-team bracket, the top two teams in each boys Class A section prevailed and will now square off in the district semifinals Saturday.

Top-seeded Neighborhood Academy (22-1) goes up against No. 4 Aquinas Academy (18-5) at North Allegheny at 1 p.m. in a battle of the academies.

The Section 2-A champion Bulldogs have been heavy favorites to win Class A since the preseason and their strong showing in the regular season has changed few minds.

Neighborhood Academy averages 71.9 points per game and allows 40.8 points per contest.

In their playoff opener, senior guard Courtney Wallace led the way for the ‘Dawgs with 16 points.

The big matchup in this semifinal is the Neighborhood defense against the Aquinas offense.

The Crusaders are averaging a district-high 77.5 points per game.

Senior guard Jake Guillen scored 24 points in the Crusaders’ quarterfinals victory over Geibel Catholic, 69-40.

In the other semifinal matchup, No. 2 Serra Catholic (20-3) will square off with No. 3 Nazareth Prep (18-4) at Peters Township at 1:30 p.m.

Senior guard Owen Dumbroski led the Eagles in scoring this season and dropped 25 points in a quarterfinal triumph over Summit Academy, 80-61.

The Section 1-A champion Saints knocked off Monessen in the quarterfinals, 53-38, with senior forward Will Evans leading a balanced attack with 12 points.

There teams met in a nonsection game Jan. 17, and it was a thriller as Serra Catholic edged Nazareth Prep in overtime, 61-58.

Dumbroski led the Eagles with 21 points while Evans paced the Saints with 15 points.

Two for the show

Look at the four remaining teams in the girls 5A bracket and what do you see?

There is no representation from Sections 1 and 2 in the final four.

Two teams from Section 3 square off on one side, while two from Section 4 collide on the other side.

From Section 3, top seed and section champion South Fayette (23-1) will aim to beat fourth-place and No. 13 Mars (15-9) for a third time this season at Mt. Lebanon at 2 p.m..

Junior Haylie Lamonde has tallied 40 points in two Lions playoff wins, scoring 19 in the first-round win over Greensburg Salem and dropping 21 in a quarterfinal triumph over Baldwin.

Junior Cecilia Christy has led the Fightin’ Planets to two wins, scoring 13 in an upset of Shaler in the opener, 44-23, and then following with a 20-point performance in a quarterfinal victory over Bethel Park, 55-42.

In the two regular season clashes, South Fayette swept Mars, winning 70-25 on the road in December and picking up the W at home in January, 77-41.

From Section 4, No. 2 Peters Township (21-3) battles No. 6 Thomas Jefferson (20-4) at Mt. Lebanon at noon.

The Indians were happy to welcome back senior Natalie Wetzel back to the lineup in the second round, after she missed the opening round win over Fox Chapel.

Wetzel and freshman Taylor McCullough each scored 14 points as PT rolled past Indiana in the quarterfinals, 51-32.

The Jaguars raised some eyebrows in the second round by handing previously undefeated Penn-Trafford its first loss of the season, 65-60.

Jaguars junior Maggie Spell scored 21 points in the overtime victory.

Like South Fayette, Peters Township is trying to win for the third time this season against Thomas Jefferson.

The Indians defeated the Jaguars at TJ in December, 52-39, and then won at home last month, 58-49.

Cinderella vs. champs

While the top three seeds have advanced in the girls Class 3A bracket, there is one surprise team in the final four.

No. 12 Ellwood City (15-8) hopes to continue its unexpected run in the district postseason when it challenges top seed and undefeated Shady Side Academy (23-0) on Saturday at North Allegheny at 2:30 p.m.

The Wolverines are coming off back-to-back upsets of the Section 3-3A co-champs, first No. 5 Seton LaSalle, 49-41, and then a quarterfinal stunner of No. 4 Keystone Oaks, 40-37.

Senior guard Caitlin Kreitzer led the Wolverines with 13 points in the quarterfinal victory.

The Bulldogs are coming off a win over Riverside in their playoff opener, 55-20, in which junior guard Karis Thomas led SSA with 19 points.

In the other semifinal, No. 2 Greensburg Central Catholic (19-5) will take on No. 3 Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (21-3) at Peters Township at noon.

Junior guard Erica Gribble scored 27 points for the Centurions in a first-round win over Brownsville and followed up with 22 points in the quarterfinal victory over Quaker Valley, 56-47.

Senior guard Claudia Ierullo has led the Chargers in both playoff wins. She scored 15 points in the opening-round triumph over South Allegheny and tallied 22 points in the quarterfinal victory over Avonworth, 50-44.

These teams met in the California University Hoopfest on Dec. 30 with GCC defeating OLSH, 40-30.

Consolation Saturday

The consolation brackets begins Saturday in boys 2A and girls 4A.

In boys 2A, all four teams playing Saturday have already earned a berth in the PIAA boys basketball playoffs and are now playing for seeding.

Northgate (14-10) visits Greensburg Central Catholic at noon, and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (18-6) will face Chartiers-Houston (20-4) at Moon at 4 p.m.

In the girls 4A consolation bracket, the two winners Saturday will clinch a state playoff berth while the losers’ seasons will come to an end.

Laurel Highlands (17-6) will travel to Beaver (17-6) at noon and South Park (16-6) will host Central Valley (15-8) at noon.

More mat mania

District gold will be up for grabs on Day 2 of the 2025 WPIAL individual wrestling championships in both Class 3A and 2A.

The tournaments conclude with semifinals and consolation and championship finals Saturday.

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

Splish, splash for bigger class

The best district divers in Class 3A will converge on North Allegheny on Saturday for the WPIAL 3A diving championships.

The girls 3A championships begin at 9:30 a.m. and the boys finals event is set to start at 1:30 p.m.