WPIAL Class 6A girls basketball breakdown

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, December 1, 2018 | 7:12 PM

Class 6A

Preseason Player of the Year

Makenna Marisa, Peters Township

5-11, Sr., guard

22.9 ppg last season

Players to watch

Maria Cerro, Bethel Park

5-7, Jr., G, 13.9 ppg

McKenna Gross, Seneca Valley

5-6, Sr., G, 15.1 ppg

Rachel Martindale, North Allegheny

5-9, Sr., G, 15.3 ppg

Isabella Mills, Peters Township

5-11, Sr., G/F, 13.0 ppg

Olivia Westphal, Bethel Par k

5-9, So., G, 14.4 ppg

Preseason Top 5

1. North Allegheny (28-1)

After winning a second straight WPIAL title and reaching the PIAA semifinals, the Tigers again return a talented roster. They are led by Martindale, an Akron recruit who was a first-team all-state selection. She suffered a season-ending knee injury in the WPIAL title game. North Allegheny will miss graduate Piper Morningstar, a third-team all-state pick. Sophomore guard Lizzy Groetsch and senior guard Brynn Serbin also return.

2. Peters Township (21-5)

The Indians were WPIAL runners-up a year ago and feature one of the state’s top players. Marisa, a Penn State recruit, was a first-team all-state honoree last season after averaging 22.9 points. Mills also returns as a talented guard/forward.

3. Bethel Park (19-7)

A PIAA qualifier a year ago, Bethel Park returns two talented guards in Cerro and Westphal, who eached averaged around 14 points.

4. Norwin (12-10)

The Knights will be tested after switching sections and competing against teams north of Pittsburgh. They return three starters — junior forward Olivia Gribble, junior guard Jayla Wehner and senior guard Jessica Kolesar.

5. Mt. Lebanon (13-13)

Senior forward Jamey Napoleon returns to lead the Blue Devils, who finished third in the WPIAL and reached the PIAA playoffs last season.

Notable

• After WPIAL and PIAA realignment, WPIAL Class 6A features two eight-team sections.

• Latrobe, Penn Hills and Penn-Trafford all dropped to Class 5A.

• Connellsville moved up from Class 5A.

• Todd Schoeffel returns to coach Seneca Valley. He was the head coach for the Raiders from 1993-2002 and 2003-06, compiling a record of 151-128.

Alignment

Section 1: Butler, Fox Chapel, North Allegheny, North Hills, Norwin, Pine-Richland, Seneca Valley, Shaler

Section 2: Baldwin, Bethel Park, Canon-McMillan, Connellsville, Hempfield, Mt. Lebanon, Peters Township, Upper St. Clair

— Bill Hartlep

Bill Hartlep is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Bill at bhartlep@tribweb.com or via Twitter @TribHSInsider.

Tags: Bethel Park, Mt. lebanon, North Allegheny, Norwin, Peters Township, Seneca Valley