Welcome to the first night of WPIAL girls basketball section action in 2026.
When section play ended prior to Christmas, the holiday traffic was heavy in the battle for first place in Section 1-5A with four teams deadlocked for the top spot.
Two of those teams go head-to-head Monday when Penn Hills visits Plum at 7:30 p.m.
The Indians are 3-1 in section play, but 5-5 overall after dropping three straight games over the holidays.
Penn Hills has section victories over Franklin Regional, Armstrong and Shaler after dropping its section opener to Fox Chapel.
The Mustangs had won six straight games before losing two of their last three contests.
Plum is 7-3 this season and 2-1 in the section with wins over Franklin Regional and Armstrong before losing at Shaler.
Speaking of the Titans, they are also tied for first place along with Fox Chapel (2-1, 5-6).
On Monday, Shaler (2-1, 7-4) is home to Gateway (0-3, 2-7).
More section logjams
The time for a Yuletide log might be in the books, but logjams at the top of district girls basketball is very much in style in several sections.
Another section where only one game separates the top four teams is in Section 3-3A.
Those four teams are set to square off Monday when Seton LaSalle (6-5) visits Washington (5-4) at 7 p.m. and Waynesburg Central (9-1) hosts McGuffey (7-5) at 6:30 p.m.
The Rebels are 4-0 in the section, the Highlanders are 3-0 and both the Little Prexies and Raiders are 2-1.
Seton LaSalle has lost three straight games since handing Waynesburg Central its lone loss while Washington has dropped two straight and three of four since starting the season with wins in four of its first give games.
McGuffey had a five-game winning streak before falling in its last two games to Fort Cherry and Chartiers-Houston, while Waynesburg Central started the season with six wins and has now won three straight since losing to Seton LaSalle three days before Christmas.
A boys hoops section trey
While most boys basketball teams return to section action Tuesday, six teams are set to collide in three important 6A and 5A frays on Monday.
• In Section 1-6A, top-ranked and undefeated New Castle (4-0, 9-0) hosts Pine-Richland (1-3, 4-6) in a game you can hear on Trib HSSN at 7:30 p.m.
• In Section 2-5A, two teams in a four-way tie for first place collide when Kiski Area (2-1, 6-5) visits Shaler (2-1, 7-4) at 7 p.m.
• In Section 4-5A, Mars (3-0, 6-5) tries to maintain a share of the section lead when it hosts Moon (1-2, 7-2) at 7:30 p.m.
Monday on Trib HSSN
There are three broadcasts you can watch or listen to at TribHSSN.TribLive.com on the fifth day of January.
WPIAL Girls Basketball – Video Stream: Riverside at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart at 7:30 p.m. on OLSH Network at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
WPIAL Boys Basketball – Audio Stream: Pine-Richland at New Castle at 7:30 p.m. on Lawrence County SportsNet at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
WPIAL Boys Wrestling – Video Stream: Latrobe at Derry at 7 p.m. on the Westmoreland Sports Network at TribHSSN.TribLive.com