Latrobe girls win first section title since ’07 behind Rafferty
Though the playoff seedings may already have been decided, there was still a lot at stake Thursday night for Woodland Hills and Latrobe when they hit the floor.
A section title.
And, though the Wolverines got the higher seed in the WPIAL Class 5A tournament, it was the Wildcats who ended up cutting down the nets.
Woodland Hills (11-5, 102) had a five- point lead heading into the fourth quarter, but Latrobe (12-2, 9-1) used an 8-0 run keyed by junior Anna Rafferty and sophomore Emma Blair midway through the final frame to help the Wildcats to a 46-44 victory that clinched the Section 4 title.
Rafferty finished with 14 points as Latrobe won its first section title since 2007.
Woodland Hills senior Peyton Pinkney led all scorers with 15, and she eclipsed the 1,000- point plateau in her career as she now has 1,010. The Wolverines, seeded fifth in the WPIAL playoffs, will play the winner of Armstrong and Franklin Regional, while sixth-seeded Latrobe is set to face the winner of South Fayette and Connellsville.
More top girls games
• South Fayette ( 13-5) may have only earned the No. 11 seed in the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs, but the Lions showed they are a team to be reckoned with in the tournament as Giuliana Gaetano scored 13 points in an upset of fourthseeded Thomas Jefferson (11-8) in the regular-season finale for both teams.
• West Greene (15-2, 100) wanted to make sure it got it all the work it could before the postseason, so the Pioneers wrapped up their season with a doubleheader victory against Section 2 rival Geibel (0-11, 010) as it took the opener from the Eagles, 37-6, and finished the nightcap with a 41-10 victory. Anna Durbin scored 10 points in the second and was the only player in either game in double-fig
• Obama Academy (5-0, 5-0) took over sole possession of first place in the City League as Taylor Woodruff scored 19 to help the Eagles to a 50-38 win over All der dice (4-1,4-1), despite 20 from Zaniya
Murray.
• Chartiers-Houston (9-6) got ready for its Class 2A playoff opener against Frazier as Kayden Buckingham scored 14 points in a 60-41 victory over Avella ( 9- 9), which got 27 from sophomore Katie Dryer.
Top boys games
• North Allegheny (14-6) jumped on visiting Latrobe (7-6) from the opening tip as the Tigers scored 33 points in the first quarter and, behind 19 points from Matt McDonough and 17 by Greg Habib, finished off the Wildcats, 75-43, in a non-section matchup.
• Shady Side Academy (132, 11-1) clinched at least a share of the Class 3A Section 3 title -— South Allegheny (144, 10-1) played one fewer game and the teams split the season series — as Thompson Lau scored 20 to help the Bulldogs to a 72-45 win over Steel Valley (0-4, 0-4).
Star of the night
• Plum (6-7, 6-6) guard Kennedie Montue hit four 3pointers and accounted for 31 of the Mustangs’ 43 points, but it wasn’t enough as Indiana (8-9, 5-7) pulled out a 44-43 Class 5A Section 2 victory.