Upper St. Clair downs Pine-Richland
Upper St. Clair didn’t play on the same day as the rest of the teams in Class 6A and it even tipped off an hour earlier than normal.
That didn’t stop the Panthers from being the classification’s first semifinalist.
Paige Dellicarri hit four 3-pointers and scored 12 of her 16 points in the second half and Kate Robbins posted a double-double with 16 points and 10 boards to help No. 2seeded Upper St. Clair (14-2) roll to a 63-39 home victory over No. 10. Pine-Richland (711).
Upper St. Clair had to take the court a day early as the school will be the host for the WPIAL swimming finals Saturday and Sunday. The gymnasium, though separate from the year-old natatorium, will be used as a social distancing and staging platform for competitors between events and for the awards ceremonies.
Kalli Doctor led the Rams with 11. Upper St. Clair now awaits the winner of Saturday’s matchup between No. 3 Norwin and No. 6 Butler.
Class 4A
Beaver 49, Elizabeth Forward 36: The undefeated Bobcats (18-0) found themselves in an unfamiliar position as they were trailing after the first quarter. But Beaver more than made up for it as Emma Pavelek scored a game-high 23 and Maddi Weiland chipped in 10 as the team overcame the loss of leading scorer Payton List to a second-quarter ankle injury. List’s status for Tuesday’s game against Knoch is unknown. Haven Briggs paced the Warriors (8-6) with 11.
Quaker Valley 68, Montour 39: Bailey Garbee scored 15 of her game-high 23 points in the first half when the No. 2 Quakers (14-4) rolled up 42 points. Corinne Washington chipped in 10 and Claire Kuzma 14 in the win for Quaker Valley. Olivia Lyscik and Reagan Kadlecik each scored 12 in the loss for the Spartans (13-10).
Southmoreland 54, Mount Pleasant 23: The Scotties beat the Vikings in both of their regular season matchups by identical 22point margins, but they had something special for their Section 3 rivals in the postseason. This time around, Maddie Moore scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds, Olivia Cernuto kicked in 15 and Gracie Spadaro 11 to help No. 3 Southmoreland (15-4) to a relatively easy victory. Mount Pleasant (11-8), which was shut out in the third quarter, was led by 14 points from Tiffany Zellmore.
Class 2A
Neshannock 72, California 16: Lancers
(15-2) sophomore Mairan Haggerty nearly doubled California’s offensive output as she hit five 3-pointers as part of her 29 points and Neleh Nogay nearly had a triple-double with 14 points, 10 assists and eight steals. The Trojans were without Kendelle Weston because of transfer issues and they could have used her as no one from California (11-4) scored in double figures.
Sewickley Academy 38, Greensburg Central Catholic 21: Bailey Kuhns scored 13 of
the Centurions (9-5) points, but it was nowhere near enough as Bre Warner went for 19 to push the Panthers (13-5) into the semifinals against Serra Catholic.
Serra Catholic 60, Carlynton 37: The undefeated Eagles (15-0) continued to get offense from the entire team as Chloe Prodash finished with a game-high 15 and Chloe Honick chipped in 10 to lead Serra Catholic and head coach Bill Cleary to within two wins of the school’s fifth title and first since 2005.
Winchester Thurston 58, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart 48: The Chargers (13-6) held a slim one-point lead at the intermission, but that was no problem for the Bears (12-3). Sophomore Nadia Moore almost finished with a triple-double as she netted a game-high 22 points, 10 steals and nine rebounds. Maya Roberts hit five 3-pointers as part of her 19 points and Nya Nicholson finished with 15 points and eight boards.