Westmoreland basketball playoff preview capsules for Tuesday’s games

By: Jerin Steele
Friday, February 15, 2019 | 1:30 AM

Tuesday’s games

Boys

Class 6A first round

No. 8 Penn-Trafford (14-8) vs. No. 9 Peters Township (15-7)

8 p.m. Tuesday at Mt. Lebanon

Winner plays: No. 1 Pine-Richland (20-2) on Saturday in quarterfinals

Coaches: Jim Rocco, Penn-Trafford; Gary Goga, Peters Township

Points scored/allowed: Penn-Trafford, 61.0/55.8; Peters Twp., 60.6/53.6 ppg avg

Players to watch: Kevin Stinelli, Sr., G, Penn-Trafford; Colin Cote, Jr., G, Peters Twp.

Last WPIAL playoff appearance: Penn-Trafford, 2016 (lost to Plum, 63-60, in first round); Peters Township, 2016 (lost to Central Catholic, 73-67, in first round)

About Penn-Trafford: After winning 11 games combined the previous two seasons, Penn-Trafford secured a playoff berth by placing third in Section 3.

About Peters Township: The Indians won five games last season but tripled that this season en route to a fourth-place finish in Section 2.

Girls

Class 5A first round

No. 8 Penn-Trafford (13-9) vs. No. 9 Trinity (11-11)

6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Mt. Lebanon

Winner plays: No. 1 Chartiers Valley (22-0) on Saturday in quarterfinals

Coaches: John Giannikas, Penn-Trafford; Bob Miles, Trinity

Points scored/allowed: Penn-Trafford, 55.4/44.6; Trinity, 45.7/47.4

Players to watch: Bella Long, Jr., G/F, Penn-Trafford; Riley DeRubbo, Jr., G/F, Trinity

Last WPIAL playoff appearance: Penn-Trafford, 2017 (lost to Bethel Park, 38-36, in first round); Trinity, 2018 (lost to Oakland Catholic, 55-46, in quarterfinals)

About Penn-Trafford: The Warriors won their final three regular-season games and finished third in Section 3 behind No. 2-seeded Oakland Catholic and fourth-seeded Penn Hills.

About Trinity: The Hillers are one of only two teams in the Class 5A bracket to allow more points per game than they score.

No. 5 Franklin Regional (16-6) vs. No. 12 South Fayette (13-9)

8 p.m. Tuesday at Keystone Oaks

Winner plays: No. 4 Penn Hills on Saturday quarterfinals

Coaches: Anthony Kobus, Franklin Regional; Bryan Bennett, South Fayette

Points scored/allowed: Franklin Regional, 51.2/42.3; South Fayette, 51.6/47. 4

Players to watch: Cali Konek, Sr., G, Franklin Regional; Clare Relihan, Jr., G, South Fayette

Last WPIAL playoff appearance: Franklin Regional, 2017 (lost to McKeesport, 52-45, in first round); South Fayette, 2018 (Lost to Oakland Catholic, 63-42, in first round).

About Franklin Regional: The Panthers placed second in Section 2, with their only section losses coming against defending Class 5A champion Gateway.

About South Fayette: The Lions clinched a playoff spot via a fourth-place tiebreaker in Section 1 by sweeping Moon.

Jerin Steele is a freelance writer

Tags: Franklin Regional, Penn-Trafford, Peters Township, South Fayette, Trinity