1A Girls - Serra Catholic vs Geibel Catholic
Serra Catholic defeated Geibel Catholic 47-46 in the Girls 1A Championship in the first matchup of the day. It was a razor close battle with 11 lead changes and 10 ties. Geibel took a 14-13 advantage after the first quarter, but Serra Catholic outscored them by one point in the second to knot everything up at 23 come halftime. Both teams went on their biggest runs of the game in the third, with Serra Catholic punching first, going on a 7-0 run early in the quarter. Geibel answered with a 9-0 run of their own and after three, it was the Gators ahead by one, 36-35. The fourth quarter was another tightly contested period with both teams looking to find an advantage down the stretch. Ultimately, it was Serra Catholic coming away with the victory, getting a 47-46 win over Geibel Catholic in a very close game. The stars were out in this one with Lexi Pearce and Bella Dumbroski scoring 17 and 16 respectively. Geibel Catholic was led by Emma Larkin in the loss who finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds.
2A Boys - Jeannette vs Sewickley Academy
Sewickley started fast, jumping out to a 5-0 lead off the dunk from Adam Ikama and a triple from senior, Lucas Grimsley. After a bucket by Noah Saunder for Jeannette, Drew Steals connected on the Sewickley three and Ikamba threw down his second two-handed slam in the first few minutes of this one to make it 10-2 in favor of the Panthers. The Jayhawks answered back though with two buckets from Xavier Odorisio-Farrow and a jumper from Jayce Powell to cut the lead to 4 with Sewickley ahead 12-8 midway through the quarter. Ikamba punched home his third dunk of the quarter to extend the Sewickley lead 14-8. Both teams struggled to score the next few minutes as it wasn’t until the 2:08 mark in the quarter when Sunder made a layup for the Jayhawks. Rob Southall answered with a layup of his own to make it 16-10 with under two minutes to go in the first. Both teams went cold again for the final two minutes until Marcus McGowan got the layup to go late in the quarter for Jeannette for his first points of the game. It was a tight game after one with Sewickley leading 16-13.
Sewickley freshman, Eric Craciun, drained a three to start the second quarter, which propelled them to a 9-0 run to start the period. The Panthers stepped up the defense in the second as well, holding Jeannette scoreless for over five minutes in the quarter. Jeannette found their footing with 2:29 left in the half with Odorisio-Farrow scoring on another layup and McGowan knocking down two free throws shortly after to make it 25-17 in favor of the Panthers. The two teams traded blows late in the half with McGowan scoring the final 6 points for the Jayhawks, but Sewickley managed to knock down four free throws in that span to give them a 29-21 lead at the half.
Sewickley starts the second half with a bucket down low for Kane. The Panther bigs were causing problems for Jeannette so far in this one. Kymone Browne scored on the runout off the rebound and gets the and-1 to go. McAllister Steal followed that up with another bucket for the Jayhawks. It was 33-29, and the closest it had been since the end of the first quarter. The Jayhawks were buzzing defensively and it was keeping in them in this game. Sewickley went down low again to Ikamba to bring an end to the 8-0 run by Jeannette and get their lead back to 6. After three it was Sewickley on top 37-29.
Kymone Brown started the final quarter with a three to cut the Sewickley lead to 5, but Kane answered down low again to get it right back to 7. After a lull in scoring, Caiden Battles connected on the triple for Sewickley and shortly after, Ikamba found Kane in the lane to put the Panthers up 12, 44-32. Odorisio-Farrow stopped the run with a layup to get it back to 10 with a little over 3 minutes to go in the game and got the and-1 to go soon after as Jeannette tried to stay in this game. With time on Sewickley’s side, Jeannette was forced to get more aggressive on defense and the fouls began to pile up for the Jayhawks. Sewickley finished the quarter 8-10 from the stripe and put the game away, winning 52-38.
The two Sewickley bigs imposed their will all night in this one. Ikamba finished with 14 points and 9 rebounds and Kane ended with 14 as well and 7 boards. These teams will both advance to the state playoffs and could potentially see each other again in what would certainly be another heated battle.
5A Girls - South Fayette vs Thomas Jefferson
South Fayette jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the first three minutes of the game with Haylie Lamonde scoring 4 early points. Thomas Jefferson fired back with an 8-0 run of their own to tie the game at 8 with three minutes left in the first. Lamonde outscored Thomas Jefferson herself the rest of the way, scoring the final 7 points of the quarter for South Fayette to give her 11 in the quarter and put them up 15-9 after one. Lailah Wright got the scoring started for the Lions in the second quarter, scoring the first 4 points of the quarter to put South Fayette up 19-9. As they did in the first quarter, Thomas Jefferson answered with another strong run, outscoring South Fayette 10-3 in the middle portion of the quarter to cut the lead to 3 with South Fayette ahead 22-19 with under two minutes to go in the first half. Thomas Jefferson’s Riley McCabe got going late in the quarter, but so did Juliette Leroux for South Fayette. The two traded buckets late in the half and at the break it was South Fayette ahead 26-21. Lamonde led all scorers with 13. McCabe was leading Thomas Jefferson with 6.
Leroux got the scoring started in the second half for South Fayette with a layup to give her 6 points in the game and put South Fayette up 28-21. Emma Altavilla answered answered for TJ with a layup shortly after, but Leroux responded with two free throws to give South Fayette a 30-23 advantage with just over five minutes to go in the quarter. McCabe got another layup to go inside off the assist from Maggie Spell to get it back to a five point game midway through the quarter. Altavilla got the and-1 to go and hit the free throw to make it a two point game, but Leroux continued her big quarter, scoring again on the layup to give her 10 in the game, 6 in the quarter, and put South Fayette ahead 32-28. Lailah Wright scored the final 4 points of the quarter, making two free throws and a layup at the end of the quarter to put South Fayette ahead 36-28 going into the fourth.
Wright hit two more free throws to start the quarter, giving her 6 straight points and 10 in the game to put South Fayette up 10. Wilson answered with a layup for TJ, but Leroux got inside again for another bucket to get the lead right back to double digits. The Lions continued to pour it on throughout the quarter, stretching their lead to 47-34 with under three minutes to go. Maggie Spell got the and-1 to fall for TJ, but Wright answered right back to keep their advantage at 13. South Fayette was dominant down the stretch, outscoring the Jaguars 21-10 in the final quarter to give them a 57-38 victory and the 5A title. The Lions had three players in double figures in this one with Lamonde leading the way with 20. Wright and Leroux each poured in 14, and Ryan Oldaker wasn’t far behind with 9 points and 10 rebounds. Thomas Jefferson was paced by McCabe with 10 and Spell with 9 in the loss.
6A Boys - Upper St. Clair vs New Castle
USC goes right to Ryan Robbins on the first possession of the game for two and Jake Foster gets to the rack on their next trip down to give Upper St. Clair a 4-0 lead early. Freshman Marino Graham stepped into a three from the top of the key and laced it, showing that the big stage does not shake him. Luke Marchinsky dialed up the corner three for USC to put them up 7-3 early. Upper St. Clair went back inside to Robins who got the turnaround push shot to go. With Robbins having success down low, it opened up the perimeter for the Panthers as they moved the ball and found Finnigan Benny for another three as Upper St. Clair stormed out to a 12-3 lead over New Castle. USC went inside to Robbins again, but Kai Cox was there for the rejection this time, which started the fast break and got New Castle free throws on the other end. After the miss by USC, there was a scramble for the loose ball and Marchinsky wound up getting an open layup. USC up 14-4 late in the quarter. On the final possession of the opening quarter, Marchinsky found himself open again in the corner and laced another triple to put USC up 17-5 after one. New Castle was shellshocked in that first quarter. They went just 1-12 in the first, including 1-9 from three. USC on the other hand shot over 50% from the field and hit three triples.
Graham connected on another three to start the half and was the only New Castle player to make a field goal so far. Graham continued to keep the Canes in the game with another three, his third of the game to give him a game-high 9 points. Harrison was the first New Castle player outside of Graham to get a bucket to go when he scored on the fast break to cut the lead to 5 for USC. Marchinsky got fouled on the drive and hit both free throws to score his 10th point of the game and put USC up 20-13 midway through the second quarter. Graham went coast to coast for New Castle to get it back to a five point game. The freshman has been absolutely unbelievable so far in this one. New Castle got a steal the next time down, but quickly gave it back to the Panthers who converted again inside. With Ryan Robbins resting, New Castle was able to go to work on the offensive glass. They got their own rebound and kicked it to Damian Harrisson who drilled the deep three to cut their deficit to two.
Robbins checked back in and USC went right back to feeding him in the post. He backed down the smaller defender and hit the turnaround off the glass for two more to put them up 24-20. Graham stayed hot from long range and knocked down a triple to make it a one point game. New Castle stormed back in the second quarter and even had a chance to take the lead, but they came up empty at the buzzer. It was Upper St. Clair ahead 24-23 at the half. Luke Marchinsky was leading the scoring for USC with 10 points in that first half, but Ryan Robbins was an absolute force inside with 6 points and 9 rebounds through two quarters. New Castle freshman sensation, Marino Graham kept New Castle in the game with 14 points in the first half, going 4-4 from three. Harrison came alive late in the quarter as well for the Canes. Upper St. Clair stormed out of the gates to take that 17-5 lead after one, but New Castle answered the bell, outscoring the Panthers 18-7 in the second.
USC began the second half just as the began the first, going inside to Ryan Robbins, but Kai Cox answered with the deep three to tie the game at 26. New Castle got out on the break on their next possession and Chase Lemmon got the layup to go to give the Canes their first lead of the game. USC went right back to Robbins inside for his 10th point of the game to tie it at 28. Harrison connected on the floater the next time down as the two teams began to trade buckets here early in the third. Cox drove left and finished on the right side of the rim for two more to put New Castle ahead 32-28, but Jake Foster answered for USC as this one has turned into a back and forth battle.
Foster hit again, but this time from three to put Upper St. Clair back in front. New Castle big, Qualin Davis, got the basket to go inside, but Jude Ausi answered for USC to put them ahead as this lead ping ponged once again. Ausi scored again in transition, forcing New Castle Head Coach Ralph Blundo to call a timeout to regroup as they trailed 37-34 late in the third. With Robbins catching his breath on the bench, New Castle went inside to Harrison in the post who got the push shot to go to get it back to a one point game. New Castle commanded the ball the final minute of the quarter and capped it off with a triple at the buzzer from Kai Cox to give them a 39-37 lead heading into the final quarter. Graham and Marchinsky were huge in that first half, but neither scored in the third as it was everyone else having to step up.
Things seemed to tense up for both teams to start the fourth quarter, as neither team scored until the 5:29 mark when Robbins knocked down two free throws to tie the game. Cox continued to be aggressive in the second half, scoring again on the baseline drive to give him 10 points, all coming in this half. Marchinsky found his shooting stroke again, knocking down a triple to give USC the lead. On their next possession USC drove hard to the basket and drew the 5th foul from Marino Graham. Graham didn’t score in the second half, but this was still a huge loss for the Canes as they’d have to play without their point guard and leading scorer the rest of the way. Ausi went one for two at the line, but USC got another stop on defense and Foster got the layup to go at the other end to put the Panthers up 45-41 with 3:50 left in the game. New Castle found Kai Cox open for three and he drained it to make it a one point game. Cox was up to 13 points, all in the second half.
Cox went to work again at the top of the key, broke down his defender, and buried it for three more to give him a game-high 16 and put the Canes back in front. USC answered by going back to the well that was Ryan Robbins, who scored once again inside to tie it at 47 with 2:31 to play.
The Hurricanes were over the foul limit and sent Marchinsky to the line in a tie game with 1:15 to go. He missed the first, but hit the second. USC back in front 48-47. Cox continued to carry the load in the second half for New Castle, driving to the hoop and getting fouled on the way up. He stepped to the line and drained them both to put the Canes ahead 49-48 with 48 seconds left in the game.
New Castle brought the trap at midcourt and got the steal, which led to another Kai Cox layup to put the Canes ahead 51-48 with under 30 seconds to go. Upper St. Clair had to score quick, so they went where they had gone all game, and that was inside to Robbins for another bucket. The USC big man had 16 points and 11 rebounds and had his team within one with under 20 seconds to go. New Castle struggled to get the inbounds pass in and the USC pressure forced a turnover, which resulted in a foul on Jake Foster. Foster stepped up to the line and drained both with 12 seconds left to give Upper St. Clair a one point lead. Foster spoke to his mindset in that moment after the game saying, “That pressure was nothing. You should see in practice when he’s (Head Coach, Danny Holzer) watching me. You can feel his eyes on your back when you’re shooting, so going into that situation I felt ready for sure”.
New Castle would have one last possession to win the game. Upper St. Clair pressured the Canes in the back court and got their hands on a pass, deflecting the ball out of bounds with 1.2 seconds to go. New Castle was down to their last gasp. Lemmon inbounded the ball from midcourt, finding Walker in the corner, but he came up short. Upper St. Clair held on to win 52-51 in a 6A finals classic. Three players finished in double figures for the Panthers in this one, with Robbins leading the way with 16 points and 12 boards. Machinsky dropped 14 and Foster finished with 11, including two clutch go-ahead free throws late in the game. Kai Cox paced New Castle in the loss with 20 points in the second half. Marino Graham chipped in 14 points for the Canes, all coming in the first half.
New Castle has made it to the 6A finals three out of the last four years, but they’ve been the runner-up each time. Head Coach Ralph Blundo spoke after the game on the common thread in all of those matchups saying, “If you look at our three losses in the WPIAL Championships, it’s clear what our achilles heel is. We’re going to struggle against big, big bodies”. Coach Blundo cited both Tyler and Ryan Robbins as examples as well as Debaba Tshiebwe who starred for Central Catholic when they defeated New Castle in 2023.
Upper St. Clair on the other hand has been perfect in the finals as of late and tonight they completed the three-peat, becoming the first to do so since OLSH won four straight from 2019-2022. Head Coach Danny Holzer spoke on how it feels to win three straight titles after the game saying, “It’s almost surreal really, but I’m not surprised because of our players and the commitment and the grit that they play with”.