Welcome to the first day of the second round in the WPIAL basketball playoffs with teams in boys Class 4A and A and girls Class 5A and 3A claiming the spotlight.
Last year, the Belle Vernon boys basketball team was in the same quadrant in the Class 4A bracket heading into the quarterfinals, kind of.
The Leopards were the hunted as the top seed in the tournament. Belle Vernon defeated Elizabeth Forward in the second round before moving on to win in the semis and finals to claim the district championship.
Now the No. 8 seed this season, Belle Vernon is the hunter as it heads out to visit top-seeded Quaker Valley on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
The defending champions have cleared one hurdle already, having eliminated Burrell last week in a first-round game, 60-45.
Sophomore A.J. Watson led the Leopards’ balanced attack with 12 points.
The Quakers have a recent WPIAL championship notched on their belt as well. It was four years ago when they claimed gold in the 2022 district postseason.
Outright winners of Section 2-4A, Quaker Valley has won 11 games in a row.
Here are the other three second-round 4A contests set for Wednesday:
• In this bracket, only one double-digit seed remains. No. 12 Deer Lakes (11-12) looks to continue to stun when it takes on No. 5 Hopewell (15-8) at North Allegheny at 6 p.m. The Lancers upset No. 4 Derry in the opening round, 57-46, thanks to 22 points from Evan Moore. In the first round, the Vikings got 21 points from Brody Rock and 20 from Booboo Armstrong in beating Greensburg Salem, 74-47.
• No. 2 North Catholic (17-5) opens the postseason at home as it welcomes No. 7 Elizabeth Forward (14-9) at 7:30 p.m. The Trojans earned a first-round bye after tying Knoch for the Section 1-4A crown. The Warriors rolled past Avonworth, 83-60, thanks to 22 points from Daniel Spence.
• No. 3 Knoch (19-4) will battle No. 6 Central Valley (16-7) at North Allegheny at 7:30 p.m. The Knights were led by Vinnie DeFelice, who scored 19 points in a first-round rout of East Allegheny, 56-21. The Warriors edged Highlands, 50-44, as Angelo and Ryan Conti each scored 13 points.
Finally, the bracket begins
The last of the 12 boys and girls WPIAL playoff tournaments to begin is the boys Class A bracket, which only has eight teams and had no opening-round contests.
One of the great stories of the district basketball season is the Avella boys team.
Last year, the Eagles finished 10-12 overall and missed the playoffs after finishing in fifth place.
This year, Avella was the runner-up in Section 1-A, finishing one game behind section winner Nazareth Prep.
The Eagles had a seven-game improvement as they finished with a record of 17-5 with wins in eight of their last 10 regular season games.
No. 3-seeded Avella will enjoy a rare playoff home game as it welcomes No. 6 Serra Catholic.
The Eagles tied Monessen for second place in Section 2-A. They ended a three-game losing streak with two consecutive wins prior to the playoffs.
A year ago, Serra Catholic won two games to reach the district finals, where it lost to Neighborhood Academy.
Here are the other three Class A quarterfinals Wednesday:
• Top seed and defending champion Neighborhood Academy (18-3) will be challenged by No. 8 Summit Academy (11-8) at Fox Chapel at 6 p.m. The Bulldogs captured the Section 2-A title by four games and had a seven-game winning stream snapped in a regular season finale loss to Sewickley Academy. The Knights ended up in fourth place in Section 1-A but enter the game on a four-game winning streak.
• A district semifinalist from a year ago, No. 5 Aquinas Academy (9-12) hits the road to visit No. 4 Monessen (11-9) at 7 p.m. The Crusaders finished in third place in Section 1-A and have lost four straight games. The Greyhounds ended up tied for second place in Section 2-A and split their last four regular season games.
• No. 2 Nazareth Prep (8-11) will battle No. 7 St. Joseph (8-13) at Fox Chapel at 7:30 p.m. The Saints were the Section 1-A champions and won four of their last five games in the regular season, while the Spartans finished in fourth place in Section 2-A with four wins in their final six games.
Tiebreaker
Two of the four Class 5A girls basketball quarterfinals Wednesday are section rematches.
One of them is between section co-champions.
The rubber game of the Section 2-5A duel will take place at Norwin when No. 3 Indiana battles No. 6 Penn-Trafford at 7 p.m.
The Little Indians are 20-3 and have won five straight games.
The Warriors are 18-5 with victories in four of their last five matchups.
The first meeting of the season between the two was in mid-January at Penn-Trafford. The Warriors led by eight at the half and then outscored the Little Indians in the second half by 13 to win going away, 59-38.
Senior Hanna Weishaar led the Warriors with 15 points while senior Addison Hutton had a game-high 16 for the Little Indians.
In the rematch at Indiana, the Little Indians took control in the third quarter and held on for the win, 45-40.
Senior Julia Antonacci had 15 points for Indiana and senior Torrie DeStefano had 11 points to pace the Warriors.
The rubber game was set up last week when both teams rolled to double-digit wins in the opening round.
Antonacci had 20 points as Indiana beat Mars, 63-36, and senior Olivia Weishaar scored 11 points to lead Penn-Trafford past Franklin Regional, 47-22.
Here are the other three second-round 5A contests Wednesday:
• Top-seeded South Fayette (22-1) will take on No. 9 Trinity (17-6) at Peters Township at 7:30 p.m. The Lions destroyed Kiski Area in the opening round, 78-19, with Haylie Lamonde leading the way with 18 points. Sutton Williamson scored 15 to pace Trinity past West Allegheny in a tight one, 50-48.
• Section 4-4A foes collide for a third time when No. 4 Baldwin (19-4) faces No. 12 Peters Township (14-9) at Bethel Park at 7:30 p.m. The Highlanders defeated Chartiers Valley in the playoff opener, 52-37, with Lynsey Bernotas leading the way with 16 points, while the defending champion Indians stunned No. 5 Plum, 56-46, thanks to 17 points from Taylor McCullough. Baldwin beat Peters Township in their two regular season meetings, 58-51 and 62-54.
• No. 2 Thomas Jefferson (20-2) squares off with No. 7 Fox Chapel (15-8) at Mt. Lebanon at 7:30 p.m. In the opening round, the Jaguars crushed Penn Hills, 65-26, with Maggie Spell scoring 24 points. Lyla Jablon also scored 24 points in leading the Foxes past Latrobe, 60-58.
Postseason rematch
Two girls basketball teams that collided in the 2025 Class 3A semifinals are set to battle again, this time in Wednesday’s quarterfinals.
No. 3 Greensburg Central Catholic, the 2025 champion, will once again battle No. 6 Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, this time at Bethel Park on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
In their final four match last year, Erica Gribble scored 16 points to lead the Centurions past the Chargers, 41-18.
Now the two powers collide in the second round following first-round victories last week.
Greensburg Central Catholic improved to 17-6 with a one-sided win over Mohawk, 67-21. The senior Gribble again led the way for the Centurions with 23 points.
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart is now 18-5 after cruising past McGuffey, 54-20. Senior Lola Garner had 19 points for the Chargers.
OLSH has won six straight and GCC has been victorious in nine of its last 11 games.
Here are the other three Class 3A quarterfinals games slated for Wednesday:
• Top seed and 2025 runner-up Shady Side Academy (20-2) will take on section foe and No. 8 Avonworth (12-11) at Fox Chapel at 6 p.m. The Bulldogs captured the Section 2-3A title and enjoyed a first-round bye while the Antelopes knocked off Riverside in the opening round, 42-32, as Julia Nardozzi led the ‘Lopes with 14 points. SSA won both regular season meetings against Avonworth by scores of 55-27 and 54-23.
• No. 4 Quaker Valley (17-6) will battle Section 3-3A champion and No. 5 seed Seton LaSalle (15-8) at Mt. Lebanon at 6 p.m. The Quakers got another big game from Mimi Thiero, who scored 30 points in the first-round win over Keystone Oaks, 50-36. Ava Maroney had 26 points as the Rebels crushed Sto-Rox, 61-27.
• No. 2 Beaver Falls (21-1) will take on No. 7 Waynesburg (21-2) at Peters Township at 6 p.m. in a matchup of teams with a combined overall record of 42-3. The Tigers dismantled South Allegheny in the first round, 73-15, with Dreavin Hawkins scoring 23 points. The Raiders got 23 points from Tess Pauley as they beat Deer Lakes, 55-28.
Wednesday on Trib HSSN
There are four broadcasts and one podcast you can listen to or watch at TribHSSN.TribLive.com on the 18th day of February.
Video Stream: Rebel Yell Podcast with an update on the WPIAL boys and girls basketball playoffs through the First Round on the TribLive High School Sports Network at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
WPIAL Boys Basketball Playoffs Audio Stream – Class A Quarterfinals: Serra Catholic at Avella at 7 p.m. on WJPA-AM 1450 at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
WPIAL Girls Basketball Playoffs Video Stream – Class 5A Quarterfinals: Penn-Trafford vs. Indiana at 7 p.m. on Westmoreland Sports Network at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
WPIAL Girls Basketball Playoffs Audio Stream – Class 5A Quarterfinals: Peters Township vs. Baldwin at 7:30 p.m. on WJPA-FM 95.3 at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
WPIAL Girls Basketball Playoffs Audio Stream – Class 5A Quarterfinals: Trinity vs. South Fayette at 7:30 p.m. on WJPA at TribHSSN.TribLive.com