Westmoreland PIAA basketball playoff capsules: Games for Monday, March 18, 2024

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Sunday, March 17, 2024 | 5:25 PM

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PIAA basketball playoffs

Boys

Class 5A

Semifinals

Franklin Regional (26-3) vs. Moon (26-3)

7 p.m. Monday at AHN Arena, Peters Township

District seeds: Franklin Regional 7-2; Moon 7-1

Winner plays: Winner of 12-2 Archbishop Ryan (20-9) vs. 12-1 Imhotep Charter (26-3) in championship, 8 p.m. Friday at Giant Center, Hershey

Coaches: Jesse Reed, Franklin Regional; Gino Palmosina, Moon

Players to watch: Cooper Rankin, Franklin Regional; Elijah Guillory, Moon

Points for/points against: Franklin Regional 62.5/49.9; Moon 62.4/49.3

Layup lines: Franklin Regional held off a late comeback by Shaler to beat the Titans for a third time this season, 63-51, and advance to the semifinals for the first time since 1997. Cooper Rankin scored 23 points, Cam Rowell added 16 and Connor Crossey had 10. Franklin Regional lost to Moon in the WPIAL championship game, 53-48, in a game Franklin Regional led by 10 late in the third. Rankin had 16 and Rowell 15 in the loss. Surprisingly, the Panthers had only four turnovers, and Moon had 14. Franklin Regional reached the PIAA 4A final in 1997 and lost to Plymouth-Whitemarsh, 50-45, in Hershey. That game was also played at 8 p.m. on March 22. … Moon has 14 straight wins and has not had a close game in the state tournament, defeating Obama Academy, 52-34, York Suburban, 59-38, and Bethel Park, 67-51. In the quarterfinals Friday against Bethel Park, Aiden Reesman scored 26 points and Guillory added 12. The Tigers scored 26 in the fourth quarter. Guillory is a Youngstown State commit. Michael Santicola had 14 points and 10 rebounds against Franklin Regional in the WPIAL final. Reesman added 13 points. Moon has two PIAA titles, in 2019 (5A) and ‘04 (3A).

…

Girls

Class 2A

Semifinals

Greensburg Central Catholic (23-6) vs. Kennedy Catholic (23-4)

6 p.m. Monday at North Allegheny

District seeds: GCC 7-1; Kennedy Catholic 10-1

Winner plays: Winner of 11-1 Minersville (25-4) vs. 6-1 Marion Center (23-6) in championship noon Thursday at Giant Center, Hershey

Coaches: Chris Skatell, GCC; Justin Magestro, Kennedy Catholic

Players to watch: Mya Morgan, GCC; Layke Fields, Kennedy Catholic

Points for/against: GCC 60.3/37.6; Kennedy Catholic 65.1/32.5

Layup lines: GCC shook off a slow-starting first half when it managed just 17 points and erupted for 39 in the second half to down Everett, 56-26, in the quarterfinals. Erica Gribble bounced back from a two-point game in the second round to score 20, Mya Morgan had 15 and Avery Davis 13 for the WPIAL champions. Abby Dlugos pulled down 13 rebounds, and Jayla Peterson added 10 rebounds. The Centurions also met Kennedy Catholic in the semis last year and lost 56-44 at North Allegheny. … Kennedy Catholic, a 30-time district champion, won the state title last season after finishing as the runner-up in 2022 in Class A. The Golden Eagles ran past two-loss Bishop McCort in the quarterfinals 60-35 as Layke Fields had 28 points and 14 rebounds, making 13 of 17 shots. Monique Vincent added 19 points and made five 3-pointers in the win. Fields, a 6-foot forward and the 2023 state player of the year in 2A, has Division II offers from IUP, Seton Hill and Slippery Rock. She has 21 double-doubles this season. Fields, Morgan and Gribble are 1,000-point scorers.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Franklin Regional, Greensburg C.C., Moon