Welcome to opening night of Round 1 action in the WPIAL basketball playoffs with the spotlight shining on boys Class 4A, girls 5A and girls 3A first-round games.
This has been a memorable season for the Derry boys basketball team, winning its first section championship in 69 years.
The No. 4 Trojans are three wins away from playing in their first WPIAL championship game.
Hurdle No. 1 on Friday is a team that has recently been there and done that … twice.
Section 3 winner Derry will host the team that finished tied for fourth place in Section 1-4A, No. 13 Deer Lakes, at 7 p.m.
The Trojans were 8-6 in early January before winning their final eight games in a row, two of which were overtime victories.
The Lancers struggled down the stretch to end up with a record of 10-12. They lost three straight games and four of their last five contests overall.
While Derry has the better regular season, history is on the side of Deer Lakes.
A year ago in the opening round, the Lancers knocked off Quaker Valley before falling to eventual runner-up North Catholic in the quarterfinals.
The Trojans qualified for the playoffs a year ago and lost by 25 points in the opening round of the 4A playoffs to Central Valley.
Also, Deer Lakes is only two years removed from winning back-to-back WPIAL Class 3A championships in 2023 and 2024.
Quaker Valley and North Catholic enjoy first-round byes as the top two seeds, so here are the other five opening round 4A contests on Friday:
• Defending district 4A champion Belle Vernon (13-9) is the No. 8 seed and welcomes No. 9 Burrell (10-12) at 7 p.m. The Leopards finished in second place in Section 3-4A and the Buccaneers were third in Section 1-4A. The winner visits top-seeded Quaker Valley on Wednesday.
• No. 12 Greensburg Salem (10-11) visits No. 5 Hopewell (14-8) at 7 p.m. The Golden Lions tied for fourth place in Section 3-4A and the Vikings were tied for second in Section 2-4A. Former Beaver Falls and current Hopewell head coach Doug Biega is one win shy of career victory No. 400.
• No. 10 Avonworth (10-12) travels to No. 7 Elizabeth Forward (13-9) at 7 p.m. on Trib HSSN. The Antelopes finished in fourth place in Section 2-4A and the Warriors were tied for second in Section 3-4A. The winner travels to No. 2 North Catholic on Wednesday.
• No. 3 Knoch (18-4) missed out on a bye but now welcomes No. 14 East Allegheny (10-9) at 7 p.m. The Knights tied North Catholic for the Section 1-4A crown while the Wildcats tied for fourth place in Section 3-4A.
• No. 11 Highlands (11-9) hits the road to Beaver County to battle Central Valley (15-7) at 7 p.m. The Golden Rams ended up in a fourth-place tie in Section 1-4A and the Warriors were tied for second place in Section 2-4A.
5A champs hit road
While five of the 2025 WPIAL girls basketball champions will be hosting in their postseason opener (3A Greensburg Central Catholic is the home team playing at Fox Chapel), one defending champion is hitting the road in the first round as underdog visitors.
Reigning girls basketball 5A champion and No. 12 Peters Township makes the long trek to play No. 5 Plum at 7 p.m.
Peters Township was on top of the district world last year, ending a six-year run of consecutive 5A three-peats by Chartiers Valley and the South Fayette by upsetting the top-seeded Lions in the finals.
The Indians were 7-9 following a Jan. 20 loss at home to Baldwin.
After that, PT kicked it into desperation mode and finished strong, winning its final six games of the season, including a win-and-you’re-in game against Bethel Park in its Section 4-5A finale.
Meanwhile, fresh off their first girls basketball section championship in school history, the Mustangs have won 18 of their 22 games.
Since the start of January, Plum has gone 12-1 with the lone loss coming in their Section 1-5A finale to Fox Chapel, 60-43.
In a full 16-team bracket, here are the other seven 5A Round 1 games on Friday:
• Top seed and heavy favorite South Fayette (21-1) is home to No. 16 Kiski Area (11-10) at 7:30 p.m. The Lions won the Section 4-5A crown by two games while the Cavaliers finished in fourth place in Section 2-5A.
• Former section foes collide when No. 8 West Allegheny (18-4) welcomes No. 9 Trinity (16-6) at 7 p.m. The Indians were the runners-up to South Fayette in Section 3-5A and the Hillers were third in Section 4-5A.
• For the second straight year, No. 4 Baldwin (18-4) and No. 13 Chartiers Valley (8-14) collide in the opening round of the district playoffs, this time at Baldwin at 7 p.m. The Highlanders were runner-up in Section 4-5A and the Colts were third in Section 3-5A. Last season, visiting Baldwin won at Chartiers Valley in a thriller, 73-72.
• No. 2 Thomas Jefferson (20-2) hosts No. 15 Penn Hills (11-11) at 7 p.m. The Jaguars cruised to the Section 4-5A title and the Indians finished in third place in Section 1-5A. This postseason marks the 40th anniversary of Penn Hills’ first WPIAL championship in 1986. The Indians went on to win seven straight district crowns and eight in 10 seasons.
• No. 10 Latrobe (11-8) visits No. 7 Fox Chapel (14-8) at 7:30 p.m. The Wildcats were third in Section 2-5A and the Foxes were the runner-up in Section 1-5A.
• No. 3 Indiana (19-3) has home-court advantage as it welcomes No. 14 Mars (10-12) at 7 p.m. The Little Indians were co-champions in Section 2-5A and the Fightin’ Planets ended up in fourth place in Section 3-5A. Last year as a No. 14 seed, Mars made a surprise run to the district semifinals.
• A pair of Westmoreland County rival schools collides when No. 11 Franklin Regional (12-10) travels to No. 6 Penn-Trafford (17-5) at 7 p.m. The Panthers finished fourth in Section 1-5A and the Warriors were co-champions with Indiana in Section 2-5A.
Repeat defenders
Winning back-to-back WPIAL girls basketball championships isn’t easy … or is it?
Since 2020, we have seen nine district schools repeat as WPIAL champions.
Two of them meet in the opening round of the Class 3A playoffs.
Greensburg Central Catholic hopes to become the third school to win three straight titles inside this decade.
The Centurions look to join South Fayette and Union as three-peat winners in the ’20s after claiming 2A gold in 2024 and a 3A title in 2025.
The first step comes Friday when No. 3 Greensburg Central Catholic battles No. 14 Mohawk at Fox Chapel at 6 p.m.
GCC is 16-6 this season and was runner-up to Shady Side Academy in Section 2-3A. The Centurions had a six-game winning streak before splitting their final four games.
Mohawk began this decade by winning two straight WPIAL Class 3A crowns.
However, that is a distant memory after the Warriors finished 8-13 and in a tie for fifth place in Section 1-3A with Sto-Rox.
Mohawk has lost three straight and dropped eight of its last 10 games.
Shady Side Academy has a first-round bye, so here are the other six first-round 3A contests Friday:
• No. 8 Avonworth (11-11) is home to No. 9 Riverside (14-7) at 7 p.m. The Antelopes finished third in Section 2-3A and the Panthers were fourth in Section 1-3A. The winners advance to play top-seeded Shady Side Academy on Wednesday.
• No. 4 Quaker Valley (16-6) entertains No. 13 Keystone Oaks (12-9) at 7 p.m. The Quakers finished in second place in Section 1-3A while the Golden Eagles were tied for third place in Section 3-3A.
• No. 12 Sto-Rox (8-12) looks for the upset when it takes on No. 5 Seton LaSalle (14-8) at South Fayette at 6 p.m. The Vikings tied Mohawk for fifth place in Section 1-3A and the Rebels were the outright Section 3-3A winners.
• Once-beaten and No. 2 Beaver Falls (20-1) is home to No. 15 South Allegheny (7-15) at 7 p.m. The Tigers, winners of Section 1-3A, won their first 20 games before an overtime loss to Neshannock in the regular season finale. The Gladiators finished fifth in Section 2-3A.
• No. 10 Deer Lakes (11-10) makes the long trip south to battle No. 7 Waynesburg Central (20-2) at 7 p.m. The Lancers finished fourth in Section 2-3A and the Raiders were the runner-up to Seton LaSalle in Section 3-3A.
• No. 6 Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (17-5) hosts No. 11 McGuffey (12-10) at 7 p.m. The Chargers ended up in third place in Section 1-3A and the Highlanders were tied for third place in Section 3-3A.
Individual wrestling sectionals
Looking ahead, Saturday will be a huge day for boys wrestlers throughout the district.
The WPIAL individual wrestling sectionals will take place at six different venues to help determine the field for the upcoming district championships.
Here are the sites with mat action set to begin at 9:30 a.m.
Sections 1, 2 and 3 in Class 3A – South Fayette
Sections 4, 5 and 6 in Class 3A – Butler
Sections 7, 8 and 9 in Class 3A – Norwin
Sections 1, 2 and 3 in Class 2A – Burgettstown
Sections 4, 5 and 6 in Class 2A – Keystone Oaks
Sections 7, 8 and 9 in Class 2A – Greensburg Salem
Qualifiers advance to the WPIAL individual championships on Feb. 20 and 21. The 3A event is at Canon-McMillan with 2A at Chartiers Valley.
The girls individual wrestling championship are on Saturday, Feb. 21 at Mt. Lebanon.
Friday on Trib HSSN
There are eight broadcasts you can listen to at TribHSSN.TribLive.com on the 13th day of February.
WPIAL Boys Basketball Playoffs Audio Stream – Class 4A First Round: Avonworth at Elizabeth Forward at 7 p.m. on Trib HSSN at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
WPIAL Boys Basketball Playoffs Video Stream – Class 4A First Round: Deer Lakes at Derry at 7 p.m. on Westmoreland Sports Network at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
WPIAL Girls Basketball Playoffs Audio Stream – Class 5A First Round: Franklin Regional at Penn-Trafford at 7 p.m. on Westmoreland Sports Network at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
WPIAL Girls Basketball Playoffs Audio Stream – Class 5A First Round: Trinity at West Allegheny at 7 p.m. on WJPA-FM 95.3 at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
WPIAL Girls Basketball Playoffs Audio Stream – Class 5A First Round: Peters Township at Plum at 7 p.m. on WJPA-AM 1450 at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
WPIAL Girls Basketball Playoffs Video Stream – Class 3A First Round: Mohawk vs. Greensburg Central Catholic at 6 p.m. on Lawrence County Sports Net at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
WPIAL Girls Basketball Playoffs Audio Stream – Class 3A First Round: Riverside at Avonworth at 7 p.m. on Lawrence County Sports Net at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
WPIAL Girls Basketball Playoffs Audio Stream – Class 3A First Round: McGuffey at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart at 7 p.m. on WJPA at TribHSSN.TribLive.com