Aquinas Academy wins a tough battle
Top-ranked Class 1A team beats St. Joseph
There is a very good chance the Aquinas Academy and St. Joseph girls basketball teams could meet at the Petersen Events Center for a WPIAL title.
If that’s the case, then their non- section matchup could be a precursor to a classic.
Julie Spinelli drilled five 3pointers and scored a gamehigh 36 points, but it wasn’t enough for the Spartans as Ellie Junker hit four from beyond the arc and led four Chargers in double- figures with 17 as Class 1A No. 1 Aquinas Academy ( 7- 1) slipped past No. 2 St. Joseph (5-2), 66-62, in overtime Monday.
Aquinas Academy had a 22- 13 lead after the first quarter, but St. Joseph fought back and took a 40-38 lead into the fourth quarter.
Other games
• Class 6A No. 2 Norwin and No. 4 Upper St. Clair would normally be a great primer for section play, but one of the teams is without its best player. Knights (6-1) forward Lauren Palangio led all scorers with 15 points and Ava Kobus netted 11 as they shut out the Panthers in the second quarter on their way to a 48-24 victory. Upper St. Clair (4-3) played without allstate junior guard Rylee Kalocay.
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It may be early, but the way things are going, Peters Township may have the Class 6A Section 2 title well in hand before the holiday break. Gemma Walker scored a game- high 23 points and Natalie Wetzel tossed in 18 to lead the Class 6A No. 3 Indians (6-0, 2-0) to a decisive 65-39 victory against Baldwin (2-3) in their home section opener. Katie Lucarelli led the Highlanders with 13.
• Union has had some trouble finding itself in the early part of the season, but whatever was missing showed up against Mohawk. Kylie Fruehstorfer led all scorers with 20 points while Kelly Cleaver knocked down 15 to help the Class 1A No. 3 Scotties (4-3) to a 52-27 romp against Class 3A No. 4 Mohawk (5-2). Both of the Warriors’ losses this season have come against teams in Class 1A Section 1, with the other being against Aquinas Academy.
• Plum (6-0, 2-0) continued its hot start to the regular season into its Section 1 slate. The Class 5A No. 5 Mustangs got 24 points from Megan Marston and 18 by Riley Stephans as they rolled against Franklin Regional (15, 1-1) 58-42. Madi DeRiggi led the Panthers with 11.
• Jeannette may have only six girls on its roster, but the team is showing it can still be competitive. Sophomore Navarah Smith broke into double digits with 13 points to lead the Jayhawks (2-2) to a 38-24 victory against Carlynton (3-4). Jeannette had postponed its previous games and had not played since a 48- 37 decision against Springdale. The Cougars have now dropped three in a row.
• McKeesport had played close games in the early going, but this wasn’t one of them. Rachael Manfredo had a double- double with 20 points and 10 rebounds, and
Kaylee Charles popped in 15 to lead the Class 5A No. 1 Tigers (5-0, 1-0) to a 71-45 win against Latrobe (2-4, 0-2) in their Section 3 opener. Elle Snyder also had a doubledouble with 12 points and 16 boards in the loss for the Wildcats.
• North Catholic has shown that it can win any game, just so long as the opponent doesn’t have Lebanon in its name. The Class 4A No. 2 Trojanettes (3-2, 2-0) got 17 points from Ava Walker and 12 from Alayna Rocco as four players scored in double figures in their 75-35 running clock victory against Section 1 rival Freeport (2-5, 1-1). North Catholic’s two losses are to two Class 6A schools,
Mt. Lebanon and District 3 Lebanon.
• Bayleigh Perez took care of the offense for Shaler (2-4) as she scored a game-high 15 points, including the game-winning 3-pointer with eight seconds remaining in regulation as the Titans pulled out a 43-42 nail-biter against Butler (2-3) in a nonsection matchup.
• Seton LaSalle had a rough couple of games, but apparently has pulled out of its light swoon. Mallory Daly scored 23 points and Addie Lonergan had five 3-pointers to account for 15 of her 19 to lead the Rebels (4-2) to a 5446 win against Montour (4-3). Jordyn Wolfe led the Spartans with 16.