2023 WPIAL Class A girls basketball championship breakdown: Union vs. Aquinas Academy

By: Bill Hartlep
Friday, March 3, 2023 | 4:03 PM

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WPIAL Class A girls basketball championship

No. 1 Union vs. No. 3 Aquinas Academy

11 a.m. Saturday, Petersen Events Center

On the air: Video livestream: TribHSSN.TribLive.com

WPIAL titles: Union 0; Aquinas Academy 0

Union (17-6)

Coach: Rob Nogay

Projected starting lineup

No., Name, Ht., Cl., Pos.

3, Kayla Fruehstorfer, 5-6, sr., G

4, Kylie Fruehstorfer, 5-5, so., G

10, Kelly Cleaver, 6-0, jr., F

11, Zoe Lepri, 5-10, sr., F

24, Kendall Preuhs, 5-5, sr., F

Notable: The Scotties reached the WPIAL semifinals last year before falling to eventual champion Bishop Canevin. They then reached the PIAA quarterfinals. Union, which shared the Section 1 title with Bishop Canevin at 5-1, beat Aquinas Academy twice during the regular season, 55-48 on Jan. 2 and 44-33 on Jan. 26. The Scotties have won 11 straight games. Junior Kelly Cleaver (16 ppg) has paced Union in the playoffs and had 24 points and 10 rebounds in a semifinal win over St. Joseph.

Aquinas Academy (16-8)

Coach: Chris Lebakken

Projected starting lineup

No., Name, Cl., Pos.

1, Emily Fisher, jr., G

2, Isabella Hite, sr., G

5, Ellie Junker, fr., G

11, Tess Duer, fr., G

15, Violet Johnson, so., F

Notable: The Crusaders reached the WPIAL championship game last year and lost to Bishop Canevin, 59-40. They got some revenge in the semifinals Monday with a 43-37 win. Sophomore forward Violet Johnson had 14 points, while Tess Duer added nine and Victoria Taylor had eight. Aquinas Academy finished just 2-4 and in third place in a competitive Section 1 with two losses to both Union and Bishop Canevin. Aquinas Academy averaged 47.9 points while allowing 40.8.

Bill Hartlep is the TribLive sports editor. A Pittsburgh native and Point Park graduate, he joined the Trib in 2004, covering high school sports. He held various editing roles before assuming his current position in 2019. He can be reached at bhartlep@triblive.com.

Tags: Aquinas Academy, Union