Trib HSSN girls basketball player of the week – Lexi Pearce

School – Serra Catholic

Class – Freshman

Height – 5-foot-6

Position – Guard

#Earned – What a roller coaster ride of emotions Friday afternoon turned out to be for a certain ninth grader.

Serra Catholic freshman Lexi Pearce got the full “Wide World of Sports” treatment in the WPIAL girls Class A championship game as she went from the thrill of victory, to the agony of defeat to the thrill of victory again, all in a 90-minute window.

Pearce had played second fiddle to Eagles sophomore and leading scorer Bella Dumbroski all season, averaging nearly 13 points per game.

However, she was white-hot in the first half against Geibel Catholic.

Pearce scored her team’s first 13 points and finished the first half with 17 points.

She was 3 for 4 from behind the 3-point line, had another three buckets when she took the ball hard to the hoop and was 2 for 3 from the free throw line.

She also had five rebounds and a steal.

Then in the third quarter of a back-and-forth tight game between the Section 2-A co-champs, Pearce went down near midcourt without making contact with another player. She immediately clutched her knee.

As the entire Petersen Events Center went silent, medical folks quickly attended to Pearce.

She was taken off the court on a stretcher with the game still up for grabs.

Paramedics knew that a trip to the hospital was needed, but Pearce convinced them to let her stay to watch the rest of the game.

She returned to the court in a wheelchair midway through the fourth quarter.

Pearce was a nervous spectator with her team leading by one point with time running out and the great Emma Larkin dribbling the basketball. Larkin drove down the left side, continued to the hoop along the left baseline, put up a great shot in traffic that rolled around and off the rim.

Serra Catholic held on to beat Geibel Catholic in a memorable Class A title game, 47-46.

In a wheelchair and with gold around her neck, Pearce headed to the hospital with the thrill of victory trumping all on a crazy day.

2026 Trib HSSN Girls Basketball Players of the Week

Week 6 – Payton Newman, Neshannock

Week 5 – Maggie Spell, Thomas Jefferson

Week 4 – Alexis Cashdollar, Mars

Week 3 – Mimi Thiero, Quaker Valley

Week 2 – Erica Gribble, Greensburg Central Catholic

Week 1 – Karis Thomas, Shady Side Academy