Two WPIAL title rematches on tap
Oakland Catholic girls basketball had each of its last two seasons ended by McKeesport.
On Saturday, the Eagles returned the favor with a dramatic come-from-behind overtime victory against the Tigers that sent them packing for the offseason.
Now, Oakland Catholic (25-4) will have an opportunity to exact a little bit more revenge as the Eagles will take on South Fayette (27-2) in the PIAA Class 5A semifinals Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at Peters Township.
It will be a rematch of the WPIAL final in which the Lions, behind 16 points from Villanova recruit Maddie Webber, pulled out a 64-49 victory.
“All we can do is prep like we’ve been doing and go out there and play as hard as we can,” Oakland Catholic coach Eddie Benton said. “At this point, whatever happens, happens. You’ve just got to bring it.”
In the WPIAL finals, South Fayette jumped out to an 11-5 lead when Webber picked up her second foul with 1:47 left in the first quarter. Lions coach Bryan Bennett opted to sit his top player for the rest of the half and Oakland Catholic took a 25-23 lead into the intermission.
In that game, with Webber in the lineup, South Fayette was 21 points better than Oakland Catholic.
Against McKeesport in the quarterfinals, Oakland Catholic missed its first 14 shots and it took 17 points in the fourth quarter and overtime from North Florida recruit Alexa Washington to pull out the 60-59 overtime win.
Both teams will enter the game with the challenge of shrugging off hard-fought, come- from- behind PIAA quarterfinal wins. South
Fayette came from eight points down in the third quarter to beat District 10 champion Cathedral Prep, 40-37, when Webber hit the game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Oakland Catholic is seeking its first state title since 2005 while South Fayette is looking to make its first-ever championship appearance.
Class 6A
Norwin was dealt a pair of excruciating losses against North Allegheny late in the season. The first gave the Tigers a share of the Section 1 title and the second knocked the Knights out in the WPIAL semifinals.
But to its credit, Norwin bounced back with a vengeance and rolled North Allegheny out of the state quarterfinals, 50-30, and put the Knights into the state semifinals for the first time since losing to Cumberland Valley, 56-40, in 2015.
Norwin also defeated North Allegheny in the state quarterfinals that year.
This time, however, it won’t be Cumberland Valley, it will be another District 3 champion as undefeated Cedar Cliff (29-0) will take the floor against the Knights (24-4) on Monday at 7 p.m. at Altoona.
Cedar Cliff did a number on Upper St. Clair in the quarterfinals, limiting the Panthers to one point in the first quarter and a seasonlow 22 points overall in a 3922 win. Upper St. Clair came into the game averaging nearly 58 points per game but were shut down as Cedar Cliff ’ s Alexis Buie and Olivia Jones each had 10 points and 11 rebounds.
“We’re going to see if we can find some film or some YouTube links and try to reach out to some coaches that have played them to see
if they can give us any insight,” Norwin coach Brian Brozeski said. “It’s hard to find film, so I haven’t seen much of Cedar Cliff.”
Norwin and Upper St. Clair also have very similar makeups as both have two bigs inside and a sophomore guard who can change a game from the outside.
Norwin has 6-foot-1 junior Lauren Palangio, who had a double-double against North Allegheny, and 6-0 senior Kathryn Botti in the paint.
Sophomore guard Kendall Berger, the team’s leading scorer, is a threat from the outside.
Neither team has ever played in a state final.
Class 4A
North Catholic already ended Blackhawk’s reign as WPIAL Class 4A champions with a 51-35 victory in the championship at Petersen Events Center.
Now, the Trojanettes will
try for the double take on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at New Castle when they attempt to keep Blackhawk from making their first finals appearance since winning back-toback titles in 2014 and 2015.
North Catholic (25-3) is no stranger to the state semifinals.
Or losing to a WPIAL team in them for that matter. Last season the Trojanettes dropped a 46-39 decision to Freedom in the semifinals after beating the Bulldogs, 48-43, in the WPIAL final.
Blackhawk (24-4) will attempt to make history repeat itself in that manner. The Cougars have gotten scoring out of several sources in their recent matchups with freshman Aubree Hupp, junior guard Alena Fusetti and senior Kassie Potts all leading the way at various times.
North Catholic has yet to be challenged in the state playoffs and has won its
three games by an average of 25.3, and is coming off a mercy rule win against District 3 champion Wyomissing. The two-headed attack of guards Alayna Rocco and Dacia Lewandowski finally looks to be where it was earlier in the season before Lewandowski’s foot injury, which had limited her considerably down the stretch.
Class 3A
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart is a first-time semifinalist that appears to have put it all together at just the right time.
After a terrible performance against Avonworth in the WPIAL quarterfinals, the Chargers (22-7) have reeled off five consecutive victories, avenging that loss to the Antelopes in the second round of the state playoffs in the process, while moving into the semifinals Monday at 7 p.m. against District 6 champions River
Valley (28-2) at Kiski Area.
OLSH will have to find a way to contend with senior point guard Ava Perischetti, who had 17 in a quarterfinal mercy rule win against Shady Side Academy.
Class 2A
It’s been 17 years since Greensburg Central Catholic has been in the state semifinals.
Yet here are the Centurions (24-5), the fifth-place team out of the WPIAL, fresh off an upset of WPIAL champion Shenango, ready to do battle with Kennedy Catholic (24-4).
Bella Magestro, who is averaging 12.4 per game, was dominant for Kennedy Catholic in a second-round win against Burgettstown, when she hit seven 3-pointers as part of her 29 points. But sophomore Layke Fields is the team’s leading scorer, averaging 19.1 per game.
“I don’t know what we’ll do with her, but we’ll figure it out,” Greensburg Central Catholic coach Chris Skatell said. “I know Layke from AAU. She’s a great player and a great kid.”
Kennedy Catholic has already won four games against WPIAL teams this year including a 55-53 victory against Blackhawk.
Class 1A
Union (21-6) has never played in the state semifinals before, much less the finals. But the Scotties will have that opportunity Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Hempfield when they take on District 5 champion Berlin-Brothersvalley (23-5).
Don’t take this District 6 champion lightly. The Mountaineers have already beaten WPIAL runner-up Aquinas Academy and handled a strong Otto-Eldred team out of District 9.