South Fayette losses dash section title hopes
With back-to-back losses to Chartiers Valley, 57-40, and West Allegheny, 58-55, South Fayette saw its chances of capturing a third straight section banner slip away.
After the defeats, the Lions fell behind both the league-leading Indians (9-1, 16-5) and the second-place Colts (8-2, 14-6). SF dropped to 7-3 in Section 1 in Class 5-A of the WPIAL. Overall, the Lions are 12-6 heading into their exhibition contest on Feb. 10 with Trinity (11-0, 17-3). The Hillers were PIAA runners-up last year, beating the Lions in the state semifinals.
In the Feb. 5 loss to CV, which is the defending Class 5-A champion, Sam Kosmacki scored 13 points, including all nine of the Lions’ tallies in the third quarter. By then, the Colts had stretched a 31-22 halftime advantage to 45-31.
Jordyn Caputo and Maura Castelluci followed with eight and seven tallies for the Lions. Megan McConnell and MacKenzie Wagner led the way for the Colts with 18 and 15 markers.
In the Feb. 2 loss to West-A, Kosmacki fired in 12 points. With her first basket, she topped the 1,000-point plateau for her playing career.
The Lady Lions, who close out the regular season at top-ranked Bishop Canevin on Feb. 12, are among several area teams that have qualified for the WPIAL playoffs, scheduled to start Feb. 16.
A preview of what could be the WPIAL 6-A championship game will be on tap Feb. 9 when Peters Township (8-1, 17-2) hosts North Allegheny (10-0, 20-0). The Indians are ranked second behind the Tigers, who are the defending district winners and PIAA state runners-up.
Peters Township clinched the Section 3 title with a 60-54 victory against Mt. Lebanon (6-4, 10-10), which has also qualified for the post-season along with Bethel Park (8-2, 14-5) and Upper St. Clair (5-5, 9-9).
In the victory, Makenna Marisa exploded for 32 points. Her three-point play with 22.4 seconds to play along with two consecutive free throws iced the Blue Devils, who had pulled within one, 55-54, on a 3-pointer from Jess Wilhelm with 38.4 seconds left in the game.
Isabella Mills followed Marisa with 19 markers.
For the Blue Devils, Haley Sabol (16) and Jamey Napoleon (16) finished in double digits.
BP edged Canon-McMillan, 50-47. Maddie Dziezgowski (15), Kam Lach (10), Maria Cerro (10) and Olivia Westphal all registered double figures.
The Lady Macs also succumbed to Peters Township, 54-48. Marisa fired in 27 points while Lillian Young followed with 15 markers.
Lebo rebounded from its loss to Peters by beating Upper St. Clair, 44-35. Alyssa Hyland tossed in 17 points for the Blue Devils. Lindsay Meyer had nine for the Panthers.
Previously, USC downed Baldwin, 59-47. Meyer and Kate Groninger pitched in 21 and 15 points respectively to lead the Panthers.
In boys’ action, after overcoming a 20-point deficit to edge Bethel Park, 58-57, Canon-McMillan defeated Connellsville, 51-36, and maintained its hold on the Section 2 lead.
In the loss to the Big Macs, BP buried 10, 3-point field goals. Alex Mullen and Tommy DiRienzo accounted for four each and finished with 20 and 16 points respectively.
Mt. Lebanon kept pace with the Big Macs by beating Connellsville, 89-34, and Baldwin, 70-48. In both victories, Antonio Garofoli tossed in 14 points.
Baldwin also succumbed to Upper St. Clair, 54-45. Tanner Gensler led all scorers with 25 tallies. Previously, the Panthers dispatched Peters Township, 71-58. Brett Moore led USC with 16. Grant Moshanko had 15 for the Indians.