Peters Township splits decisions in WPIAL championships

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Natalie Wetzel hoists the WPIAL trophy while her Peters Township teammates celebrate a 40-36 win over South Fayette in the Class 5A championship game.

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Taylor McCullough (left) and Brianna Morreale (right) collapse on Haylie Lamonde (3) as she drives to the hoop during WPIAL Class 5A championship action. Peters Township defeated South Fayette, 40-36, to win the title.

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Julian Semplice (12) and Danny Slizik (4) celebrate while Ben Miller (3) looks on after Chartiers Valley defeated Peters Township, 73-66, to capture the WPIAL Class 5A boys basketball title. Semplice scored 13 points in the win while Miller finished with a team-high 18 tallies.

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Chartiers Valley players relish the taste of victory as they bite down on their gold medals and raise their fingers in triumph after beating Peters Township, 73-66, for the WPIAL Class 5A boys basketball title.

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Ben Miller (3) grimaces as he drives to the hoop against Luca Federico of Chartiers Valley during WPIAL Class 5A championship action.

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Natalie Wetzel (14) and Juliette Leroux from South Fayette battle for a loose ball during WPIAL Class 5A championship action.

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Julian Semplice (12) puts up a basket despite the defensive efforts of Dylan Donovan during WPIAL 5A championship action. Semplice scored 13 points in Chartiers Valley’s 73-66 win against Peters Township. Donovan was held to 10 tallies in the loss.

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Nick McCullough (23) slips a pass past Luca Federico (30) during basketball championship action. McCullough scored a team-high 17 points and added four steals but that was not enough to propel Peters Township to victory over Chartiers Valley in the WPIAL 5A championship contest.

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Natalie Wetzel exchanges a high-five with Alina Sopko after Peters Township defeated South Fayette, 40-36, for the WPIAL title.

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Jayden Davis (left) and Julius Best (right) admire their gold medals after Chartiers Valley defeated Peters Township to capture the WPIAL 5A title. Davis poured in a game-high 28 points in a 73-66 win for the Colts. 

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Steve Limberiou gets emotional after Natalie Wetzel sank a 3-point field goal to lift Peters Township into the lead in the WPIAL Class 5A championship game. The Indians defeated South Fayette, 40-36, to win their second title in school history.

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Brianna Morreale (2) maintains possession of the basketball as she drives to the hoop between two South Fayette defenders Juliette Leroux (14) and Alex Ankrum (right).

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Natalie Wetzel embraces Daniela Radulovich after Peters Township defeated South Fayette, 40-36, to win the WPIAL Class 5A championship. 

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Jayden Davis steals the ball away from Lucas Rost during WPIAL championship action. Davis had four steals to go along with 28 points in Chartiers Valley’s 73-66 win against Peters Township.

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Jayden Davis puts up a layup late in the game.

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Peters Township scored a split decision during the WPIAL basketball tournament.

During the Class 5A championship contests played at the Petersen Events Center on the University of Pittsburgh campus, the Lady Indians came from behind to dethrone South Fayette, 40-36, on Feb. 28 while the Peters Township men dropped a 73-66 decision to Chartiers Valley on March 1.

The Lady Indians overcame a 28-17 third-quarter deficit and rallied for the victory. They outscored the Lions, 13-3, in the decisive fourth frame.

With 3:22 to play, Natalie Wetzel buried a 3-pointer from NBA range giving Peters Township its first lead, 36-34, since the first frame. She then assisted on Brianna Morreale’s go-ahead-for-good trey, 39-36, with 61 seconds to play.

“I just shot it, it went in and I heard everybody cheering,” said Morreale, who finished with six points. “I’ll probably remember it for the rest of my life.”

A free throw by Taylor McCullough iced the victory with four seconds to play. A freshman, who is already committed to Kent State, McCullough finished with nine markers, five assists and two steals.

Wetzel led the attack. She fired in 13 points and contributed five assists. The Miami recruit pulled down seven rebounds, one less than Daniela Radulovich, who finished with eight boards to go along with eight points.

Wetzel recalled attending the 2019 title tilt when Peters Township won its last and only other WPIAL championship.

“Ever since then it’s been a dream of mine to win one,” she said. “It was my last chance and I wanted it more than anything. We all did and we worked together to get it. We definitely didn’t want them to four-peat,” she added of the Lions, who had won championships the past three seasons.

While Alina Sopko only scored two points, the bucket sparked an 8-0 run that tied the game, 33-33.

The Lions had all the momentum heading into intermission after Haylie Lamonde sunk a buzzer beater lifting them to a 24-17 halftime advantage. Lamonde led all scorers with a game-high 19 points.

Juliette Leroux followed with six tallies. Lailah Wright (4), Cierra Rexrode (3), Ryan Oldaker (2) and Ella Vierra (2) completed South Fayette’s scoring, which was the lowest of the season against a WPIAL club. The Lions (24-2) average 61 points per game.

“We just didn’t play well and that’s a credit to (Peters Township), but I feel like a lot of it is on us too,” said South Fayette coach Bryan Bennett.

Senior captain Alexa Ankrum agreed. “That’s a good team,” she said. “That’s the type of games you want to play in. Those tight, physical, nitty gritty games. I think all of us are looking forward to seeing them again and playing more to our abilities the next time.”

Both teams embarked on state tournament play on March 8. The Lady Indians hosted Conrad Weiser while the Lions entertained Lower Dauphin. Both teams were out of District 3.

If they continue through the PIAA playoffs, Peters Township and South Fayette would meet in the semifinals set for March 22. The state championships are set for March 29 at the Giant Center in Hershey.

Meanwhile, the Peters Township men as well as Chartiers Valley are in the state playoffs, too. The Indians hosted Spring Grove at AHN Arena on March 7 while the Colts entertained Cocalico.

A slow start and poor foul shooting contributed to the Indians loss in their championship encounter with CV. The Colts galloped to a 12-2 start and never trailed as the Indians suffered through a 7 for 22 showing from the line. The Colts were 14 for 20 from the charity stripe.

Both teams shot well from the field, 60.5 percent for the Indians, including 43.8 from three-point range, while the Colts converted 61.4 percent of their shots.

Jayden Davis poured in 28 points, dished up nine assists, grabbed six rebounds and collected three steals to lead the CV offensive.

Julian Semplice (13), Jake Lewis (10) and Julius Best (10) also finished in double digits for the Colts, who led 34-24 at halftime and 54-41 after three frames. Semplice led in rebounding with seven boards.

For the Indians, Ben Miller (18), Nick McCullough (17) and Dylan Donovan (10) registered double figures. Sean Thelk (9), Lucas Rost (6), Jake Wetzel, who was hobbled by an ankle injury in the third quarter, (3) and Jayden Greco (3) completed the scoring.