Woodland Hills rides hot streak into semis
Halftime deficits have been no problem for Woodland Hills in the WPIAL Class 5A girls’ basketball playoffs.
The 12th-seeded Wolverines (13-11) rallied again Friday night to upset a higherseeded opponent for the second consecutive game, dominating No. 4 Trinity, 51-40, in a quarterfinal at Mt. Lebanon.
Woodland Hills, which began the season 1-6, has won eight of its past 10 games. The Wolverines scored an upset at No. 5 Armstrong in the first round after trailing by as many as 13 points in the second quarter. This time, Woodland Hills trailed 17-7 early in the second quarter, but was able to cut it to four points, 25-21, at halftime.
The Wolverines’ Hope Hawkins, Cierra Guest and Jhalynn Wilson led the way with 12 points apiece. Carmen Vasquez added 10. Guest, who was 5 for 5 from the field, pulled down 11 rebounds. Woodland Hills outrebounded Trinity, 43-26.
Trinity (16-7) was led by Eden Williamson’s 19 points. The Wolverines have reached the Class 5A semifinals for the third time in four years. They face top seed South Fayette in the semifinals.
Other Class 5A games South Fayette 70, PennTrafford 49:
South Fayette, the reigning WPIAL 5A champion, outscored Penn-Trafford (16-8) in every quarter en route to an impressive win at Peters Township. Maddie Webber, a 5-foot-11 senior guard, more than doubled her season average by netting 39 points. Webber entered the playoffs with a 17.4 points per game average. Ava Leroux added 11 for South Fayette (22-2) which has won 16 in a row. Penn- Trafford, which trailed 36-23 at halftime, was led by 5-9 junior guard Olivia Pepple with 22 points.
Oakland Catholic 63, Mars 42: No. 2 Oakland Catholic (21-3) routed Mars (16-7) at North Allegheny, sending the Eagles to their first semifinal since 2019. Alexa Washington led the winners with 19 points. Rachel Haver added 13 for Oakland Catholic. Olivia Donnelly led Mars with 19 points. The Eagles have won 19 of 20 games. Oakland Catholic faces section rival McKeesport in the semifinals.
Class 4A Highlands 43, Elizabeth Forward 27:
The Golden Rams (16-7) upset No. 3 Elizabeth Forward (17-6) at Gateway to reach the WPIAL semifinals for the first time in program history. Jocelyn Bielak led Highlands with 15 points and Katelyn Myers added 14. It is also the first time Highlands has qualified for the PIAA tournament. Joselyn Dawson led the Warriors with 11 points.
Quaker Valley 52, Knoch 39:
The No. 4 Quakers (16-7) reached the semifinals for the second time in three years with a convincing win against the Knights (15-9) at Quaker Valley. Maria Helkowski led Quaker Valley with 22 points. Quaker Valley meets Blackhawk in the semifinals. The Quakers have lost twice to the Cougars in section play.
Blackhawk 63, Belle Vernon 45:
Top-seeded Blackhawk (20-3) claimed an easy home-court victory to advance to the district semifinals for the sixth time in seven years. Alena Fusetti led Blackhawk with 17 points. Jenna Dawson topped Belle Vernon with 17 points.
North Catholic 62, Beaver Area 22:
The No. 2 Trojans (20-3) routed the Bobcats (14-9) on the North Catholic home court. North Catholic, the WPIAL Class 3A champion in 2022, has won 17 in a row and appears headed on a collision course with Blackhawk, the reigning WPIAL 4A champion, in the title game. Alayna Rocco led North Catholic with 24 points.