Westmoreland WPIAL basketball playoff capsules: Games for Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Tuesday, February 21, 2023 | 2:01 PM

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Girls

Class 2A

Quarterfinals

5-Burgettstown (18-5) vs. 4-Greensburg Central Catholic (19-4)

6 p.m. Wednesday, AHN Arena, Peters Township

Winner plays: Winner of 8-Brentwood (13-9)/1-Shenango (19-4), Saturday (time, site TBD) in semifinals

Players to watch: Kaitlyn Nease, Burgettstown; Avery Davis, Greensburg Central Catholic

Layup lines: Burgettstown has made the playoffs five straight years. The Blue Devils opened with a 56-40 victory over Winchester Thurston, opening the first-round game on a 14-3 run and building a 29-8 lead by halftime. Nease scored 18 in the victory. She and Taylor Schumacher both average 17 points. Jill Frazier scored 16 in the opening win. Burgettstown lost at Serra Catholic in the quarterfinals last year 37-36. The top defensive team in Section 2 (33.3 points allowed), the Blue Devils have won seven in a row. … Greensburg Central Catholic steamrolled California in the first round 83-23, as freshman Erica Gribble scored 26 points, junior Mya Morgan added 22 and junior Avery Davis had 16. GCC led 56-10 at the half. The Centurions have not reached the semifinals since 2016-17. They lost in the quarterfinals in four of the last five years. Both teams have clinched spots in the PIAA playoffs.

Boys

Class A

Quarterfinals

6-Monessen (21-2) at 3-Carlynton (15-6)

7 p.m. Wednesday, Carlynton High School, Carnegie

Winner plays: Winner of 7-Aquinas Academy (19-4)/2-Union (20-2), Saturday (site, time TBD) in semifinals

Players to watch: Lorenzo Gardner, Monessen; Jaiden McClure, Carlynton

Layup lines: Monessen rolled to a 60-44 win over visiting Western Beaver in the first round Friday as Gardner had 16 points and eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for his career, as a junior. Davontae Clayton added 14 points, and Tim Kershaw had 13 off the bench for the Greyhounds, who have won six in a row. They had a 15-game winning streak earlier in the season. Monessen has not reached the semifinals since 2018-19 when it lost to Vincentian, 61-49, in coach Dan Bosnic’s first year taking over for longtime leader Joe Salvino. … Carlynton, a section runner-up, is coming off a first-round bye, which Monessen expected to get after such a solid regular season. The Cougars had their last game postponed, so they have not played since Feb. 10. They are averaging 63.1 points and have nine games of 70 or more. McClure is the top scorer, averaging 18 points.

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

Tags: Burgettstown, Carlynton, Greensburg C.C., Monessen