Juliette Leroux scored 20 points as No. 1 South Fayette defeated No. 12 Peters Township, 66-27, in the WPIAL Class 5A girls basketball semifinals Saturday at Keystone Oaks.
Ryan Oldaker and Haylie Lamonde added 12 points each while Lailah Wright chipped in 10 points for the Lions (24-1), who avenged a loss in last year’s WPIAL championship game.
South Fayette will face No. 2 Thomas Jefferson in Friday’s championship game while Peters Township (15-10) will play No. 6 Penn-Trafford in Tuesday’s third-place matchup.
Shady Side Academy 55, Seton LaSalle 36 – Cassie Sauer scored 18 points and Karis Thomas added 16 points as No. 1 Shady Side Academy (22-2) defeated No. 5 Seton LaSalle (16-9) in the WPIAL Class 3A semifinals at Keystone Oaks. Ava Maroney paced Seton LaSalle with 16 points. Shady Side Academy will play No. 3 Greensburg Central Catholic in Thursday’s finals while Seton LaSalle matches up against No. 2 Beaver Falls in the third-place game Tuesday.
Boys basketball
Serra Catholic 71, Nazareth Prep 51 – In the WPIAL Class A semifinals at Peters Township, Tyler Sapida had 19 points as No. 6 Serra Catholic (14-9) beat No. 2 Nazareth Prep (9-12) to advance to Thursday’s championship game against No. 1 Neighborhood Academy. Brayden Graham added 14 points, Kris Sharp contributed 13 points and Mark Johnson chipped in 11 points. Ahsan Harrison scored a game-high 27 points for Nazareth Prep while Grey Wible added 18 points. Nazareth Prep will play in Tuesday’s third-place game against No. 4 Monessen.
Consolation
Boys basketball
Eden Christian 69, Neshannock 54 – Brady Salvia sank five 3-pointers on his way to scoring 23 points as No. 9 Eden Christian (12-10) defeated No. 4 Neshannock (18-6) in a WPIAL Class 2A consolation game. Mason Dean contributed 17 points and Samuel D’Ippolito added 15 points for Eden Christian, which advances to play No. 6 Jefferson-Morgan in Wednesday’s fifth-place contest. David Kwiat hit six 3-pointers and scored 22 points for Neshannock while Luca Pagley totaled 21 points and five 3-pointers.
Jefferson-Morgan 43, Winchester Thurston 39 – Sixth-seeded Jefferson-Morgan () used a 17-6 advantage in the third quarter to pull away from No. 10 Winchester Thurston () in a Class 2A consolation game. The Rockets will meet Eden Christian for fifth place Wednesday. The Bears will meet Neshannock for seventh place. The top eight teams advance to states.
Girls basketball
Belle Vernon 42, Burrell 25 – Saylor Lee scored 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead No. 4 Belle Vernon (21-4) over No. 9 Burrell (16-9) in a Class 4A consolation game. Belle Vernon will play No. 7 South Park in Wednesday’s fifth-place game. Chase Coury led Burrell with 11 points. Belle Vernon matched its single-season school record with 21 wins, which was set in 1998.
South Park 47, Beaver 29 – Hayley Bennett scored 20 points to lead No. 7 South Park (16-9) to a Class 4A consolation win over No. 6 Beaver (15-10). Andrea Kuczma added 10 points for South Park. Ava Wright scored 12 points for Beaver while Annsley Baker had 10 points. South Park will meet No. 9 Burrell for fifth place Wednesday. The top six teams advance to states.
Southwestern Christian Athletic Conference
Cheswick Christian Academy 56, Grove City Christian Academy 41 – Brady Rochkind had 30 points and 12 rebounds as Cheswick Christian Academy pulled away in the second half and defeated Grove City Christian Academy to win its third straight Southwestern Christian Athletic Conference championship at Beaver County Christian.
Joseph Rosio added 12 points, 10 rebounds and five steals for the Chargers. Eli Nash scored 11 points to lead Grove City Christian.
After the game was tied 18-18 at the half, Grove City Christian took a 34-33 lead with 1:20 left in the third quarter. Cheswick Christian pulled away with a 7-0 run, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Rochkind off an inbounds play.
Cheswick Christian went on a 16-3 run to start the fourth quarter, highlighted by a corner 3-pointer Naz Weaver that made the score 50-37 with 2:13 to play.
Rosio was named the SWCAC MVP for the season and made the all-conference first team alongside Rochkind. Sam Kostick was a third-team pick.