Welcome to the second day of the quarterfinal round in the WPIAL basketball playoffs with teams in boys Class 6A and 2A and girls Class 4A and A taking center stage.
Over the last five years in WPIAL Class 6A boys basketball, three schools have won district gold.
Two of them collide in the quarterfinals as No. 8 Fox Chapel faces off against top-seeded Upper St. Clair at 7:30 p.m.
In the covid-era “open” playoffs of 2021, USC held off Pine-Richland to win the 6A championship, 56-53.
The following season, Fox Chapel upended top-seeded North Hills to claim 2022 WPIAL gold, 43-36.
Since Central Catholic won it all in 2023, the classification has been dominated by Upper St. Clair.
The Panthers defeated Baldwin in 2024 and New Castle a year ago to become the first district team to win back-to-back Class 6A boys basketball titles.
Now No. 1 USC is looking for a three-peat as it prepares to host Fox Chapel.
The Foxes are 14-9 after a fourth-place finish in Section 1-6A and a first-round victory at home over Norwin, 52-49.
Joe McGivney led Fox Chapel with 20 points against the Knights.
The Foxes have won three straight and six of their last seven.
It will be 10 days since the Panthers last played, a 34-point triumph over Trinity.
USC is 21-1 and has won 17 straight since suffering its only loss of the season to Central Catholic by two points in overtime Dec. 12.
Here are the other three second-round 6A contests set for Thursday:
• Two teams that knew their opponent when they brackets came out over a week ago meet in Butler County as No. 5 Hempfield (15-7) visits No. 4 Seneca Valley (13-9) at 7 p.m. The Spartans have won three of their last four and finished in third place in Section 2-6A. The Raiders have also won three of four and ended up tied for second place in Section 1-6A.
• Seven years ago, these two were district champions, one in 6A and the other in 4A. Now No. 2 New Castle (21-1) is set to open up the postseason at home against No. 7 Mt. Lebanon (15-8) at 7 p.m. The Red Hurricanes have won four in a row since losing to Pine-Richland and won the Section 1-6A crown by five games. The Blue Devils are coming off a first-round win over those Rams thanks to 29 points from Liam Sheely.
• No. 3 Central Catholic (20-2) will battle No. 11 Imani Christian (7-16) at Fox Chapel at 7:30 p.m. The Vikings had a first-round bye after tying Upper St. Clair for the Section 2-6A title, and the Saints surprised North Hills in the opening round, 83-69, with Nahjir Norris leading the way with 23 points. Central Catholic won both regular season games against Imani Christian by scores of 62-34 and 49-32.
Little separation
When sizing up the difference between the No. 4 seed and the 5 seed in boys Class 2A, there are a lot of similar numbers.
Neshannock averaged 65.5 points per game and allowed 45.5 points per contest.
Clairton scored on average 65.1 points per game and allowed 43.1.
Both were double-digit winners in the opening round of the postseason.
Both Neshannock and Clairton have gone 9-2 in their last 11 games.
The Lancers did earn a share of the Section 4-2A section crown with OLSH while the Bears were the runner-up to defending champion Jeannette in Section 1-2A.
Now with a berth in the final four at stake, No. 4 Neshannock battles No. 5 Clairton at Pine-Richland at 7:30 p.m.
The Lancers are 18-4 after beating Fort Cherry, 57-40, in Round 1. David Kwiat had 17 points to lead the way for the red and white.
The Bears are 17-3 following a first-round victory over Shenango, 60-27. Brandon Murphy paced the black and orange with 16 points.
Here are the other three Class 2A quarterfinals Thursday:
• Top seed and defending champion Jeannette (20-1) will take on No. 9 Eden Christian Academy (16-6) at Fox Chapel at 6 p.m. The Section 1-2A winning Jayhawks beat back Brentwood in the opening round, 70-49, with Jayce Powell leading the scoring with 21 points, and the Warriors pounded Laurel, 68-42, thanks in part to 22 points from Mason Dean.
• No. 2 Sewickley Academy (22-1) is set to play No. 10 Winchester Thurston (6-7) at Upper St. Clair at 6 p.m. Behind 20 points from Lucas Grimsley, the Panthers crushed Greensburg Central Catholic, 77-17, while the Bears surprised Chartiers-Houston, 56-42, with Mike Hammerling leading the way with 16 points. Sewickley Academy beat Winchester Thurston twice in the regular season by scores of 62-23 and 68-23.
• Section champs collide when No. 6 Jefferson-Morgan (22-1) plays No. 3 Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (19-4) at Peters Township at 7:30 p.m. Jeremiah Robertson scored 26 points to lead the Rockets past Springdale in the opening round, 49-35, and the Chargers knocked off Bentworth, 54-40, with the combo of Jake Johnson and Tienan McCullough scoring 14 points each.
Third time a charm?
Section rivals are set to square off for a third time this season in one of the WPIAL girls basketball Class 4A second-round games Thursday.
No. 5 Elizabeth Forward battles No. 4 Belle Vernon at Peters Township at 6 p.m.
The Warriors are 17-6 and finished in second place in Section 3-4A, one game behind the champion Leopards, who are now 20-3.
In the first game at Elizabeth Forward in December, Belle Vernon had a one-point lead at halftime before pulling away to win, 70-56.
Freshmen Isis Almyty had 22 points and Lyla McConnell added 20 for the Leopards while senior Mia Sostaric led the Warriors with 25 points.
In the rematch at Belle Vernon in late January, Elizabeth Forward built a seven-point lead at the half, but a big third quarter turned the tide as Belle Vernon came back to win, 55-53.
Junior Abby Russell led the Leopards with 16 points while Sostaric was once again the Warriors’ top scorer with 20 points.
Belle Vernon tries to make it three straight against a rival while Elizabeth Forward hopes to get a measure of revenge while once again advancing to the semifinals.
In the opening round, the Leopards crushed Lincoln Park, 85-62, with sophomore Aubrey Brown scoring a career-high 24 points.
Elizabeth Forward rolled past Hopewell, 58-37, thanks to 18 points from senior Kaelynn Settles.
Here are the other three second-round 4A contests Thursday:
• Blackhawk (20-0), last year’s WPIAL Class 4A runner-up and this year’s top seed, will be home to play No. 9 Burrell (16-7) at 7 p.m. The Cougars captured the Section 2-4A title by three games and had a bye while the Buccaneers are coming off a first-round win over Hampton, 40-22, as Casey Brancato had a game-high 15 points.
• Second seed and defending champion Oakland Catholic (18-2) opens up its title defense at home against No. 7 South Park at 7 p.m. The OC Eagles had an opening-round bye thanks to winning the Section 1-4A crown and the SP Eagles crushed Freeport in the first round, 49-18, thanks to 20 points from Nika Contakos.
• No. 3 North Catholic (18-5) squares off with No. 6 Beaver (15-8) at Pine-Richland at 6 p.m. In the opening round, the Trojans routed Laurel Highlands, 67-21, with Brady Wehner leading the way with 20 points. The Bobcats trounced Mt. Pleasant, 62-35, thanks to 29 points from Annsley Baker.
Home cooking
Since the top four seeds in the girls Class A playoffs all had first-round byes, they get to host quarterfinals Thursday.
The one matchup that was set when the brackets were released has No. 5 St. Joseph visiting No. 4 Geibel Catholic at 7 p.m.
The Spartans finished tied for third place in Section 1-A with a record of 13-9.
They won six straight games before losing three of their last four.
One of the surprises of the bracket was the Gators getting a No. 4 seed despite being undefeated until a late loss to Serra Catholic dropped them into a tie for the Section 2-A crown.
They are 21-1 after winning their first 19 games this season.
Here are the other three second-round Class A contests Thursday:
• Top-seeded Aquinas Academy (19-2) will take on No. 9 Eden Christian Academy (11-9) at 7 p.m. The Crusaders were undefeated in winning the Section 1-A title while the Warriors are coming off a first-round road win over Bishop Canevin, 46-38, with Annalese Haring leading the way with 20 points.
• No. 2 Serra Catholic (15-6) opens up postseason play as it hosts No. 7 Sewickley Academy (14-9) at 7 p.m. The Eagles had an eight-game winning streak snapped with a loss to Winchester Thurston in the regular season finale. Mikaela Mbandi scored 16 points to pace the Panthers past Monessen in the first round, 64-41.
• Three-time defending champion and third seed Union (18-4) begins its title march as it hosts No. 6 West Greene (17-6) at 7 p.m. Fresh off a bye, the Scotties have won six in a row, while the Pioneers were led by Madelyn Roberts’ 19 points in an opening-round win over Clairton, 50-21.
Thursday on Trib HSSN
There are six broadcasts you can listen to or watch at TribHSSN.TribLive.com on the 19th day of February.
WPIAL Boys Basketball Playoffs Audio Stream – Class 6A Quarterfinals: Imani Christian vs. Central Catholic at 7:30 p.m. on Trib HSSN at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
WPIAL Boys Basketball Playoffs Audio Stream – Class 6A Quarterfinals: Mt. Lebanon at New Castle at 7 p.m. on Lawrence County Sports Net at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
WPIAL Girls Basketball Playoffs Audio Stream – Class 6A Quarterfinals: Mt. Lebanon at Canon-McMillan at 6 p.m. on WJPA-AM 1450 at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
WPIAL Girls Basketball Playoffs Audio Stream – Class 4A Quarterfinals: Elizabeth Forward vs. Belle Vernon at 6 p.m. on Trib HSSN at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
WPIAL Girls Basketball Playoffs Audio Stream – Class A Quarterfinals: St. Joseph at Geibel Catholic at 7 p.m. on WMBS-AM 590, WMBS-FM 101.1 at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
WPIAL Girls Basketball Playoffs Video Stream – Class A Quarterfinals: West Greene at Union at 7 p.m. on Lawrence County Sports Net at TribHSSN.TribLive.com