The heavy snow and freezing temperatures last week put a bit of a damper on the high school basketball schedule, with a large number of games postponed or canceled. But there was still plenty of action, and plenty of strong performances throughout the region.
This season, KDKA Radio will again nominate players each week to join the KDKA Radio Super 7 Awards watch list. Every Monday, a new crop of players will be unveiled based on their efforts that previous week. At the end of the year, KDKA Radio will announce the winners of the award for each WPIAL boys and girls classification, as well as the Pittsburgh City League.
Here are the top performances from Week 9:
Nick Trklja, Thomas Jefferson
Nick Trklja has been putting up a massive season for the Jaguars, who appear primed to chase a WPIAL title in Class 5A.
On Friday, Trklja put together perhaps his best showing of his career, scoring 37 points in an 83-56 win over Bethel Park.
Trklja is now averaging over 21 points per game.
The Jaguars sit at 19-2 and 11-0 in Section 3-5A.
Emma Larkin, Geibel
While there have been some incredibly high scoring individual efforts this season, none have come close to what Emma Larkin did last Monday.
Larkin, who is committed to Belmont Abbey College, scored a remarkable 62 points in a 106-19 win over Mapletown, breaking her own school record of 51 points.
The mark was just three points off of the WPIAL record of 65, scored by Clarton’s Iyanna Wade two years ago.
The win continued Geibel’s unbeaten season, which now sits at 19-0.
Grant Spacciapolli, Pine-Richland
In need of a win amidst a contentious section playoff chase, Pine-Richland pulled off one of the victories of the season Friday night.
The Rams dropped previously unbeaten New Castle, 51-49, for a thrilling senior night victory, securing a significant win.
Spacciapolli led the charge, scoring 20 of his 25 points in the second half and making seven 3-pointers, including a go-ahead 3-pointer to give the Rams the lead in the final seconds.
With the win, the Rams moved into second place outright in Section 1-6A.
Maggie Spell, Thomas Jefferson
Nick Trklja wasn’t the only Thomas Jefferson basketball player to put together a strong week.
Maggie Spell led the Jaguars’ girls team to a couple of impressive victories, scoring 28 and 25 points in wins over Bethel Park and Southern Garrett (Md.).
The wins pushed Thomas Jefferson to 18-2 overall and 10-0 in Section 4-5A.
Spell, who began her high school career at Shady Side Academy, is committed to Division I Campbell.
KDKA Radio’s coverage of high school basketball continues this Thursday and Friday as Seneca Valley visits Pine-Richland in a girls showdown Thursday, while McKeesport travels to Gateway for a boys matchup Friday. Listen to the games on 100.1 FM, AM-1020 or the Audacy app.