Though Norwin versus Canon-McMillan looks like the premier matchup in Section 2-6A girls basketball, another encounter is becoming more intriguing.
Could Norwin (9-0, 2-0) versus Hempfield (9-2, 1-1) be a sneaky-good matchup to watch?
Canon-McMillan opened the season as the TribLive preseason No. 1-ranked team, but unbeaten Norwin has taken over the top spot.
Canon-McMillan is now No. 2 after losing to North Hills.
But what about Hempfield, which beat North Hills and takes a three-game winning streak into the new year?
Hempfield, showing strong guard play, has abruptly slid into the No. 4 spot in the rankings. It plays Tuesday at Canon-McMillan.
“With our section, you have to be ready every game. It’s a meat grinder,” Hempfield coach Bob Madison said. “We feel like we can play with anyone; we’ve been preaching that for three years. Like Mike Tomlin says, ‘We don’t care about the nameless gray faces.’ It’s about us.”
Hempfield’s first clash with Norwin is Jan. 12 in North Huntingdon.
Upset special
Franklin Regional has a mostly young lineup and competes in Class 5A, so few gave the Panthers a chance when they played defending WPIAL Class 6A champion Upper St. Clair in the Cal (Pa.) Holiday Hoopfest.
Franklin Regional wore the underdog role well, stunning USC, 33-30, in overtime.
“Defensively, we locked in and locked down, and offensively we are making strides toward limiting turnovers, taking high-percentage shots and executing for the looks we wanted,” Franklin Regional coach Bernie Pucka said. “It was a great team win.”
Pucka said it was not tough to prepare for USC, a much different-looking team than the one that beat Norwin in the WPIAL final last year.
Junior guard Chloe Pucka scored a season-high 19 points, and budding freshman Isabella Mendoza-Roberson added 10 for the winning Panthers, who outscored USC in the fourth 5-2. They trailed 12-5 at the half but scored 14 to get within 20-19 going to the fourth.
“Preparing for USC was like preparing for ourselves,” Coach Pucka said. “Honestly, it was like looking ourselves in the mirror.
“They had strong guard play with a dominant big, and we felt we really matched well with them.”
Rank and file
Norwin remains No. 1 in the TribLive Class 6A rankings, with Hempfield going from unranked to No. 4.
Penn-Trafford, meanwhile, is back in the top five in Class 5A, checking in at No. 5.
Greensburg Central Catholic is still No. 2 in 3A.
Clean record
Norwin will look to keep its perfect record intact Monday when it hosts Mt. Lebanon.
The Lady Knights (9-0) were one of six undefeated WPIAL teams earlier in the week, joining Indiana (11-0), Blackhawk (10-0), Beaver Falls (9-0), Geibel (10-0) and Aquinas Academy (7-0).
Gribble tops 1,900
Greensburg Central Catholic senior point guard Erica Gribble is now over the 1,900-point mark for her career. The Richmond commit has 1,921 points heading into 2026. Only six girls have scored 2,000 or more points in Westmoreland County history.
Johnson closer to 1,000
Monessen senior guard Madison Johnson poured in a season-high 29 points in a 68-47 loss to Burgettstown to move closer to 1,000 career points.
Johnson, a fourth-year starter, needs 66 points to reach the milestone.
There have been 17 girls players at Monessen who scored 1,000 or more points, the last of whom was Mariah Ward in 2013.