Bethel Park, Section 4 girls ready for playoff run
Shannon Conely (No. 32) is one of Bethel Park’s top scorers. She fired in 15 points in a 35-34 win over Gateway. She supplied 14 in the section-clinching victory against Baldwin, 56-34.
Justina Mascaro drives to the basket during section action against Canon-McMillan. The sophomore ranks among one of the top scorers in the WPIAL this season and has her Bethel Park squad poised to make a run for the Quad-A title. The playoffs commence this week with preliminary and first-round action. The WPIAL finals are set for Feb. 27-28.
Defending champion Penn-Trafford (21-1) and North Allegheny (19-2) are the prohibitive favorites to challenge for the WPIAL Quad-A title in girls’ basketball. Don’t discount Bethel Park or any other Section 4 squad for that matter.
“Our section games are a tremendous preparation for the playoffs. Every night is a battle,” said Mt. Lebanon head coach Dori Oldaker, who listed Bethel Park (18-4) third after the Warriors and NA, followed quickly by Norwin and Pine-Richland.
The Lady Hawks comprise the ingredients to pull off the upset and claim their second title in school history. They won the 2013 championship. Head coach Jonna Burke, however, cautions against putting the onus for a title on BP.
“So many things have to fall into place to win a WPIAL championship,” she said. “You have to be strong defensively. Offensive balance is key as well. In the playoffs and, especially in the deeper rounds, teams can shut one or two players down, so you have to get scoring from everyone. And, probably, most importantly, you have to stay healthy and play a tough mental game.”
In winning the Section 4 crown, the Lady Hawks have demonstrated mental toughness, fortitude and balance. They recovered from a 0-2 start and finished 12-2 in the division. In fact, they ride a 15-game winning streak into the playoffs after beating West Mifflin on Monday night, 55-38.
Bethel Park clinched the section title with a 56-34 win against Baldwin. Justina Mascaro and Shannon Conely led the way with 17 and 14 tallies. In the weekend’s win against Gateway, 35-34, during the Cancer Awareness Classic at Shady Side Academy, Conely pumped in 15 markers. In the regular season finale against West Mifflin, Mascaro and Conely finished with 14 and 13 points while Kaitlyn Chess led the way with 15.
“I like the way our team has been playing lately, particularly defensively,” Burke said. “I think they know that they have to play tough defense because it sparks our offense.”
The Lady Hawks enter the playoffs sporting one of the top defenses in the league. They allow 40.8 points per game. Offensively, they average 53 points per game. Only NA (58.6), Penn-Trafford (57.6), Norwin (57.2) and Pine-Richland (55.2) average more points. Mascaro is BP’s leader with a 15.7 average followed by Conely. But, Paige Kucha-Puskar and Chess provide punch inside while Mia Mattes directs the offense.
While Burke concedes that NA and Penn-Trafford are clearly the top two seeds and favorites in the tournament, she discounts no challengers. “There’s a good number of others that I feel can contend. There are so many teams to watch.”
Despite its youth, Mt. Lebanon could be one of them. Though the Lebo ladies were in jeopardy of not making the playoffs at one point in the season, they recovered smartly and tied Baldwin for second-place in the section behind Bethel Park. Lebo recorded a 10-4 league mark, which included an overtime victory, 63-61, against the Lady Hawks.
Lebo finished the regular season at 13-9 overall after losing to Cumberland Valley, 67-47, last Saturday. Kenzie Bushee and Kate Sramac each tossed in 12 tallies in the loss. Bushee supplied 22 in a recent win against rival Upper St. Clair, 53-44.
Despite having no four-year or three-year varsity players on this year’s club, the Blue Devils have succeeded. Maura Wallace boasts the most experience. She is a two-year varsity letterwinner. The rest of the squad features nine first-year varsity members eligible for a letter.
“We are very excited about making the playoffs. We went through a spell during the season that we weren’t sure that we were going to make the playoffs this year,” explained Oldaker.
“We are very young, but we have gained a lot of game situation experience and gained a lot of confidence. We have played a very brutal schedule so hopefully, this tough schedule has prepared us for the playoffs.”
Upper St. Clair, like Mt. Lebanon, is just taking the post-season ‘one game at a time’ but the Lady Panthers are a senior-dominated club. Rachel Mazzie, who recently surpassed the 1,000-point plateau, leads a balanced attack that includes fellow seniors Diandra Conwell, Madison Serio and Sarah McMurtry as well as junior guard Ally Steve. Katie White and Olivia Hutton are the other seniors on a club that finished fourth in Section 4 with an 8-6 mark.
USC posted a 13-9 record during the regular season. Despite 18 points from Mazzie, the Panthers lost to Blackhawk, 74-47, in their playoff tune-up on Monday. The Cougars are the defending Class AAA champions and are led by Chassidy Omogrosso, who led the WPIAL in scoring for girls’ basketball this season. She fired in 25 points against USC.
Class AA
Seton-La Salle enters the WPIAL playoffs as the defending AA champion. The Lady Rebels are also the returning PIAA winner.
With a dramatic win against rival Bishop Canevin, 49-47, the Lady Rebels clinched the Section 3-AA banner with an undefeated, 12-0, record. Shaunay Edmonds provided the heroics, scoring the decisive hoop at the buzzer. The pint-sized point guard pumped in 14 points in the triumph. Cassidy Walsh led with 18 tallies.
After succumbing to Quad-A powers, Penn Hills, 64-51, and North Allegheny, 76-48, the Lady Rebels sported a 15-7 overall record. The Indians enter the Quad-A playoffs as the Section 2 champion while NA won Section 3. In the loss to Penn Hills, Nicolete Newman fired in 20 points while Walsh and Edmonds each finished with 10 tallies. Against NA, Newman and Walsh led with 15 and 11 points.
Walsh and Newman have played on two state championship clubs for the Lady Rebels. They were teammates in grade school when St. Gabriel captured back-to-back state titles. Walsh is a Pitt recruit while Newman will play college ball at Cleveland State. Senior center Morgan Henderson is a Slippery Rock recruit.
The Rebels expect to receive stiff resistance in repeating as Greensburg Central Catholic (18-2) and Burrell (19-2) rank ahead of them at No. 3 and No. 4 in the state. Bishop Canevin also demonstrated it could pose problems for the Lady Rebels.
The Lady Crusaders finished runner-up to the Rebels in Section 3-AA with a 10-2 slate. They enter the playoffs with a 13-9 record after a 45-31 loss to Villa Maria. Gina Vallecorsa, who scored 16 points in that loss, is the team’s top scorer. She is supported by Sarah Green, Erin Joyce and Lauren Gamble, all of whom scored in double figures against SLS.
Alexa Williamson spearheads Chartiers-Houston’s chances for a WPIAL title. She averages 21.8 points per game and ranks No. 8 scoring in the district.
The Buccaneers placed third in Section 3-AA, behind Seton-La Salle and Canevin, with an 8-4 record. After beating Frazier, 63-30, they were 15-7 heading into the post-season. Williamson pumped in 30 points in the win.
Class AAA
With a 56-39 win against Moon, Chartiers Valley finished Section 5 play at the top of the heap with an 11-1 record. Melissa Rickens fired in 20 points while Nicole Olkowsky and Alexa Golden followed with 12 and 10 tallies.
The Colts finished the regular season with wins against Fox Chapel, 53-28, and Thomas Jefferson, 78-38. Against the Foxes, Golden fired in 15 markers. Against TJ, Melissa Rickens (19), Karley O’Keefe (14) and Alexa Golden (14) scored in double figures.
South Fayette tuned up for its playoff run with a game at Canon-McMillan. Overall, the Lions are 16-6 overall after their loss, 57-53, to the Lady Macs. Emily Anderson (19), Carlee Kilgus (12) and Mikayla Fetchet (11) finished in double digits for SF.
With wins against Quaker Valley, 46-27, and Keystone Oaks, 63-39, the Lady Lions forced a tie for second place in Section 5, behind the Colts. Both SF and Trinity compiled 8-4 records in the division. In the win against the Quakers, Anderson fired in 16 points. With a similar output, Anderson paced a balanced attack against KO that included 17 markers from Kilgus, 13 tallies from Lauren Crites and 10 points from Autumn Mozick.