Lovelace scores 2,000th in Leechburg’s triumph
Leechburg’s star player, Mikayla Lovelace, is used to hearing Blue Devils fans cheer. But the reaction Friday night was different.
After a steal-and-score layup in the second half, Lovelace heard the crowd erupt, and she knew had the 2,000th point of her career.
“I didn’t know how close I was until I heard all the fans start cheering,” said Lovelace, an IUP recruit. “It was fun and exciting to do it and get the win.”
Leechburg (19-4) went on to beat Frazier, 75-60, at West Allegheny in the first round of the WPIAL Class 2A girls basketball playoffs.
Lovelace finished with 37 points and 12 rebounds. She now has 2,006 points and is the third girl and fourth WPIAL player this season to reach 2,000 points.
Brooke Poling paced Frazier (13-10) with 21. Lovelace and Poling were the No. 3 and No. 7 scorers, respectively, in the regular season.
More games
West Allegheny 58, Woodland Hills 41: West Allegheny (17-6) used a 210 first-half run to pull away from Woodland Hills (10-13) in the Class 5A first-round matchup at Fox Chapel. Hannah Lindemuth nailed four 3-pointers and finished with 28 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter, for the Indians.
Oakland Catholic 63, South Fayette 42: The Eagles (15-8), who played for the Class 5A title a year ago, advanced to the second round by defeating the Lions (12-9) at Upper St. Clair. Jayde Boyd led the charge with 16 points and 10 rebounds, followed by Alexis Sestric with 14 points.
Gateway 39, Ringgold 28: Lexis Jackson netted a game-high 18 points to account for almost half the total points for the Gators (203) in their Class 5A openinground win against Ringgold (16-7) at Baldwin.
Hampton 51, Connellsville 26: Laryn Edwards had 24 points as Hampton (19-4) rolled past the Falcons (1112) at Gateway in the Class 5A first round. Chartiers Valley 50, Armstrong 40: The Colts (17-6) raced to a 20-5 first-quarter lead in the Class 5A first-round contest at Fox Chapel. Megan McConnell led Chartiers
Valley with 23 points, including 12 in the first quarter. Armstrong got a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds from Kenzie Lasher. Mars 54, Uniontown 33: Lauren Wasylon had 18 points and Tai Johnson 17 to lead the Planets (185) past the Red Raiders (7-13) at Gateway in the Class 5A first round.
Trinity 54, Plum 31: After being outscored, 13-8, in the first quarter, Trinity (20-3) routed Plum (6-17) at West Allegheny in a Class 5A firstround game. Alayna Cappelli and Riley DeRubbo had 16 points apiece for the Hillers.
Serra Catholic 53, Riverview 52: Gigi Mele-Madigan launched a half-court prayer that was answered for Serra Catholic (15-7), banking in the winning shot as time expired in a Class 2A thriller against the Raiders (11-11) at Northgate. MeleMadigan scored 12 in the fourth quarter to finish with 16.
B rentwood 54, Fort Cherry 18: Brooke McQuillan netted 21 points to lead the Spartans (16-6) past Fort Cherry (12-11) in Class 2A at Peters Township.