WPIAL Championship Game Previews For Friday

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, March 1, 2017 | 2:03 PM

An early start as Day 2 of heaven for WPIAL Basketball fans with 4 more games at the Pete. Friday features three first-timers to the title game plus some experienced veterans. All 4 games can be heard on the NETWORK, plus game stories, Center Stage interviews and much more. 

Here are the game previews in order of their starting time. 

2017 WPIAL CLASS 1-A GIRLS BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME:
#1 Winchester Thurston Bears (20-1) vs #2 Cornell Raiders (20-4) AT The Petersen Events Center at the University of Pittsburgh on Friday, March 3rd at 3:00pm on MSAsports.net

Both teams will make their 1st title game trip. Winchester Thurston defeated Cornell 62-59 on December 12th at home.

The Bears won 18 straight games before falling to Oakland Catholic 45-32 on February 11. After a 13 day layoff, they defeated Sewickley Academy 52-32 and West Greene 55-50 on the road to the finals. Monica Williams guides her team into this new territory.

Winchester Thurston jumped out to a 18-7 lead vs. West Greene by handling the Pioneers pressure defense. That would not last as West Greene worked their way back into the game and led 45-44 with 5 minutes left in regulation. But Ayanna Townsend and Gia Thorpe each made key steals to send the Bears to the finals. Thorpe led all scorers with 29 and Townsend added 23. Those 23 points sent Townsend over 2 thousand for her career.

The Bears average 58 points per game and only allow 33. Thorpe and Townsend  provide the bulk of the scoring at 19 and 18 points per game. Kayla Small can provide secondary scoring with 14 points in the quarterfinals.

On the resume for the Bears is a 59-47 win over 2-A finalist Vincentian Academy on February 4th.  

The Raiders defeated Geibel Catholic 64-33 and St. Joseph’s 51-42 to head to the big stage. Cornell has won 10 straight games and split with Neshannock and section rival Quigley during the year.

Cornell also preaches stingy defense at the Raiders have only allowed 32 points per game. Daeja Quick is the leading scorer in 1-A, she averages 22 points and 7 steals per.

Quick was held to just 9 points in the semis. Jaelah Smith and Patience Gipson each had 9 points down low but posted 18 and 14 rebounds to clean the glass at both ends. Nysla Miles led the Raiders with 13 points. Credit coach Shawn Urbano for calling a timeout at the right time in the 4th. The Raiders went on an 11-2 run and never looked back.

2017 WPIAL CLASS 2-A BOYS BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME:
#5 Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Chargers (18-6) vs #3 Sewickley Academy Panthers (19-4) AT The Petersen Events Center at the University of Pittsburgh on Friday, March 3rd at 5:00pm on MSAsports.net

The dinner hour will have two section rivals squaring off for gold. The Panthers took both meeting during the season, winning 70-45 at home and 88-82 at OLSH. Coach Win Palmer will look for the school’s 4th WPIAL crown to go with his 600-plus wins. 

OLSH suffered 4 of it’s 6 losses in section. The others were to Quaker Valley and Montour. The Chargers pounded Frazier 82-32, Char-Houston 71-39 and handed Greensburg Central Catholic their 1st loss 54-49. OLSH jumped out to a 15-3 early advantage and led 31-14 at the break. Those runs have helped the Chargers stay on top as OLSH posted a 19-2 start in the quarterfinals.
Coach Mike Rodriguez has seen his team become battle tested in the tough section. OLSH has won 4 straight and 9 of 10 entering the finals. Ethan Harrell averages 15 points, he has scored 34
in the last 2 games, including 10 in the final stanza vs. GCC

Freshman Donovan Johnson scored 20 points in the semis. Desmond Ross can also score, he had 19 in the quarters.

The Panthers got a first round bye and defeated Jeannette 80-51 and Bishop Canevin 67-51 to advance. Sewickley Academy has played a tough non-section schedule with a loss to Kennedy Catholic and a win over Monessen on the ledger.

Coach Palmer will play 9 players and most are not afraid about shooting the three-pointer. Nate Ridgeway is only a sophomore , he led with 23 points in the semis. It’s the bench scoring that lad paced the Panthers. Isaiah Smith has scored 16 and 10 off the pines in the post-season and dare I say, he’s a freshman. Isiah Warfield added 7 more on Tuesday night, he is also a freshman.

Chris Groetsch has been constant all season long, averaging 16.6 points in the playoffs. Ridgeway leads the team in scoring at 17 points per game.

Declan Hickton and Justin Pryor add the little things plus some scoring touch for a Panthers team that averages 76 points. 

2017 WPIAL CLASS 4-A GIRLS BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME:
#1 Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic Trojans (22-2) vs #2 Blackhawk Cougars (16-8) AT The Petersen Events Center at the University of Pittsburgh on Friday, March 3rd at 7:00pm on MSAsports.net

Two of the most historic programs will square off with championship gold on the line. The Trojans lead all WPIAL girls teams by a wide margin with 16 gold medals, while the Cougars have 7 in the trophy case.

Both teams can score, in fact CWNC is #1 in scoring at 65 points per game and Blackhawk is #2 at 64. Each does so in a different way and no doubt this will be one of the most entertaining games of the weekend.

The Trojans gained the top seed and defeated Central Valley 51-45 and Beaver 59-49 to earn the trip. The two losses came at the hands of Liberty, Nevada and Penn Hills. CWNC has won 9 straight under long-time head coach Molly Rottman.

The trip to the Pete has had some bumps. CWNC trailed by 4 points in the 4th quarter against Beaver. But Dayton recruit Sam Breen refused to lose, she scored 11 of her game high 27 points in the final frame and led the Trojans into the finals.

Breen has 2,397 career points, which is 13th on the WPIAL all time list. She needs 31 points to move ahead of former Hopewell star Shatori Walker-Kimbrough.

CWNC is not just a one star show. Kylie Huffman can play on the the block, she had 19 against Beaver. The Trojans played without sophomore Dani Short, who shined in last year’s playoffs. Hopefully Short’s illness is not long term and the extra day of rest will place her at 100 percent.

Blackhawk has lit it up from outside in 2017. The Cougars bring 230 three-pointers into the title game, an average of over 10 per game. Madison Amalia has drained 78 while younger sister Mackenzie has made 57. And if the name Amalia sounds familar, father Bob has led the Cougars baseball team to championships and serves as an assistant coach.

The Cougars have won 3 straight and defeated Freeport 67-44 and South Park 70-56 to navigate the path from Chippewa. Steve Lodovico, a former Cougars player, guides his team.

Blackhawk had to come from behind in the semis. Once again it was the outside shooting that did the trick. 4 of the 5 starters hit trifectas during a stretch of the 3rd quarter in which the Cougars went from losing 29-27 to up 45-37. Mackenzie Amalia led with 19 points. Tailyn Silver scored 16, Mady Aulbach added 15 and Madison Amalia pumped in 12.

While Blackhawk is known for three-pointers, the Cougars can turn you over on defense. Blackhawk has won 3 straight and 11 of 12.

2017 WPIAL CLASS 5-A BOYS BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME:
#5 Hampton Talbots (16-9) vs #2 Moon Tigers (19-5) AT The Petersen Events Center at the University of Pittsburgh on Friday, March 3rd at 9:00pm on MSAsports.net

The nightcap features 2 experienced coaches who know how to win as Joe Lafko of the Talbos and Adam Kaufman for Moon.

It is also a third meeting as Moon took the two previous 72-65 and 47-46.

Moon has won 2 straight and 5 of the last 6. The only loss for the Tigers came at New Castle on the final Monday of the regular season. Kaufman has won 2 district crowns at Montour in 2011 and 2013 before coming to Moon. The Tigers had fallen on some rough times since winning 3 straight titles in 2004-2006(the last boys team to do so).

Penn recruit Jarrod Simmons was a big part of the turn-around. A 6-7 senior, he came to Moon Township and found a home, averaging 17 points. Simmons showed his might in a big way in the semis, posting 31 points and grabbing 16 rebounds.

Moon has some other scorers as Connor Ryan had 14 on Tuesday night and Nick Castlevetter was impressive in the New Castle game and the entire season at 16 points per game. The Tigers only allow 50 points, it will be interesting to see what gives on Friday

The Talbots battled injuries all season, finishing 6-6 in the 5A super section. The non-section schedule wasn’t easy either. A win over City League champ Allderdice opened the season. Two losses to North Hills, a loss to New Castle and defeats by Moon and Char Valley placed the Talbots at 6-5.

But things started to turn around a day later as Hampton gutted out a 76-60 win over old rival Highlands in the Clash at New Castle, which started a 5 game winning streak. The Talbots qualified for the post season and were rewarded with a 5 seed.

Hampton opened with a 60-44 win over Kiski Area and gutted out a 78-70 win over McKeesport. It was a third meeting with another rival in Mars in the semifinals and the North Allegheny gym was jammed packed for the battle. Little did anyone know that a freshman would be the key player in this one. Issac DeGregorio had 9 of his 10 points in the third quarter and turned a 7 point deficit to a 1 point lead. Antonio Ionadi had 21 points to pace the Talbots.

Ionadi is one of the best three-point shooters in the WPIAL, he averaged 21 points despite missing time. Lafko had to develop other players who have become strong pieces in the Hampton puzzle.  Hampton has only won 1 title, that in 2009, but no one forgets their battles with New Castle in the 2013 and 2014 championship games.