Depth in 5A makes for open field

Tri-State Sports & News Service

It might sound shallow to suggest there’s only one or two teams that have a shot of winning the WPIAL Class 5A championship.

This class is all about depth.

“I think it’s really deep,” Trinity coach Bob Miles said. “Anybody can come out and win it. I think it’s the deepest class in the tournament.”

Miles could be right. There are at least a halfdozen teams that could be considered legitimate title contenders. The list is headed by No. 1 seed Trinity, which has won 12 games in a row. Mars and Hampton are the No. 4 and 5 seeds. The two split the Section 4 title and could meet in the quarterfinals. Chartiers Valley, the No. 6 seed, is the defending champion.

There is some new blood, too. No. 3 West Allegheny won its first section title and No. 2 Thomas Jefferson claimed its first section title since 2010.

“You figure, a lot of these teams last year, they didn’t do much. They sort of emerged this year,” said Mars coach Dana Petruska.

Other championship hopefuls include Gateway, Oakland Catholic and South Fayette. Gateway owns the top scoring defense in the class, Oakland Catholic was a finalist last season and South Fayette has been a finalist three of the past four years.

Beaver

Beat your rival. Claim a share of the section title. Head into the playoffs with a ton of momentum. Beaver accomplished all of that with one victory last Thursday … and in dramatic fashion, too.

Star senior Bella Posset — an 85 percent free-throw shooter who converted just 4 of her first 10 attempts in the game — made two free throws with less than a second left to give Beaver a 59-58 win against Blackhawk. The win earned Beaver a split of the Class 4A Section 2 title with Blackhawk. Winner of seven in a row, Beaver (16-5) received a first-round bye and will play the Belle Vernon-Knoch winner in a quarterfinal next Thursday.

“On a lot of different levels, the win was important, but we don’t want that win to define our season,” Beaver coach Greg Huston said.

Posset, a 5-8 guard and Robert Morris recruit, is averaging 19 points per game and will try to propel Beaver to its first WPIAL final. The Bobcats have a few other talented senior guards in Sydney Barney and Paige Ziggas, and defensively give up only 43.9 points per game.

“It’s just a good group of kids,” Huston said. “Everybody shares the basketball. It’s really just a group of kids that I feel like have the right makeup to make a run. We have a good scorer, play defense, rebound the ball. We’re hoping all those things come together and we make a run.”

Welcome back

Chartiers Valley’s Lauren Wagner and Penn Hills’ Tayonna Robertson both missed significant time with injuries this season. Healthy again, the standouts are hoping to lead their teams to lengthy playoff runs.

Wagner, a senior guard and three-year starter, was a key player on last year’s Chartiers Valley team that won a WPIAL Class 5A championship. However, Wagner tore her ACL in June, putting her final season in jeopardy. She missed her team’s first 11 games before returning Jan. 15 against South Fayette. The Colts enter the playoffs riding an eight-game winning streak.

“Night and day,” Chartiers Valley coach Dan Slain said of having Wagner back. “The one thing you can’t mimic is game experience. Lauren brought two years of starting experience. She’s a very smart player and a team captain. We’re glad to have her back.”

Robertson was an all-section pick last season when she helped Penn Hills reach the WPIAL Class 6A semifinals. A 6-1 junior forward, Robertson got off to a strong start this season, but suffered an injury to her patellar tendon Dec. 19. She missed her team’s next 13 games. Robertson, though, returned to action Jan. 30 against Penn-Trafford. Penn Hills closed the regular season with wins in five of its final six games.

Old and new

Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic has qualified for the playoffs for a WPIAL-record 45th consecutive season. The Trojanettes head into the playoffs as section champions for the 37th time. Armstrong, which is in its third season in the WPIAL, is making its playoff debut, as is Aquinas Academy, which is in its first season. South Allegheny will participate in the postseason for the first time since 2005.