2A Girls - Neshannock vs Winchester Thurston
The final day of the WPIAL Basketball Championships kicked off with a 2A Girls battle between Neshannock and Winchester Thurston. This one was close from the jump with both teams scoring well in the early going and after the first quarter it was all tied at 17 a piece. Winchester went on a 6-0 early in the second quarter to pull ahead and they would maintain that lead the rest of the half, leading 33-29 at the break. The third quarter made the difference in the game with Neshannock breaking off a 10-0 run early in the third. Winchester Thurston really struggled to score in the quarter, going just 1-10 and scoring only 5 points, but the fouls started piling up for them as well. Neshanock got to the line 13 times in the quarter and hit 10 of them as they outscored Winchester Thurston 18-5 in the quarter to take a 47-38 lead heading into the final quarter. The fourth quarter was much like the first two, being tight the whole way, but the damage had been done in that third quarter and it was just too much to come back from for Winchester Thurston as Neshannock held on to win 60-51. Payton Newman was dominant for the Lancers, scoring a game high 24 points and pulling down 11 rebounds. DaShae Cochran was tremendous for Winchester Thurston in the loss, scoring 20 points, grabbing a game-high 16 rebounds, and dishing out 5 assists.
3A Boys - Aliquippa vs South Allegheny
This one was another rematch of last year’s 3A and one of several championship rematches on the weekend. The teams trading buckets to start the game before Qa’lil good drained a triple to give the Quips a 5-2 lead. Drew Cook answered with two free throws as both stars were on the board early. The Quips pushed their lead to 9-4 on layups from Dejaun Hill and Dyson Gilbert. South Allegheny junior, Smaj Reason, got the three to go with 3:14 left in the quarter for the Gladiators to make in 9-7 Aliquippa. South Allegheny managed to tie the game at 11 with a minute to go in the opening quarter, but Clester Longmire III and Antonio Reddic each got buckets to go late in the quarter give Aliquippa a 15-11 lead after one.
Jake Uher got the layup to go to get it within two for South Allegheny to start the second quarter. Goode and Uher traded buckets to make it 17-15 Quips with five minutes to go in the first half. Alijah Cook tied it at 17 with a layup and Uher scored his 6th point of the quarter to give the Gladiators a 19-17 lead. Goode answered with two free throws for the Quips to tie it at 19, but Drew Cook would get the jumper to go to put South Allegheny back in front. Goode and Cook exchanged buckets with South Allegheny going ahead 23-21 with 1:43 left in the half. Cook got fouled on the three point attempt with a minute left in the quarter and knocked down all three, but Goode answered with a jumper to get it back to a two point game. Goode scored again late in the period to tie it at 26 heading into the half as the teams had swapped 15-11 quarters. Goode got rolling in that second quarter and was up to 13 at the half. Cook led South Allegheny with 11.
Dejuan Hill broke the tie to start the second half for the Quips, giving them a 28-26 lead early, but Uher answered for South Allegheny to tie it up at 28. Goode and Cook trade buckets as they have all game. Goode seemed to be feeling it so far in this third quarter, draining a fadeaway jumper from the line and getting fouled on his next take to the hoop. The quips ripped off a 7-0 run midway through the third with Antonio Reddic getting the and-1 to go and Goode making two layups to give him a game-high 19 points. South Allegheny stopped the run with a Drew Cook jumper at the other end, but Goode answered with a fadeaway from the foul line to make it 37-30 in favor of the Quips. South Allegheny scored the next 4 points of the game with another bucket from Uher and a layup from Fischer Lelase. South Allegheny held Aliquippa scoreless for the next four plus minutes until Reddic got the layup to go on the fast break. The Quips forced multiple turnovers late in the quarter, leading to another layup from Goode, but Drew Cook was there to answer the call for the Gladiators, getting the and-1 to go and hitting the free throw with less than five seconds left in the quarter. It was 41-37 Quips heading into the fourth. Each quarter has ended 15-11, the teams have just flip flopped each time with the Quips outscoring the Gladiators 15-11 in the first and third quarters and South Allegheny taking the 15-11 advantage in the second.
Goode got another steal and layup for Aliquipa to start the final quarter to give them a 43-37 lead. His length and speed was effective for the Quips all night. The Quips continued to push getting back to back and-1s on their next two trips down the floor with Gilbert and Hill each getting the basket and the foul. The Quips had broken off a 6-0 run in less than a minute to start the fourth and had their biggest lead of the game at 47-37. The run continued for the Quips with Goode finishing high off the glass to give him 25 points and put his team up by 12. South Allegheny finally got on the board in the quarter when Drew Cook got to the free throw line and knocked down one of two. Goode came up short on the floater, but collected his own miss for his fourth offensive rebound and got the putback to go. Goode drove again for two more to put the Quips up 53-38, but Drew Cook responded with a huge three for South Allegheny to keep them in it. Cook went coast to coast on the next possession to get the deficit to 10 with under five minutes to play. The next several minutes were quiet for both teams with the only points coming by way of two free throws for the Quips. Cook scored on the drive to give it back to 10 with under two minutes to play, but Reddic quickly answered to stretch the lead back to 12. Smaj Reason would drain a three with 1:18 to make the score 59-48 in favor of the Quips and Goode would score his 30th point with a free throw with just over a minute left to go. Cook drove and scored again, giving him 26 points and cutting it to 10 with under a minute to go. Reddic hit four straight free throws for the Quips to ice the game and give Aliquippa their record 15th WPIAL basketball title.
The Quips avenged their finals loss to South Allegheny from last year and took the Gladiators by a score of 65-56 here today. Qa’lil Goode was incredible in this one, scoring a game high 30 points on 13-17 from the field while also grabbing 8 boards, getting 3 steals, and blocking two shots. Drew Cook was great for South Allegheny in the loss, nearly matching Goode with 28 points and 8 rebounds.After the game, Goode spoke on how it felt to avenge last season’s losses to South Allegheny in this game and in the state semifinals saying, “It felt great. I just didn’t want to come out here and feel that same pain I felt last year, but the job’s not over. We still have to go on this state run”.
4A Girls - Blackhawk vs Oakland Catholic
Oakland Catholic jumped out to a 6-0 in this one, getting layups from three different players in the process. Aubrey Hupp got Blackhawk on the board with two free throws to make it 6-2 in favor of Oakland Catholic. The Eagles kept their foot on the gas all quarter, shooting nearly 80% from the field and getting contributions from all five starters. Richmond commit, Josie Fontana, was terrific in the quarter, scoring 9 points and pulling down 6 boards. It was all Oakland Catholic in quarter number one with the Eagles on top over the undefeated Blackhark Cougars 20-6.
Aubrey Hupp drained a three to start the half for the Cougars to make it 20-9. Hupp had 7 of the 9 Blackhawk points at this point in the game. Zephaniah Troxler-Scott answered with the steal and score to put Oakland Catholic ahead 22-9 early in the second quarter. Scoring stalled in the middle part of the quarter until freshman Ava Elich got the jumper to go for the Cougars to make it 22-11. Fontana broke the drought for the Eagles with an offensive rebound and putback to score her 1,000th career point and put Oakland Catholic ahead 24-11 late in the first half. Oakland Catholic forced a steal with under a minute to go and found Fontana on the break for another bucket. Blackhawk did get some momentum heading into the break, as Grace Huston connected on a three from the left wing to make it 26-14 in favor of Oakland Catholic. Josie Fontana was spectacular in the first half, putting up a crazy statline of 13 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 blocks.
Hupp got the layup to go to start the second half for Blackhawk as she’s up to 9 points in the game and the Cougars were back within 10. Hupp stayed hot and hit the jumper to give her a double-double already in this one with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Fontana also achieved her double-double early in the third quarter by grabbing another offensive rebound and getting fouled on the putback. She hit one of two free throws to give her 14 points and 10 boards in the game and put Oakland Catholic ahead 27-18. Blackhawk answered again in the third, this time with a three ball from the left corner by Gracen Sehn. The Oakland Catholic lead was now down to just 6 points with about five minutes to play in the third. The Blackhawk run continued with Mia Zacewicz scoring inside to make the score 27-23. Fontana responded with a bucket along the baseline to get the Oakland Catholic lead back to 6 near the halfway point in the quarter. The Cougars continued to charge back with Hupp draining the three from the left wing and getting a monster block on the other end. They had trimmed the Oakland Catholic lead to just 3 points here in the third. Madi Pullen got the bucket to fall for the Eagle, but Grace Huston came down on the other end to drain another three for the Cougars and get the foul! She completed the 4-point play and just like that it was a one point game with just over two minutes to go in the third. Date answered with a scoop layup down the left lane for the Eagles to make it 33-30 shortly after. Fontana picked up her third foul with 1:27 to go in the quarter, which also pushed Oakland Catholic over the foul limit, resulting in free throws for Hupp who split them at the stripe. The Eagles worked the ball inside to Brooklyn Rozier for two and Fontana got the steal and score on the next possession to get it right back to a 6 point advantage for the Eagles. Royek hit two free throws for the Cougars with 6.5 seconds left in the third to make it a four point game, and after three it was Oakland Catholic on top 37-33. Blackhawk outscored Oakland Catholic 19-11 in that third quarter to put them within striking distance going into the fourth.
Blackhawk began the quarter with a bucket down low by Gracen Sehn to make it a two point game early in the fourth. Hupp got to work on the offensive glass again, getting two boards and drawing the fourth foul on Fontana with just under six minutes to go in the game to make it a one point game. Savanna Daye answered with a deep three from the top of the key to get it back to a 4 point lead for the Eagles. Oakland Catholic got back to back threes to go with Troxler-Scott connected from deep. Troxler-Scott scored again the next time down and in the blink of an eye the Eagles were back up 9 after a quick 8-0 run. Madi Pullen continued the run for Oakland Catholic with another triple to make it a 48-36 lead for the Eagles with under three minutes to go. Hupp ended the run with a layup inside to give her 18 points and get it back to a 10 point game. With time winding down, Blackhawk was forced to start fouling. They went over the limit with 1:35 to go in the game and sent Fontana to the line who hit both to give her 20 points on the night. Hupp answered again on the drive to give her 20 points as well and keep it at a 10 point game. Blackhawk would not go down without a fight, cutting the lead to 6 with 33 seconds left, but it was too little too late. Oakland Catholic held on to win 51-44 and capture back-to-back titles. Josie Fontana had a fantastic night for the Eagles, putting up 20 points, 15 rebounds, and 6 blocks. Fontana spoke about the importance of her defense in the game saying, “Going into this I knew that defense was going to be the biggest part”. She went on to say, “My mom always tells me, ‘Make them prove that they can shoot over you.’ I think I did that”. Troxler-Stot had a big game for Oakland Catholic as well, finishing with 12 points and 6 steals. Aubrey Hupp was great for the Cougars in their first and only loss on the year. She finished with 20 points and 14 boards.
6A Girls - Canon McMillan vs Norwin
Miller got things started for Canon Mac with two triples in the first minute of this one. Aubrey Graney got Norwin on the board with a layup to make it 6-2. The teams traded twos and then threes with Faye Saunders draining the triple for Canon Mac and Nia O’Barto connecting from long range for Norwin to make the score 13-7 in favor of Canon Mac, which is where the score would remain through the first quarter. Brooke Stanton drained the jumper for Canon Mac to start the second quarter to push their lead to 15-7 early in the quarter. Norwin answered with a free throw and a layup by Giuliana Giannikas to cut the lead to 5. Norwin brought the full-court press on the next possession, but Canon Mac broke it easily and found Madison Clair cutting to the hoop for two more. Olivia Ross kept the run going for the Big Macs, hitting the jumper and pushing their lead to 19-10 midway through the quarter. Norwin answered with back to back layups from Elizabeth Yarosik and Ava Christopher to get it back to a five point game, but Samantha Miller splashed her third three of the half with 2:24 to go in the quarter to put Canon Mac back up 8. Clair scored again on the layup to make it 24-15 Canon Mac with just over a minute to go in the half. Miller stayed hot from deep, hitting her fourth triple late in the half to give Canon Mac their biggest lead of the game and take a 27-15 advantage into the half. Miller was lighting it up so far in this one for the Big Macs, scoring 12 points on four threes and grabbing 8 rebounds.
Canon Mac stormed out of the gates, opening the second half with a 7-0 run in the first two minutes to make it 34-15 with Stanton hitting the three and Clair converting on back to back layups. Norwin answered with back to back threes with Giannikas connecting from the left wing and Lenyn Brozeski hitting from the right. After a timeout by Canon Mac, Brozeski drained another triple as the Knights had cut the lead to single digits. Ava Christopher got the layup to go for Norwin after the over and back call on the Big Macs. Christopher followed that up with a deep three from the left wing. Norwin was on a 15-0 run here in the third and had cut the lead to 4 with 1:49 to go in the quarter. Clair stopped the bleeding with a layup to give her 11 points and put Canon Mac up 36-30 heading into the final quarter.
Both teams struggled to score in the beginning of the fourth quarter with the only points coming from Madison Clair at the line. Canon Mac led 38-30 with 5:30 to go. The Big Macs got back to the line again with 4:47 to go and Lauren Borella knocked down both to get it back to a 10 point game. Borella got fouled again on the next trip down and hit two more. It was a 6-0 run to start the fourth for Canon Mac with all 6 points coming on free throws. The Canon Mac onslaught continued as Borella got the steal and found Clair cutting down the lane for two more. Norwin went on that 15-0 run in the third but they had yet to score in the fourth as Canon Mac was on an 11-0 run of their own. O’Barto broke the scoring drought for the Knights with a layup, but Norwin still trailed 45-32 with just 3:10 left to play. Norwin wasn’t done just yet as Yarosik got the layup to go and Giannikas connected on the three to get it back to a 7 point game with 1:34 left. Borella found herself at the line multiple times down the stretch and made most of them, going 10-14 from the line in the game. Norwin battled, but Canon Mac was just too much to handle as the top-seeded Big Macs won the 6A title by a final score of 50-38. Three players finished in double-figures for Canon Mac with Madison Clair leading the way with 15. Samantha Miller had 12 points on her four first half threes, and Lauren Borella finished with 10, all coming at the free throw line.
5A Boys - Chartiers Valley vs Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson strikes first as Justin Fry gets to the line at the 6:25 mark where he went one for two. Luca Federico grabbed the rebound and drove the distance of the court, getting fouled on the attempt. Federico hit both to give Chartiers Valley an early 2-1 lead. Both teams without a field goal here early as it looks like both teams are settling into playing on the big stage. Julian Semplice made the first field goal of the game, spinning in the lane and getting the layup to go to put the Colts up 4-1 at the five minute mark. It’s been a sloppy start for both teams in the early going with there being several traveling calls already in this one. Federico got the big rejection as TJ had still not made a shot yet. 6th Man of the Year candidate, Julius Best, checked in and got the floater to go. He may come off the bench but he’s a huge part of this Chartiers Valley squad. Thomas Jefferson’s first basket came with just over two minutes left in the quarter as Noah Sear got the steal and layup for the Jaguars. It was 6-3 Colts late in a low scoring opening quarter. Chartiers Valley held the ball for the final minute of the opening quarter before launching a three with time running down. Thomas Jefferson grabbed the rebound but Semplice stepped in for the steal and got the layup to go at the buzzer to put Chartiers Valley up 8-3 after one. It was tough sledding earlier on for both teams as they shot a combined 4-20 in the first quarter with each team committing five turnovers.
Nicholas Trklja got things started for TJ in the second, collecting his own miss and getting the putback to fall to make it 8-5. Federico got fouled again on the take inside and once again hit both to put the Colts up 10-5 early in the second. Federico gets fouled again on the drive, this time going one for two at the line. Best gets the steal on one end and the layup at the other. Chartiers Valley turned defense to offense as Federico gets the steal and the two-handed slam to put Chartiers Valley ahead 15-5. Brady Kraus stopped the crowd with a straight away three from the top of the key for the Jaguars’ first points of the second quarter. Federico collected the offensive rebound after the Chartiers Valley miss and got the outback to go, giving him 9 points in the game. Thomas Jefferson answered with a layup from Justin Fry as it looked like both teams were settling in. Federico continued to impress, draining a three the next time down and taking a charge on the defensive end right after. Danny Slizik got another steal and score for the Colts as the Jaguars were up to 11 first half turnovers. Kraus grabbed his own miss for TJ and found Fry for the layup but Chartiers Valley answered with a three from Jake Lewis and followed that up with a triple from Julian Semplice The Colts had blown this one open and were up 28-12 late in the first half. Fry answered again for Thomas Jefferson. He’s been their main source of offense so far tonight. Chartiers Valley once again burned clock late in the quarter and Semplice got fouled on the drive with 20 seconds left in the half. Semplice split the free throws, but would get the steal and score on the floater at the buzzer to put the Colts up 31-14. Federico and Semplice were terrific in the first half with Luca scoring 12 and Julian scoring 10. The real difference maker in that first half was all the turnovers for Thomas Jefferson. They committed 13 turnovers in the half and Chartiers Valley capitalized often, winning the points off turnovers battle 18-2. Fry was the only Jaguar to make more than one field goal in the half as Chartiers Valley had held Trklja to just 2 points so far. After a slow scoring start to this one, Chartiers Valley dropped 23 in the second quarter to propel them to this 17 point lead at the break.
Kane Eggerton started off the second half with a three from each wing for the Jaguars to give them a quick 6 points in the third. Federico answered on back to back drives down the right lane to put Chartiers Valley ahead 35-20 with 5:29 to go in the quarter. The sophomore star was up to 16 points on 5-7 shooting so far in this one. A technical foul was assessed to Chartiers Valley senior, Jake Lewis, resulting in two made free throws and the ball for Thomas Jefferson. TJ drew another foul and split the free throws at the line to cut into the Colts’ lead, but Chartiers Valley still led by 12 with 3:30 to go in the third. With the big lead, Chartiers Valley began slowing things down the back half of the third quarter as the clock continued to tick down. After a forced shot by Chartiers Valley, Kane Eggerton cashed in from deep again to get this back to a single digit lead for Chartiers Valley. The Colts led 35-26 with 1:58 to go in the third quarter. After scoring 21 points in the second quarter, Chartiers Valley had just 4 points here in the third. Head Coach Corey Dotchin called a timeout to refocus his group and it worked, as Semplice hit a three out of the timeout to get it back to a 12 point lead for the Colts. Nathaniel Rice responded with a three for the Jaguars and Kane Eggerton followed that up with a steal and score to cut the Chartiers Valley lead to 7 late in the quarter. The Jaguars were back in this game, outsourcing the Colts 17-7 in the third. After three, it was Chartiers Valley ahead 38-31.
Thomas Jefferson tried to get Trklja going to start the fourth but he was denied by Lewis on the attempt. Chartiers Valley went to Federico who spun to the rim for two more, giving him a game-high 18. Federico was feeling it, hitting the catch and shoot triple from the left wing to put the Colts ahead by double digits early in the fourth. After Fry went one for two from the line, Semplice got the ball on the other end, put his head down and drove to the the hoop for two more to give Chartiers Valley a 45-33 lead. Trklja got two free throws to go for Thomas Jefferson, but Federico answered with an and-1 at the other end. Best hits two more free throws for the Colts to put them back up 15 with a little over five minutes to go in the game. Chartiers Valley was rolling with Helfrick cashing in from three and Federico hitting another and-1. Federico’s career night culminated with a one handed flush to put the Colts way ahead with just over three minutes left in the game. Best split the free throws to put Chartiers Valley up 20, 57-37. Federico hit two more free throws as the Chartiers Valley lead had ballooned to over 20. The Colts outscored the Jaguars 25-6 in the final quarter en route to a 63-37 victory to capture their second straight 5A WPIAL Title.
Head Coach, Corey Dotchin, spoke after the game on how it feels to win back to back championships saying, “It’s a great feeling. This is a special, special group. Since day one when I got the job they worked hard. They bought into what we’ve been preaching and they’ve worked hard. When we won last year we knew that we were going to have a bullseye on our back, so we worked even harder and that’s why we’re up here”.
Luca Federico was sensational in this one, finishing with 31 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 blocks while shooting 10-15 from the field. He was asked after the game about what pushed them to want to go back-to-back after winning last year and he said simply, “I want four.”