South Fayette, Upper St. Clair enter playoffs with weapons
Kate Robbins scored her 1,000th career point Feb. 9 during Upper St. Clair’s 65-31 victory against Bethel Park. With 34 seconds left in the game, she reached the milestone off a layup. Ava Keating assisted on the bucket. A Marist recruit, Robbins fired in 19 points in the win.
By Eleanor Bailey/Almanac
Upper St. Clair’s Kate Moore (15) attempts to drive past Mt. Lebanon’s Payton Collins (25) during section action. The Panthers won the division title and should enter the WPIAL Class 6A playoffs seeded No. 1. The Blue Devils were runners-up in the section.
South Fayette enters the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs with plenty of assets.
The Lady Lions are the defending district champions and reigning Section 4 winners. They were 19-2 overall before facing Class 6A powerhouse North Allegheny in the final regular-season contest. They finished 12-0 in the section after impressive wins against Trinity, 48-31, and West Allegheny, 67-36.
Additionally, they have won 14 games in a row before their exhibition against the Tigers.
Plus, they feature one of the top players in the state in Maddie Webber. She ranks among the Top 21 scorers in the WPIAL with a 17.8-point average.
Additionally, Webber averages three assists, pulls down five rebounds and picks up three steals a game.
A Villanova recruit, Webber fired in 20 points against the Hillers and pumped in 11 points against West-A.
Trinity head coach Kathy McConnell-Miller is one authority on Webber as she has watched her play since she was in the eighth grade.
“I think she’s one special player. She can do things that are difficult to teach,” McConnell-Miller said. “She just has a knack for the ball. She understands the game, has a high IQ and is a great teammate. She brings energy and scores at all levels. She’s the complete player.”
At 6-foot-3, Ava Leroux is the perfect complement to Webber. A senior, she too started on last year’s WPIAL championship team.
Leroux tallied 16 points in the win against the Hillers. She supplied 12 points against the Indians. She averages 13 points and eight rebounds a game.
In addition, Lainey Yater directs the offense. The point guard manages five assists per game. She and Erica Hall scored in double figures with 12 and 10 tallies respectively against West-A.
“I feel like we are starting to peak at the right time,” he added. “The girls are working hard at practice everyday. They challenge each other to be the best version of themselves.”
That edition has made the Lions section champions and likely the top seed in the tournament alongside Oakland Catholic, which won/shared the Section 3 banner with McKeesport.
”The girls were extremely excited to earn this accomplishment. South Fayette has had a number of outstanding girls teams and we are only the third team in school history to win a section.
”We cannot become complacent though,” continued Bennett. “We need to continue to stay hungry and look to improve each day. The girls have done a great job of this all season. They seem to be more focused each day.Upper St. Clair is the prey in Class 6A. The Panthers completed Section 2 play undefeated (12-0) after beating Canon-McMillan, 67-33, and Bethel Park for the second time in less than a week.
Against the Lady Macs, Mia Brown (20) and Rylee Kalocay (17) finished in double digits.
In their first encounter on Feb. 4, the Lady Panthers used 27 points from Kalocay and 14 additional markers from Kate Robbins to dispatch the Lady Hawks, 61-47.
In the victory on Feb. 9, Robbins notched her 1,000th career point. Off an assist from Ava Keating, Robbins scored a layup for the milestone hoop with less than a minute left in the fourth quarter. A Marist recruit, Robbins scored 17 of her 19 points in the second half.
Kalocay tossed in 22 tallies and Brown followed with 10 markers.
The Lady Panthers (19-2) have been to the WPIAL finals the past two years, finishing runner-up twice.
“Things haven’t worked out the way (the players) have envisioned in the past,” said USC head coach Pete Serio. “We lost to two very good teams but we got there. We had an opportunity.
“We don’t focus on the past and we don’t look ahead because if you do that, things can go wrong. We focus on what’s in front of us and the opportunity we have.
“We have a chance,” Serio continued. “In life, if you have that, then you take that opportunity and run with it.”
In addition to SF and USC, Mt. Lebanon and Chartiers Valley have qualified for post-season play. The Blue Devils (9-3, 15-6) finished runner-up to USC in the section after slipping past CV, 37-31.
Ava Dziubek led Lebo with 11 points. Ella Cupka and Lilah Turnball each contributed eight markers for the Colts, who ended up third in the division with a 6-6 slate. Overall, CV is 10-9.