WPIAL basketball playoffs
Boys
Class 6A
Quarterfinals
8-Fox Chapel (14-9) at 1-Upper St. Clair (21-1)
7:30 p.m. Thursday
Winner plays: Winner of 4-Seneca Valley (13-9)/5-Hempfield (15-7) on Monday in semifinals (time, site TBD)
Players to watch: Joe McGivney, Fox Chapel; Ryan Robbins, Upper St. Clair
Layup lines: Fox Chapel advanced to the quarterfinals after a 52-49 victory over No. 9 Norwin in the first round Monday. McGivney had 20 points, and Grant Fenton added 18. John Rehak also has been a consistent scorer for the Foxes, who have won six of their past seven games. The Foxes lost in the quarterfinals the last three seasons after winning a WPIAL title in 2022. … Top-seeded Upper St. Clair has been idle since a 77-43 win over Trinity on Feb. 9. The Panthers have won 17 straight games since their lone loss Dec. 12 against Central Catholic (48-46 in overtime). The two-time defending WPIAL champions average a Class 6A-best 63.5 ppg and allow just 43.2. Behind 6-foot-7 junior center Ryan Robbins and guard Jake Foster, the Panthers are trying to return to the finals for a third straight season.
SWCAC semifinals
Cheswick Christian Academy (18-6) vs. Plants and Pillars (10-4)
7 p.m. Thursday at Portersville Christian
Winner plays: Winner of Grove City and Pittsburgh Christian/Portersville Christian at 5 p.m. Saturday in the championship game at Beaver Country Christian.
Players to watch: Joseph Rosio, Cheswick Christian Academy; Hal DeGraaf, Plants and Pillars
Layup lines: Cheswick Christian Academy is coming off a 77-37 victory over First Baptist Christian in the SWCAC quarterfinals. Joseph Rosio scored 26 points and added 12 rebounds, seven assists and five steals. He moved into third place on CCA’s all-time scoring list with 1,651 points. Brady Rochkind poured in 16 points. The Chargers went 10-0 to win the SWCAC Greater Pittsburgh division for the fourth straight season. Cheswick Christian defeated Plants and Pillars twice this season, 61-37 on Dec. 2 and 49-47 on Jan. 3. … Plants and Pillars defeated Cornerstone Prep, 45-41, in the quarterfinals. P&P finished second in the Tri-County division at 10-2. Hal DeGraaf and Desmond Lowe are the team’s top scorers.
Girls
Class 4A
Quarterfinals
9-Burrell (16-7) at 1-Blackhawk (20-0)
7 p.m. Thursday
Winner plays: Winner of 4-Belle Vernon (20-3)/5-Elizabeth Forward (17-6) on Monday in semifinals (site/time TBD). Loser falls to the consolation bracket to play for a berth to the PIAA tournament.
Players to watch: Chase Coury, Burrell; Aubree Hupp, Blackhawk
Layup lines: Burrell opened the playoffs Monday with a 40-22 victory at Hampton. The Bucs defense forced 24 turnovers and got double-figure scoring from senior Casey Brancato (15) and junior McKenna Miller (13). Coury, a freshman, added nine points in the win. The victory snapped a six-game playoff losing streak, including five first-round setbacks, dating to 2016. Burrell lowered its scoring defense to 36.4 points a game. The Bucs got back in the win column after a tough loss to No. 2 Oakland Catholic to close the regular season. … Blackhawk rolled through the regular season, winning its 20 games by an average of 31 points. The Cougars scored 61.4 a game and surrendered 30.4. Blackhawk hopes to return to the championship game and another crack at the title. It fell to Oakland Catholic in last year’s final at Petersen Events Center. The Cougars scored nonsection wins over Upper St. Clair and Pine-Richland. Hupp, a Canisius recruit, averages a team-best 21 points. She has more than 1,000 points and 900 rebounds in her varsity career. Blackhawk has won eight WPIAL titles, third most behind North Catholic (23) and the former Vincentian (11). The Cougars last won WPIAL gold in 2022.
Class A
Quarterfinals
5-St. Joseph (13-9) at 4-Geibel Catholic (21-1)
7 p.m. Thursday
Winner plays: Winner of 1-Aquinas Academy (19-2)/9-Eden Christian (11-9) on Monday in semifinals (site/time TBD). Loser falls to the consolation bracket to play for a berth to the PIAA tournament.
Players to watch: Bella Bartolovic, St. Joseph; Emma Larkin, Geibel Catholic
Layup lines: This game and three Friday contests in girls Class 6A are the only ones in the 12 WPIAL brackets where both teams have not previously taken the court in the playoffs. The four quarterfinal/first-round games in boys Class A were contested Wednesday evening. … St. Joseph enters the postseason after a regular-season slate where it finished tied for third in Section 1 behind No. 1 Aquinas and No. 3 Union. The Spartans have reached the PIAA playoffs four straight seasons and played in the WPIAL title game in 2024. Bartolovic, a sophomore guard, leads St. Joseph in scoring at nearly 19 points a game. Senior Kasey Cienik and junior Jocelyn Spinelli are among others to keep an eye on in the Spartans offensive attack and defensive game plan. … Geibel was a WPIAL semifinalist a year ago and qualified for the PIAA playoffs. The Gators tied Serra Catholic for the Section 2 title at 13-1. Serra Catholic handed Geibel its only loss in the regular season, 51-50 on Feb. 5. The Gators average 68 points a game, by far the most in Class A. Larkin, a senior guard, is a 1,000-point scorer and was one of the top scorers in the WPIAL in the regular season at nearly 25 points per game. Sophomore Mallory Clemmer complemented Larkin at 22.7 points per game.