The second half of section play in WPIAL girls basketball begins for many schools Thursday, including a second battle this season between two of the top three teams in Class 4A.
With at least a share of the Section 1-4A lead up for grabs, first-place Oakland Catholic travels to battle second-place North Catholic at 7:30 p.m.
The defending champion Eagles are a perfect 6-0 in section play and 10-2 overall with three straight wins and victories in 10 of their last 11 games.
The Trojans are 5-1 in the section and 9-3 overall with seven consecutive victories.
The only loss for North Catholic to an opponent from Pennsylvania came in its section opener Dec. 11 when it fell at Oakland Catholic, 43-21.
The start of the game between district powers was unique in that the first quarter ended with the Eagles leading the Trojans, 10-0.
The third quarter was just as bad for the visitors as they were outscored by OC, 19-2.
Madi Pullen scored 12 points and Josie Fontana added 10 to lead the Eagles while the top scorer for the Trojans was Harmony Jones with eight.
Challenging the unbeaten
The first time the top two teams in Section 2-4A squared off, visiting Beaver scored four points in the first quarter at Blackhawk.
Little did the Bobcats know those two buckets would be their high-water mark for that night.
They only scored two points each in the final three quarters in a loss to the Cougars, 59-10.
Blackhawk senior sensation Aubree Hupp doubled up Beaver herself with 20 points.
Take that game out of the equation, and the Bobcats are averaging nearly 50 points per game.
Beaver sits in second place, 5-1 in the section and 9-5 overall, with three straight wins.
Blackhawk is perfect this season with a 6-0 section record and a 13-0 mark for the season.
The Cougars visits the Bobcats at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
Another undefeated team faces a stiff challenge in Section 1-3A when Beaver Falls hits the road to face Quaker Valley.
The Tigers are 7-0 and in first place in Section 1-3A with an overall record of 13-0.
The Quakers are alone in second place with a 6-1 section record and are 8-5 for the season with three straight victories.
The first meeting was a close one as host Beaver Falls jumped out to an early lead, then held on to win, 52-48.
Dreavin Haskins led the Tigers with 15 points while Mimi Thiero led all scored with 25 points for the Quakers.
All the single (A) ladies
The Union girls basketball team won or shared the section championship in each of the last three seasons as a step toward three consecutive WPIAL championships.
Coming into this season, the Scotties had won their last 24 section games in a row.
However, that streak came to an end in their section opener this season when they lost at Aquinas Academy, 52-17.
The Crusaders led 19-4 after one quarter and 36-9 by the half.
Elliot Keverline had a game high 18 points for Aquinas while Union was led by seven points from Maggie Joseph.
The rematch in Lawrence County is set for 7:30 p.m.
Aquinas Academy is in first place in Section 1-A with a record of 6-0 in the section, 10-2 overall. The Crusaders won their first seven games and have been victorious in three of their last four contests.
Union is 6-1 in the section and likely must win to keep its section title streak alive.
The Scotties are 12-3 this season and have won three straight and eight of their last nine games.
Thursday on Trib HSSN
WPIAL Girls Basketball – Video Stream: Shaler at Plum at 7:30 p.m. on the TribLive High School Sports Network at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
WPIAL Girls Basketball – Video Stream: North Hills at Norwin at 7:30 p.m. on the Westmoreland Sports Network at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
WPIAL Girls Basketball – Video Stream: Peters Township at Thomas Jefferson at 7:30 p.m. on the MVI Sports Network at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
WPIAL Girls Basketball – Video Stream: Oakland Catholic at North Catholic at 7:30 p.m. on the North Catholic Sports Network at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
WPIAL Girls Basketball – Video Stream: Ellwood City at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart at 6 p.m. on OLSH Network at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
WPIAL Girls Basketball – Video Stream: West Greene at Geibel Catholic at 7 p.m. on WMBS-AM 590, WMBS-FM 101.1 at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
WPIAL Boys Basketball – Audio Stream: North Hills at New Castle at 7:30 p.m. on Lawrence County SportsNet at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
WPIAL Boys and Girls Swimming & Diving – Audio Stream: Mars at North Allegheny at 5 p.m. on the North Allegheny Sports Network at TribHSSN.TribLive.com