The WPIAL Championships are complete! Congratulations to the 12 district teams who brought home gold last week, and best of luck as numerous area teams progress into the PIAA playoffs.
Throughout the rest of the 2021-2022 high school basketball season, KDKA Radio will recognize some of the top boys and girls basketball players from the WPIAL and Pittsburgh City League.
At the end of the season, along with a fan vote, the KDKA Radio high school sports staff will name the winners of the prestigious Super 7 Basketball awards.
Today we look back at each WPIAL Basketball Championship game and highlight the top performances in each contest in the KDKA Radio Super 7 Watch List.
• Shea Champine, a junior guard for Bishop Canevin, scored 15 points off the bench as the Crusaders topped Union, 58-45, to win a second straight WPIAL Class A boys title. Champine made 8 of 10 foul shots he attempted in the second half.
• North Catholic sophomore guard Alayna Rocco scored 15 points to lead North Catholic to a record 21st WPIAL crown, as the Trojanettes took the Class 3A Championship, 48-43, over Freedom. Rocco has already taken a recruiting visit to Michigan.
• In the individual performance of the week, Quaker Valley's Adou Thiero scored 31 points, snagged 17 rebounds and blocked seven shots to lift the Quakers to their first district title since 1997 with a 61-52 triumph over section rival Montour. 22 of Thiero's points came after halftime. After the game, Duquesne officially extended a scholarship offer to the 6-foot-5 guard. He also has interest from Pitt, Indiana and Marquette.
Quaker Valley Crowned WPIAL 4A CHAMPS defeating Montour 61-52 at the Pete. 🔥🏆🏀 #kdkahoops @quakervalley
— 100.1 FM and AM 1020 KDKA (@KDKARadio) March 4, 2022
🎥: @BenTenuta @Markus_Frank13 @QVBasketball @QVAthletics @Adou_Thiero @MontourHoops @MHSStudentSect @MontourSD pic.twitter.com/OzIGnoL9Pm
• A double-double in a title game was exactly what Neshannock needed. And Mairan Haggerty delivered, scoring 14 points and hauling in 10 rebounds to lead the Lancers took a second straight Class 2A championship with a 55-31 win over OLSH.
• Shady Side Academy's Eli Teslovich dropped in 20 points and tossed up an emphatic alley-oop pass to Peter Kramer to help the Bulldogs to a 66-54 win over Avonworth, earning SSA a WPIAL title for the first time since 1999. Teslovich was an impressive 9 of 15 on field goals.
• Mt. Lebanon senior guard Ashleigh Connor led the Blue Devils with 23 points in a 55-44 edging of rival Upper St. Clair in the WPIAL Girls 6A title game. Connor made 11 of 16 free throws to put the game away and bring a title back to Mt. Lebanon for the first time since 2012. Connor is committed to St. Louis.
• In a near replication to his heroics as a freshman at The Pete, Laurel Highlands junior Rodney Gallagher scored 26 points and made a pair of free throws with 0.3 left in double overtime to take the Boys 5A title with a 60-58 win over New Castle. Gallagher is a top 100 football recruit with numerous offers ini both football and basketball from premier programs across the nation.
The @_MustangHoops are 5A @wpial7 Champions after a double OT thriller winning 60-58 🏆💍🔥🎥 #KDKAHoops
— 100.1 FM and AM 1020 KDKA (@KDKARadio) March 5, 2022
🎥: @BenTenuta @MustangMadness0 @Rodney_G3 @PSPTroopMPIO @KeondreDeshiel1 @Cover3_ATH pic.twitter.com/kY9V3Wwvva
• Bishop Canevin pricked up a second trophy of the week Saturday. Ashley Lippold scored 13 points, grabbed ten rebounds and dished out seven assists as the Crusaders ran away from the Class A Girls title, 59-40, over Aquinas Academy. It was the sixth WPIAL title for Bishop Canevin in the last eight years.
• Jake DiMichele continued his incredible season by pouring in 29 points, grabbing 11 rebounds and putting up six steals to lead OLSH to a 63rd straight win and fourth straight district championship with a 60-36 victory over Fort Cherry. DiMichele was second in the WPIAL scoring this season, averaging nearly 33 points per game. He has offers from Seton Hill and Cal U.
• Blackhawk remained unbeaten this season and did so with a runaway win Saturday. Junior Quinn Borroni dropped in 22 points and nine rebounds as the Cougars topped Knoch, 55-35, in the Class 4A title game.
• In an eyebrow raiser Saturday South Fayette surprised defending Class 5A girls champ Chartiers Valley, 57-48. Maddie Webber led the way for the Lions with 17 points, nine rebounds and two assists. Webber has offers from Temple and Lafayette, among others. The title is the second for South Fayette and first since 2016.
• In the Saturday finale, Fox Chapel avenged an early season blowout loss by handing previously unbeaten North Hills a 43-36 loss in the Boys 6A championship. JP Dockey led the Foxes with ten points, four rebounds and three assists, as Fox Chapel won its first title since 1977.
Fox Chapel upsets undefeated North Hills to win the @wpial7 6A Championship 43-36 🔥🏆🥇#KDKAHoops @FxCAthletics
— 100.1 FM and AM 1020 KDKA (@KDKARadio) March 6, 2022
🎥: @BenTenuta @FCStudentSec @FCASD @FoxChapelCheer @Cover3_ATH @NorthHills2022 @north_hills @NorthHillsHoops @CJ2KLeague pic.twitter.com/vTF5inSCn6
