Welcome to the second day of the Final Four in the 2026 WPIAL basketball playoffs with boys teams in Class 6A and 3A, along with girls 6A and 2A owning the bright semifinals spotlight.
All the debate about who should be No. 1 in Class 6A boys basketball prior to the playoffs surrounded Upper St. Clair and New Castle. The forgotten team was Central Catholic.
Yes, the Panthers and Red Hurricanes had only one loss all season, but the Vikings finished the regular season with a record of 20-2 with one of those losses to USC and the other to 5A semifinalist Moon in early December.
Central Catholic split the Section 2-6A title with Upper St. Clair and entered the playoffs on a seven-game winning streak.
Following a first-round bye, the Vikings opened the 2026 postseason by thrashing Imani Christian for a third time this season, 64-39.
Senior guard Enzo Khalil scored 25 points to lead the Vikings to the quarterfinal victory.
No. 3 Central Catholic now prepares to battle No. 2 New Castle in a much anticipated Class 6A boys basketball semifinal Monday at North Allegheny at 7:30 p.m.
The Red Hurricanes have been dominant this season in winning the Section 1-6A title by five games.
New Castle has a 20-points-per-game difference in points scored and points allowed, averaging 62.6 ppg while allowing 42.3.
The ‘Canes were 17-0 before losing to Pine-Richland by two points on Jan. 30.
Since then, New Castle has won five straight, including a 67-49 quarterfinal win over Mt. Lebanon.
Freshman sensation Marino Graham led the Red Hurricanes with 18 points.
The last time these two teams played in the postseason, Central Catholic defeated New Castle in the 2023 WPIAL Class 6A championship game, 61-52.
In the other 6A semifinal, No. 4 Seneca Valley goes up against top-seeded and two-time defending champion Upper St. Clair at North Hills at 7:30 p.m.
Both teams had first-round bye.
In the quarterfinals, the Raiders came back to edge Hempfield, 45-44. Andrew Omasits scored 13 points for Seneca Valley, including two free throws with 1.8 seconds remaining.
There was no such drama for the Panthers, as they pulled away from Fox Chapel, 56-41.
Ryan Robbins had a game-high 29 points for USC.
The last time these two met in the playoffs was in 2023. In a quarterfinal matchup, Upper St. Clair edged visiting Seneca Valley, 45-43.
Decorated programs do battle
For a six-year run between 2017-22, the WPIAL Class 2A boys basketball championship was hoarded by two schools.
Sewickley Academy won back-to-back gold in 2017 and ‘18, then Our Lady of the Sacred Heart went on a four-year runs of titles between 2019-22.
Combined, the two schools have nine championships — Sewickley Academy with five and OLSH with four.
After combining to go 43-5 through two rounds of the district playoffs, they are set to square off as No. 3-seeded Our Lady of the Sacred Heart battles No. 2 Sewickley Academy at Peters Township at 7:30 p.m.
Both teams have been defensive in the first two rounds of the postseason.
The Panthers have given up only 50 points in two games, crushing Greensburg Central Catholic in the opening round, 77-17, and then defeating Winchester Thurston in the quarterfinals, 61-33.
The Chargers knocked off Bentworth in Round 1, 54-40, and then eliminated Jefferson-Morgan, 41-28.
The two met in the 2017 and 2018 district championship game with Sewickley Academy beating OLSH both times, 71-60 in ’17 and 63-59 in ’18.
In the other Class 2A semifinal, familiar Section 1-2A foes battle when No. 5 Clairton faces No. 1 Jeannette at Norwin at 7:30 p.m.
Brandon Murphy has scored a combined 36 points in leading the Bears past Shenango, 60-27, in the first round and Neshannock, 51-36, in the quarterfinals.
Jayce Powell has been the top scorer for the defending champion Jayhawks in the postseason with 38 points combined in wins over Brentwood, 70-49, and Eden Christian Academy, 52-36.
Jeannette has defeated Clairton twice this season.
In the first game Jan. 13, the Jayhawks won at home, 57-42, thanks to 22 points from Kymon’e Brown. Michael Ruffin had 12 to lead the Bears.
In the rematch Feb. 6, visiting Jeannette had to come back to beat Clairton, 54-50.
Identical final four in girls 4A
Since moving down from Class 5A to 4A prior to last season, Oakland Catholic has squared off against North Catholic five times.
After losing their first regular season meeting last year, the Eagles have trumped the Trojans four straight games, including a district playoff game in 2025.
Will that run continue Monday when No. 2 Oakland Catholic takes on No. 3 North Catholic at North Hills at 6 p.m.?
The two girls basketball powers split in the regular season last year, then the Eagles won the rubber game in the district semifinals, beating the Trojans, 57-29, as Josie Fontana led the way with 16 points.
In the regular season this year, Oakland Catholic has defeated North Catholic twice by a combined score of 93-57.
In this postseason, the Eagles had a first-round bye, and then suffocated South Park, 46-12, with Fontana leading the way with 15 points.
The Trojans have been impressive in wins over Laurel Highlands, 67-21, and Beaver in the quarters, 57-26. Brady Wehner had 20 points in the opening round win, and Lauren Reitz scored 19 in the second round victory.
In the other girls Class 4A semifinal Monday, top-seeded Blackhawk will take on a familiar playoff foe in No. 5 Elizabeth Forward at Peters Township at 6 p.m.
This is the third time in the last five years that the two have met in the semifinals.
In the 2022 playoffs, the Cougars cruised past the Warriors, 76-53.
Then a year ago in a much closer game, Blackhawk won again, downing EF, 57-51, behind 22 points from Aubree Hupp.
In the Cougars’ lone postseason game this year, Hupp scored 22 in a 50-33 win over Burrell.
The Warriors first cruised past Hopewell, 58-37, with Kaylynn Settles scoring 18 points. Elizabeth Forward followed up with a big win over rival Belle Vernon in the quarterfinals, 61-56 behind 18 points from Mia Sostaric.
Same goal, different path
In each of the last three years, Union has taken the same path to the Pete.
The Scotties have been the No. 1 seed and have played in and won three straight district title games.
Union has once again reached the Final Four, but this time as the No. 3 seed as it prepares to take on No. 2 Serra Catholic at North Allegheny at 6 p.m.
Both teams needed only one win to reach the semifinals after enjoying first-round byes.
The Scotties got 22 points from Olivia Benedict in beating West Greene in the second round, 50-35.
The Eagles got by Sewickley Academy, 53-49, thanks to 17 points from Bella Dumbroski.
In the other girls semifinal, top seed Aquinas Academy battles No. 4 Geibel Catholic at Norwin at 6 p.m.
The Crusaders enjoyed a first-round bye, and then beat Eden Christina Academy in the second round, 58-32, thanks in part to 18 points scored by Tess Duer.
The Gators also had Round 1 off before edging St. Joseph in a quarterfinal, 55-53.
Emma Larkin led Geibel Catholic with 34 points.
Hoops consolation Monday
The WPIAL is once again using consolation games to determine PIAA basketball qualifiers and their seeding from District 7.
There are six boys and five girls contests set for Monday.
• In boys 5A, Ringgold (15-10) is at Penn Hills (17-7) at 7 p.m. and Shaler (14-10) visits Gateway (16-8) at 7:30 p.m. in first round games. The winners play for fifth place Wednesday and the losers play for seventh place.
• In boys 4A, Belle Vernon (14-10) visits Hopewell (15-9) while Central Valley (16-8) hosts Elizabeth Forward (14-10), with both games tipping off at 7 p.m. The season is over for the losers while the winners collide for fifth place Wednesday.
• In boys Class 3A, Ligonier Valley (13-11) takes on Seton LaSalle (18-6) at Gateway at 7:30 p.m., and Southmoreland (15-9) travels to Mohawk (21-2) at 7 p.m. The two winners will play each other for fifth place on Wednesday while on the same night, the two losers clash for seventh.
• In girls 3A, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (19-6) visits Quaker Valley (18-7) in a second round game at 7 p.m. The winner is the fifth seed, and the loser is the sixth seed heading into the PIAA playoffs.
• In girls 2A, Laurel (13-11) is at Fort Cherry (17-5) at 7 p.m., and Aliquippa (15-8) is home to Burgettstown (17-7) at 7 p.m. in first round games. The winners play for fifth place, and the losers play for seventh place, both on Wednesday.
• In girls A, St. Joseph (13-10) is home to Eden Christian Academy (11-10) while Sewickley Academy (14-10) travels to West Greene (17-7), with both games tipping off at 7 p.m. The loser’s season is over while the winners collide on Wednesday for fifth place.
Monday on Trib HSSN
There is one broadcast and three podcasts you can listen to or watch at TribHSSN.TribLive.com on the 23rd day of February.
WPIAL Girls Basketball Playoffs Audio Stream – Class A Semifinals: Geibel Catholic vs. Aquinas Academy at 6 p.m. on WMBS-AM 590, WMBS-FM 101.1 at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
Video Stream: Rebel Yell Podcast featuring WPIAL basketball Team of the Week on the TribLive High School Sports Network at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
Video Stream: Rebel Yell Podcast featuring WPIAL girls basketball Player of the Week on the TribLive High School Sports Network at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
Video Stream: Rebel Yell Podcast featuring WPIAL boys basketball Player of the Week on the TribLive High School Sports Network at TribHSSN.TribLive.com