Greensburg Central Catholic rolls on
No. 4 Clairton falls to No. 2 Centurions
Clairton did a lot of things well in its first meeting with Section 3 rival Greensburg Central Catholic.
Iyanna Chapman scored 26 points and led four Bears in double figures against one of the stingiest defenses in Class 1A.
In the end, though, the Bears dug themselves too big a hole from which they could not escape as Bella Skatell scored 14 of her 23 points in the first half and Melina Maietta dropped in 11 of her 20 in the first quarter as No. 2 Greensburg Central Catholic (12-1, 5-0) slipped past No. 4 Clairton (10-3, 4-1), 73-63.
Anna Eisaman also scored 11 for the Centurions.
Other top games
■ South Park (7-6, 6-1) moved into position to challenge first-place Washington, the No. 4 team in Class 3A, for the top spot in Section 2 when the two meet next week as Maura Huwalt scored 22 points and Cassidy Zandier 20 as the Eagles beat Seton LaSalle (6-7, 5-2), 66-43, to take over sole possession of second place.
■ Class 3A No. 3 Neshannock (10-2, 6-1) remained in a first-place tie in Section 1 with Beaver and Avonworth after Bella Burrelli scored 20 points and Ellina DeLillo chipped in 16 and Brie Dean 12 in the Lancers’ 61-36 victory against Mohawk (5-8, 43).
■ Jhayla Bray had a gamehigh 23 points and 15 rebounds to help McKeesport (7-5, 5-2) take a big step toward qualifying for the WPIAL Class 4A playoffs with a 6232 victory over rival West Mifflin. (5-6, 4-3). It was the Tigers fourth Section 3 win in a row.
■ Taylor Kirschner did all she could to help Quigley (76, 4-2) move into a first-place tie In Section 1 with Class 1A No. 3 Rochester with 24 points, but freshman Corynne Hauser had 24 of her own, including five 3-pointers, in the Rams’ 66-51 win.
■ Ellis School (10-3, 3-3) moved into a tie for third in Class 2A Section 2 as Natalie Jesper scored 19 of her 26 points in the second half and the Tigers overcame a 17point, 19-rebound performance from Emma Small in a 46-26 win against Winchester Thurston (5-5, 3-3).
■ Knoch (6-7, 4-3) might have had a small chance of inching closer to Class 4A
No. 1 North Catholic (11-1, 70) in Section 1, but the Trojanettes got 16 from Kylee Lewandowski and 14 from Dani Short in a 78-30 road win.
■ Elizabeth Forward (8-5, 6-1) nearly lost its share of first place in Class 4A Section 3, but the Warriors, behind 14 points from Bailie Brinson and 12 from Bri Spirnak, eventually pulled out a 64-60, come-from-behind victory against Belle Vernon (76, 4-3).
■ Chartiers Valley (14-0, 60) remained undefeated as Mackenzie Wagner scored a game-high 25 in the Colts’ 61-40 win against South Fayette (9-5, 4-3).
Monday’s stars
■ Mackenzie Amalia scored 18 points, including the 1,000th of her career, as Class 4A No. 2 Blackhawk (11-2, 6-0) rolled over New Castle (6-8, 1-5), 77-16, in Section 2.
■ Caroline Gibson scored 15 of her 29 points in the third quarter and also hit three 3-pointers as Laurel (94, 6-1) knocked off Shenango (4-11, 1-6), 59-22, in Class 2A Section 1.
■ Nicole Pawlowski hit seven 3-pointers as part of her 30 points as Class 2A No. 3 Serra Catholic (10-2, 6-0) beat rival Jeannette (2-11, 1-5) in an 81-53 Section 2 win.