March Madness
The WPIAL held its version of March Madness when it hosted its basketball championships at the Petersen Events Center on the University of Pittsburgh campus. Six area teams participated with four claiming titles. The Upper St. Clair boys and girls swept the Class 6A bracket while the Peters Township girls and Chartiers Valley boys dominated the 5A division.
The USC boys defeated New Castle, 65-43. Tyler Robbins led the way with 12 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots. Nico Gidas (11) and Jake Foster (10) also finished in double figures.
The Lady Panthers held off Norwin, 45-40, for their title. Rylee Kalocay and Ryan Prunzik led the offensive attack with 13 and 11 points to go along with five and three assists respectively.
The Lady Indians came from behind to unthrone South Fayette, 40-36. The Lions were attempting to win their fourth straight WPIAL Class 5A banner.
Natalie Wetzel guided Peters Township with 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Taylor McCullough (8), Daniela Radulovich (8), Brianna Morreale (6) and Alina Sopko (2) contributed key buckets in the victory.
For the Lady Lions, Haylie Lamonde fired in 19 points.
Chartiers Valley dispatched Peters Township in the boys Class 5A final, 73-66. Jadyen Davis topped all scorers with 28 tallies. He dished up nine assists.
The Indians had three players in double figures: Ben Miller (18), Nick McCullough (17) and Dylan Donovan (10).
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- Natalie Wetzel (14) and Taylor McCullough (24) led Peters Township’s comeback rush to unseat South Fayette as the Class 5A champions. Wetzel fired in 13 points and dished up five assists while McCullough pumped in nine points and supplied five assists in a 40-36 victory over the Lions, who had won the past three titles.
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- Tyler Robbins helped the USC boys claim the 6A hardware. In a 65-43 win over New Castle, Robbins scored 12 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked five shots.
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- Rylee Kalocay (3) fired in a team-high 13 points and dished up five assists in helping the USC girls hoist the trophy after a 45-40 win against Norwin.
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- Ryan Robbins (25) and Gianni Disora (31) react to the action on the court. Robbins came off the bench to score nine points and block two shots while Disora had four points, an assist and two steals in USC’s win against New Castle.
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- Peters Township players Lucas Rost, Dylan Donovan, Sean Thelk and Nick McCullough attempt to keep stiff upper lips as they watch Chartiers Valley be awarded with the Class 5A trophy. The Indians lost to the Colts, 73-66.
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- Jayden Davis (1) reacts after scoring two of his 28 points in Chartiers Valley’s win over Peters Township, 73-66. Davis also dished up nine assists and swiped three passes in the victory.
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- Juliette Leroux (14) and Alexa Ankrum (right) console each other after South Fayette’s 40-36 loss to Peters Township in the Class 5A girls championship game.