The high school basketball regular season is over, and now the teams left standing turn their attention to the postseason. But before we get there, we take one last look back at an exciting final week of regular season action, including a pair of massive scoring outputs.
Throughout the season, KDKA Radio will put together a watch list of some of the best boys and girls basketball players in the region. At the end of the year, the top performer from each WPIAL classification, and one member of the Pittsburgh City League, will receive the prestigious KDKA Super 7 Award.
Here are the top performers from last week:
Lorenzo Gardner, Monessen
Gardner had a record-breaking week for the Greyhounds.
He first dropped 21 points against Mapletown in Tuesday's 59-48 win. But it was his efforts Friday night that made heads turn around the region, as Gardner poured in 64 points against California in a 90-59 victory.
The 64 points are the second-most in WPIAL history. Gardner is a top-ten scoring leader in the WPIAL this year, averaging over 25 points per game.
The Greyhounds finished the regular season 17-4 and claimed the Section-1A title.
Michael Plasko, South Fayette
Speaking of gigantic scoring performances, Plasko had himself a night, too.
On Tuesday, he exploded for 50 points in a 69-64 triumph over North Hills. Three days later, he went for 24 points in a 60-51 win over West Allegheny, going over 1000 points in his career.
Plasko is also scoring over 25 points per game for the Lions, which went 14-8 overall, including a 7-3 mark in Section 4-5A.
Venicia Vignoli, Jeannette
Jeannette girls basketball has had quite the year.
The Jayhawks began the season with only five players, but still found a way to have a competitive season when they had enough players available.
That wasn't the case, however, when Vignoli was in a car accident in January and had to miss time with injuries.
She returned last week, and in a big way, with 20 points in a 46-23 win over Hillel Academy Monday. She also went for 21 points in a 35-31 win over Leechburg Thursday.
The win Thursday helped Jeannette clinch a postseason spot, as they'll be the 9-seed in the Class 1A postseason.
Vignoli has offers from Keuka, Rend Lake, Rutgers-Camden and Carlow.
Ruby Morgan, Trinity
Trinity pulled off a pair of impressive wins in a difficult Section 4-5A last week. And Morgan led the way.
She first put up 31 points (including nine 3-pointers) against defending champion South Fayette Monday in a 52-46 win. Morgan followed that with 11 points in a gritty 32-29 win over Lincoln Park Thursday, helping clinch a share of section title.
What's even more impressive – basketball isn't even Morgan's top sport. She's a Division I soccer recruit as a goalie and is committed to Eastern Kentucky.
Trinity finished the regular season 17-5 and went 8-2 in section play.
KDKA Radio's high school basketball coverage continues this week. On Friday, you can hear the WPIAL Class 4A playoff game between Highlands and Avonworth on 100.1 FM and 1020 AM KDKA Radio. Follow @KDKARadio on X (Twitter) and Instagram for updates throughout the games.
