West Allegheny prevails
Sophomore guard Scott Bilivous had been recovering from an ankle injury and was expected to be limited for West Allegheny in its WPIAL Class 5A first-round game against McKeesport.
Just to be on the safe side, he spent most of his time behind the arc. And that was perfectly fine for the Indians offense.
Bilivous hit six 3-pointers as part of his 30 points as West Allegheny (13-10) as a team converted 11 from long range as the 12th-seeded Indians pulled off a 65-62 victory against No. 5 McKeesport (12-11) at North Allegheny.
West Allegheny led by 13 heading to the fourth quarter before McKeesport, which got 33 points from Deamontae Diggs, made its move and cut the deficit to two with less than 20 seconds remaining.
But the Indians made a couple of clutch free throws to preserve the win and set up a date Friday with No. 4 Thomas Jefferson.
More 5A boys
South Fayette 48, Franklin Regional 46: The Lions (16-7) won their sixth consecutive game in dramatic fashion as junior forward Kade St. Ledger hit the winning layup with 4.8 seconds remaining to propel South Fayette to its first postseason victory in two years. Luke Kimmich and Logan Summerhill each had 13 points for the Lions, who now play Friday against No. 3 Mars. The Panthers (1112) had three players score in double figures.
Shaler 48, Gateway 43: Mekhi Reynolds scored a game-high 19 points and Chris White chipped in 10 helped the No. 7 Titans (149) to a 14-point halftime lead on their way to a victory against the Gators (10-12). Shaler gets No. 2 Chartiers Valley next.
Class 4A girls
Indiana 54, McKeesport 48: Tigers (15-8) senior Jhayla Bray finished her high school career in the stands after she was forced to serve a PIAA-mandated onegame suspension after she was ejected in McKeesport’s final regular-season game against West Mifflin. Without the 18.0 points-per-game scorer and inside threat, the 12th-seeded Little Indians (14-9) pulled off the only upset in the first round as Hope Cook had 13 of her 22 points in the second half and Eve Fiala had a doubledouble — 19 points and 21 rebounds. Freshman Malina Boord scored 17 of her 24 points in the second half for the Tigers. Indiana will play No. 4 Blackhawk at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Fox Chapel.
Knoch 43, New Castle 35: Madilyn Boyer scored eight of her game-high 15 points in the second quarter for the Knights, but they really won this game from the free-throw line, where they went 16 of 22. Knoch (17-6) did not make a shot from the field in the fourth quarter — even after New Castle (13-10) closed to within one, 34-33, with two minutes remaining — but instead scored all 14 points in the frame from the free-throw line to close it out. The Knights will now play No. 3 Central Valley Thursday at Fox Chapel.
Quaker Valley 65, West Mifflin 34: Junior guard Corinne Washington scored 16 of her 20 points in the first half and Bailee Garbee chipped in 16 as the Quakers (17-3) opened a 15-point halftime lead on the Titans (12-11) and never looked back. Quaker Valley is into the WPIAL quarterfinals for the second consecutive season — something it hasn’t done in at least 35 years — and will play top-seeded North Catholic Thursday at North Allegheny.
Freeport 44, Belle Vernon 38: The Yellowjackets (17-6) got out of the first round of the tournament for the first time since 2016 as Madeline Clark led three players in double-figure scoring with 13. Freeport, which also got 12 points from Sidney Shemanski and 10 from Melania DeZort, led throughout most of the game and held off a late Leopards (16-7) comeback. The Yellowjackets now will face No. 2 Southmoreland Thursday at Penn-Trafford.