WPIAL playoffs heat up
See coverage of first-round competition for boys and girls basketball.
Tom Demko is in his first season as the Quaker Valley girls basketball coach. It’s already a memorable one.
Demko’s Quakers, the No. 13 seed in Class 4A, shocked No. 4 Freeport, 4138, in a first-round WPIAL playoff game played at North Allegheny.
Corinne Washington had 8 of her game-high 15 points in the second half for the Quakers. Bailey Garbee chipped in 12 points and made the play of the game when she blocked a game-tying 3-point attempt by Freeport with 0.8 seconds remaining.
“We played strong defense,” said Demko, who formerly coached the Quaker Valley boys team. “We respected their 3-point shooters by guarding the perimeter.”
Quaker Valley (13-9) has won five in a row. Each win was decided by 3 points or less. “We’ve been on the good end of these close games,” Demko said.
Freeport (18-5) got 14 points from Madeline Clark. Sidney Shemanski and Harley Holloway contributed 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Prior to Monday, topseeded North Catholic was the only 4A squad to defeat the Yellow Jackets.
More Class 4A
Southmoreland had not been in a playoff game since 2008. Instead of showing rust early, they had to survive a late push from Apollo-Ridge before securing a trip to the second round with a 40-37 win at Norwin.
Bailey Kuhns of the Scotties (18-5) put together a double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds. Gracie Spadaro contributed 11 points, with all of those coming in the final three quarters.
The Vikings (15-8) were led by Maddy Moore’s 12-points. Apollo-Ridge rallied to outscore the Scotties, 15-8, in the final quarter after being held to just 12 points in the first half. “We got a little sloppy at the end, but we’re built on our defense,” said coach Brian Pritts.
McKeesport opened with a 17-3 run then cruised to a 51-37 win against Greensburg Salem at Fox Chapel. Jhayla Bray paced the Tigers (13-8) with 16 points.
Megan Kallock, who led the WPIAL in scoring with an average of 24.9 points per game, netted a game-high 22. Kallock was one of just five players to score for the Golden Lions (12-11), and was 15 points ahead of the next leading scorer on the team. Kallock ends her career with 1,868 points.
Greensburg Salem cut the Tigers lead to 10 in the second half, but got no closer.
Elizabeth Forward lost two of its final three regularseason games, but the Warriors (16-7) rebounded to beat Knoch, 51-42, in a playoff game at Mt. Lebanon. Bri Spirnak made seven free throws and had 9 total points in the fourth quarter, giving her 21 for the game.
Skyler Burkett of Knoch (914) drilled four 3-pointers en route to 16 for the game. The Knights lost seven of their final eight games.
Keystone Oaks used a 17-8 second-quarter run to build a lead and hang on for a 51-41 victory against Belle Vernon at Peters Township. Isabella Bogdan (18 points), Jaylen Hoffman (15) and Gillian Piccolino (14) paced the Golden Eagles (14-8).
Belle Vernon (14-9) was led by Lindsay Steeber, who had 25 points. She was the only Leopards player to reach double figures.