Girls
Many years, there is a lot of debate regarding which teams deserve No. 1 seeds in the WPIAL girls basketball playoffs.
But not this year.
The projected No. 1 seeds are Peters Township in Class 6A, Chartiers Valley in Class 5A, North Catholic in Class 4A, Neshannock in Class 3A, Bishop Canevin in Class 2A and West Greene in Class 1A.
Peters Township and Chartiers Valley are the only undefeated teams in the WPIAL. North Catholic is the lone Class 4A team not to lose a section game and its three losses are to teams from larger classes. Neshannock has won 16 games in a row, the longest streak in Class 3A. Bishop Canevin has not dropped a section game and has defeated each of its Class 2A opponents by at least 30 points. West Greene has not lost to a Class 1A opponent and its two losses are fewer than any Class 1A team.
Here is how the seedings and pairing could look when they are announced Tuesday night:
CLASS 6A
Byes: None with an eightteam bracket.
Matchups: Peters Township (1) vs. Fox Chapel (8); Norwin (4) vs. Mt. Lebanon (5); Bethel Park (3) vs. Seneca Valley (6); North Allegheny (2) vs. Upper St. Clair (7).
The scoop: Who gets the No. 2 seed: North Allegheny or Norwin? Both have only one loss and they split their regular-season meetings. Norwin won the most recent meeting. However, the nod goes to North Allegheny, which is the two-time defending champion. With an eight-team field, the WPIAL will likely want to avoid teams from the same section playing in the semifinals, so Norwin could slip to fourth and Bethel Park could move into the third spot. Upper St. Clair appears to be the clear eighth seed, but to avoid playing section rival Peters Township in the first round, the Panthers might be seventh and Fox Chapel eighth.
CLASS 5A
Byes: Chartiers Valley, Oakland Catholic, Gateway, Franklin Regional.
Matchups: Penn-Trafford (8) vs. Trinity (9), winner plays Chartiers Valley (1); Penn Hills (5) vs. Plum (12), winner plays Franklin Regional (4); Thomas Jefferson (6) vs. Woodland Hills (11), winner plays Gateway (3);
Mars (7) vs. South Fayette (10), winner plays Oakland Catholic (2).
The scoop: The biggest question is which team gets the fourth bye? It comes down to Franklin Regional, Penn Hills or Thomas Jefferson, each of which finished second in section play. Franklin Regional and Penn Hills had two section losses and Thomas Jefferson three. The edge goes to Franklin Regional, which has won seven of its past nine games. Oakland Catholic is the pick over Gateway for the No. 2 seed. The Eagles have won nine of their last 10 games and beat Gateway in the regular season.
CLASS 4A
Byes: North Catholic, Central Valley, Blackhawk.
Matchups: Keystone Oaks (8) vs. McKeesport (9), winner plays North Catholic (1); Elizabeth Forward (4) vs. Knoch (13); Freeport (5) vs. Quaker Valley (12); Southmoreland (6) vs. ApolloRidge (11), winner plays Blackhawk (3); Belle Vernon (7) vs. Greensburg Salem (10), winner plays Central Valley (2).
The scoop: There are three byes and three sections, but will Section 3 champion Elizabeth Forward earn one of the byes? Probably not. North Catholic went unbeaten in Section 1 and Central Valley and Blackhawk shared the Section 2 title. Chances are those three will be given the top three seeds. Central Valley has just one loss, is riding an 11-game win streak and beat Blackhawk in their most recent meeting, so the Warriors should get the No. 2 seed. Look for Elizabeth Forward to get the fourth seed and Freeport the fifth.
CLASS 3A
Byes: Neshannock, Shady Side Academy, South Park.
Matchups: Deer Lakes (8) vs. Seton LaSalle (9), winner plays Neshannock (1); Carlynton (4) vs. Mohawk (13); Washington (5) vs. Ellwood City (12); Beaver (6) vs. Beth-Center (11), winner plays South Park (3); Avonworth (7) vs. East Allegheny (10), winner plays Shady Side Academy (2).
The scoop: Could a second-place team leap over a section champion to grab the third bye? Carlynton was the runner-up to Shady Side Academy in Section 3, but the Cougars beat Shady Side Academy last week and had won 10 in a row before losing Saturday to Class 6A Canon-McMillan. Section 2 champion South Park has lost two more games than Carlynton, but none of those losses have come in the last month, as the Eagles have won 12 consecutive games. Chances are that strong stretch run will be enough for South Park to get the bye.
CLASS 2A
Byes: Bishop Canevin, Brentwood.
Matchups: Ellis School (8) vs. Burgettstown (9), winner plays Bishop Canevin (1); Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (4) vs. Riverview (13); Serra Catholic (5) vs. Aliquippa (12); Laurel (3) vs. Chartiers-Houston (14); Frazier (6) vs. Sto-Rox (11); South Side Beaver (7) vs. Winchester Thurston (10), winner plays Brentwood (2).
The scoop: Good luck seeding this bracket. After top-seed Bishop Canevin it gets pretty cloudy as the other two sections have cochampions: Laurel and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in Section 1 and Brentwood and Serra Catholic in Section 2. Brentwood appears to have the inside track on the second bye. The Spartans have the best record of all the co-champs and have won 11 games in a row. They also have some impressive non-section wins. Look for Laurel and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart to grab the third and fourth seeds.
CLASS 1A
Byes: West Greene, Greensburg Central Catholic, Rochester, Clairton.
Matchups: Aquinas Academy (8) vs. California (9), winner plays West Greene (1); Vincentian (5) vs. Leechburg (12), winner plays Clairton (4); Avella (6) vs. Quigley Catholic (11), winner plays Rochester (3); Sewickley Academy (7) vs. Mapletown (10), winner plays Greensburg Central Catholic (2).
The scoop: What do you do with Vincentian? At one point this season, it looked as if last year’s WPIAL Class 2A champion might not even make the playoffs. But the Royals looked like a different team down the stretch, winning their final seven section games to finish in a threeway tie for second place in Section 1 along with Sewickley Academy and Quigley Catholic. With a 10-11 record, their full body of work shouldn’t put them ahead of Clairton and give them the fourth bye, but earning the fifth seed, even with a sub-.500 record, is very possible.