Bethel Park beats Canon-McMillan
With a 58-44 win against Canon-McMillan (6-7, 11-9), Bethel Park (11-2, 15-4) clinched at least a share of the Section 4-AAAA title in girls’ basketball. The Lady Hawks visit Baldwin (10-3, 14-7) on Feb. 5 to decide the championship.
Winning their 12th game in row was no easy task for the Lady Hawks. Though they coasted to leads of 32-16 at intermission and 40-24 with 3:15 to play in the third quarter, the Lady Hawks permitted the Lady Macs to rally. Canon-Mac cut the margin to five points, 47-42, on a field goal by Cheyenne Trest with 4:12 to play.
However, down the stretch, BP connected on 9-of-10 free throws and a basket by Shannon Conely to seal the victory. Conely led all scorers with 24 points. She buried three, 3-point field goals, all in the first half. BP drained six shots from beyond the arc in constructing its 16-point halftime advantage.
Justina Mascaro pumped in 12 of her 17 points in the second half. Mia Mattes finished with nine points and connected on 3-of-4 free throws in the final 58 seconds of play.
For the Lady Macs, who were eliminated from playoff contention, Trest fired in 19 points, 16 in the pivotal comeback.
Prior to the game, BP recognized its five seniors, including Mattes, Kaityln Chess, Paige Kochka-Puskar, Christina Didiano and Monica Locke. Plus, both teams and all clubs in Section 4 donned specially-designed T-shirts during warms-up to raise awareness for DIPG, the brain cancer that took the life of 8-year-old Joey Fabus of Bethel Park on Jan. 21, 2015.
Previously, the Lady Hawks defeated Moon, 58-36. Conely (15), Mascaro (14) and Mia Mattes (10) all finished in double figures.
Canon-Mac’s loss came on the heels of a 61-55 triumph against Mt. Lebanon. Lebo recovered from the loss to beat West Allegheny, 69-43. The win coupled with a 53-43 victory against Peters Township raised Lebo’s league record to 9-4 and 12-8 overall.
In the win against the PT Indians, Kenzie Bushee (11) and Maura Wallace (10) reached double figures. In the win against the West-A Indians, Bushee exploded for 31 points while Kate Sramac provided 13 markers. In the loss to the Lady Macs, Bushee and Wallace again led with 18 and 10 markers.
The Blue Devils close out section play Feb. 5 at Upper St. Clair. Before commencing post-season play, they will travel to Cumberland Valley Feb. 7 for a tune-up game.
Meanwhile, the Panthers defeated Peters Township, 58-52, on Feb. 2 to clinch the final playoff slot out of Section 4. Rachel Mazzie had 20 tallies for the Lady Panthers (8-5, 13-7). Madison Serio and Diandra Conwell followed with 18 and 16 markers. Madison Kerr eclipsed the 1,000-point plateau. The PT junior finished with 13 points while Alyssa Konopka (15) and Cameron Morgan (11) also finished in double figures for the Indians, who were eliminated from the playoff race.
Previously, the Indians (6-7, 12-8) edged West Allegheny, 45-44. Kerr and Morgan pitched in 15 and 10 points in the triumph.
In Section 3-AA, Seton-La Salle remained on top. The Rebels defeated Brentwood, 56-38, and Chartiers-Houston, 55-38, to improve to 11-0 in the division. They are 14-5 overall.
Nicolete Newman (16), Morgan Henderson (14) and Cassidy Walsh (13) led the Rebels’ uprising against the Buccanneers, who were paced by Jala Youngblood (15) and Alexa Williamson (14). Previously, Char-Houston dispatched Wilkinsburg, 58-21. Williamson (20), Youngblood (13) and Jordan Simpson (12) scored in double figures for the Bucs.
South Fayette remained in the running for a playoff spot with wins against Montour, 63-32, and McGuffey, 59-51. Against the Spartans, Lauren Crites (15), Emily Anderson (13), Carlee Kilgus (13) and Autumn Mozick (11) finished in double figures. Kilgus recorded a game-high 21 points against the Highlanders. Emily Anderson and Mikayla Fetchet both finished with 13 markers.
Previously, McGuffey lost to Chartiers Valley, which sat atop the Section 5-AAA standings with just one loss. The Lady Colts are 14-4 overall after beating Keystone Oaks, 47-23. Melissa Rickens led CV with 19 points.