Welcome to Groundhogs Day as we watch the shadow of the district basketball regular season fade away with less than a week left.
There are 18 sections in WPIAL girls basketball and only one is deadlocked at the top heading into the final week of section play.
Norwin will host Canon-McMillan as both teams sit stop Section 2-6A with 7-1 records. The two are a combined 30-7 this season overall.
The Knights are 15-3 this season and have won five of their last six and six of eight since suffering their only section loss of the season Jan. 5 at Mt. Lebanon.
The Big Macs are 15-4 and have also been playing well as of late, winning four straight and five of six since falling at home to the Knights on Jan. 9.
In that first meeting, Norwin trailed Canon-McMillan by six points after three quarters before rallying to win, 56-52.
Nia O’Barto led the Knights with 18 points while Madison Clair scored 16 points for the Big Macs.
The winner of the 7:30 p.m. tip will earn at least a share of the section championship.
Champions clash
These two power programs each went home with WPIAL gold two years ago, one as Class 3A champs, the other as the 2A runaway winners.
Last season, the two squared off against each other in the 3A championship game.
Now, they meet for a second time this season with a section crown up for grabs as Greensburg Central Catholic visits Shady Side Academy at 6:30 p.m.
The Centurions are in second place with a 10-1 record in Section 2-3A and an overall mark of 14-4.
They have won six in a row since falling to SSA in early January.
The Bulldogs are perfect in the section at 10-0 and have a season record of 15-2 with six consecutive victories.
SSA has played in the last three WPIAL Class 3A title games, winning gold in 2024.
GCC hopes to win a third consecutive district championship after bringing home 2A gold in 2024 and winning a 3A title in 2025.
The Centurions stunned the Bulldogs in the 3A finals a year ago, 56-51, after SSA beat GCC twice in the regular season.
In the first meeting this year in Greensburg on Jan. 8, Shady Side Academy defeated Greensburg Central Catholic, 66-59.
Karis Thomas scored 28 points for the Bulldogs while Erica Gribble paced the Centurions with 26 points.
Make-up Monday
There are nearly two handful of district boys basketball games postponed from last week that will be made up on Monday, including a couple of contests with playoff implications.
• In Section 2-6A, Hempfield (13-6) visits Imani Christian (5-13) at CCAC-Allegheny campus at 7:30 p.m. Both teams are trying to hold off Norwin (5-7) for playoff spots. The Spartans are in fourth place at 6-5 while the Saints are right behind them at 5-6.
• In Section 3-5A, Thomas Jefferson (18-2) visits Ringgold (11-7) at 6 p.m. The Jaguars can clinch the section title outright with a win while the Rams (4-5) are in fourth place, one game ahead of Baldwin for a playoff spot.
• In Section 4-5A, Montour (7-12) visits Mars (9-10) at 6 p.m. A home team victory clinches a playoff berth for the Fightin’ Planets and eliminates the Spartans.
• In Section 3-3A, the Waynesburg Central (4-3) at Charleroi (4-3) game is a battle for third place set for 7 p.m..
• In Section 1-2A, Greensburg Central Catholic (5-6) travels to play Bentworth (6-4) at 7:30 p.m. The Centurions sit in fifth place looking to inch closer to a playoff berth while the fourth-place Bearcats hope to move into a tie with Springdale for third place.
Monday on Trib HSSN
There are seven broadcasts and two podcasts you can watch or listen to at TribHSSN.TribLive.com on the second day of February.
Video Stream: Rebel Yell Podcast featuring WPIAL basketball Team of the Week on the TribLive High School Sports Network at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
Video Stream: Rebel Yell Podcast featuring WPIAL girls basketball Player of the Week on the TribLive High School Sports Network at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
WPIAL Girls Basketball – Video Stream: Greensburg Central Catholic at Shady Side Academy at 6:30 p.m. on the TribLive High School Sports Network at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
WPIAL Girls Basketball – Video Stream: Canon-McMillan at Norwin at 7:30 p.m. on Westmoreland Sports Network at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
WPIAL Girls Basketball – Video Stream: New Brighton at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart at 6:30 p.m. on OLSH Network at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
WPIAL Boys Basketball – Audio Stream: Fox Chapel at New Castle at 7:30 p.m. on Lawrence County SportsNet at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
PIHL Hockey – Video Stream: Hampton at North Catholic at 8:40 p.m. on the North Catholic Sports Network at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
PIHL Hockey – Video Stream: Trinity at Neshannock at 7:15 p.m. on Lawrence County SportsNet at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
PIHL Hockey – Video Stream: Carrick at Wilmington at 9:15 p.m. on Lawrence County SportsNet at TribHSSN.TribLive.com