By Chris Rossetti, www.d9sports.com
Special to MaxPreps.com
PITTSBURGH – In a game matching two teams ranked in the top 15 in Pennsylvania girls basketball by MaxPreps.com, visiting No. 8 Mt. Lebanon used a quick start to down No. 14 Bethel Park 48-38 Thursday night.
The Blue Devils (12-0 overall, 6-0 WPIAL Class AAAA Section 4) led 12-4 at the end of the first quarter and 24-11 at halftime and still led by 13, 38-25, at the end of three quarters.
“We knew it was important for us to get off to a great start,” Mt. Lebanon head coach Dori Oldaker told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Madison Cable led Mt. Lebanon with 17 points, while Danielle McNabb paced Bethel Park (12-1, 5-1) with 12 points.
The teams will meet again Feb. 2 at Mt. Lebanon.
Meanwhile, No. 19 Butler (11-1) had no trouble topping winless Moon (0-11) 76-43 Thursday. The Golden Tornadoes led 24-10 at the end of the first quarter and 37-16 at halftime. Casie Cygan had a game-high 25 points for Butler, while Olivia Bresnahan added 18 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
No. 24 General McLane (10-0) also was victorious Thursday beating Erie McDowell (11-2) 43-34 thanks to a 7-0 run at the start of the third quarter that erased an 18-17 halftime deficit. Sarah Hansen scored her 1,000th career points for the Lancers and finished the game with 10 points. Valerie Majewski led General McLane with 19 points, while Canisius recruit Allison Braun led Erie McDowell with 17.
WPIAL Girls Basketball: Elizabeth Forward’s Hearn picks up 400th win
Elizabeth Forward head coach John Hearn picked up his 400th career win Thursday night when the Lady Warriors toppled Belle Vernon 62-41 behind 25 points from Kristin Hawkins.
Hearn, who has coached at E-F from 1978-90 and 1999-present, is now 400-154 at including 7-4 this year. He was an assistant coach for the Warriors, under his wife Sandy, from 1973-1977 and helped E-F to two PIAA Class AAA titles game (1975, 1977) and the 1975 WPIAL Class AAA championship.
“It’s a very nice feeling,” Hearn told the McKeesport Daily News. “Obviously, I’ve been around for a while to get this many wins. But a lot of people are responsible for that. We’ve had a lot of good basketball players here, and they all happen to be good people.”
Additional girls’ highlights from Thursday included Jeannette’s Kayla Cook hitting two free throws with 12 seconds left to lift the Jayhawks to a 53-52 win over Leah Hurst (25 points) and East Allegheny. Cook finished with 19 points. Also, Penn Hills’ Darche’ Jackson scored 15 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and dished out eight assists to lead the Indians to a 46-45 win over McKeesport.
WPIAL Boys Basketball: No. 2 Chartiers Valley uses big second half to get win
Chartiers Valley (11-0), ranked No. 2 in Pennsylvania boys basketball by MaxPreps.com outscored Moon 36-28 in the second half including 20-10 in the third quarter to get a 62-54 win Friday night.
Teagan Lindsey led four players in double figures for the Colts 19 points, while T.J. McConnell added 16. Aaron Johnson led all scorers with 22 for Moon.
Also Friday, No. 19 North Catholic (10-0) bolted to a 41-18 halftime lead on its way to a 69-43 win over Northgate. Jesse Long led the Trojans with 23 points.
No. 22 Peters Township (11-1) pulled away from Mt. Lebanon to get a 56-40 win. Peters led 34-27 going to the fourth quarter but outscored the Blue Devils 22-13 in the fourth quarter. Nick Wilcox had 15 points to lead Peters Township.
In other highlights, Fort Cherry’s Zach Bellhy scored his 1,000th career point in a 77-54 win over South Side Beaver Thursday when he scored 28 points. He then added 16 points in an 80-39 loss to South Fayette Friday and has 1,033 career points for the 9-3 Rangers.
Also on Thursday, Corey Bellovich of Keystone Oaks poured in 31 points in a 70-65 overtime win over West Allegheny. While on Friday, North Allegheny’s Nick Dvorsky basket at the horn led the Tigers to a 50-49 win over Seneca Valley, and McKeesport’s Zeke Marshall had 25 points, 13 rebounds and 10 blocked shots in a 67-63 win over Penn Hills. Donatae Brown scored 26 for the Indians.
Football: Seven from Western PA named to Big 33 team
Seven players and two coaches from Western Pennsylvania were named to the Pennsylvania squad for the 51st annual Big 33 High School Football All-Star game being played June 20 at Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey. Pennsylvania will take on Ohio for the 17th time with Ohio leading the series 9-7.
Making the squad from the WPIAL were McKeesport defensive lineman Dana Brown, Penn Hills linebacker Dan Mason, Bethel Park running back Lyle Marsh, Bethel Park wide receiver John Schademan and Thomas Jefferson tight end Brock DeCicco. Bethel Park won the WPIAL Class AAAA title and was the PIAA runner-up, while Thomas Jefferson was both the WPIAL and PIAA Class AAA champion.
Making the squad from District 10 were Erie McDowell defensive lineman A.J. Fenton and Wilmington linebacker Carson Sharbaugh. Wilmington won the District 10 and PIAA Class AA title.
Clearfield’s Tim Janocko from District 9 has been named the head coach while General McClane’s Jim Wells from District 10 is one of the assistant coaches.
The Big 33 game was started in 1957 and has provided at least one player in each NFL Super Bowl Roster since the Super Bowl was founded.
District 10 Boys Basketball: Titusville, West Middlesex win late
Both Titusville and West Middlesex got last-second wins Friday night.
For Titusville, Jim Burt’s basket with 3.5 seconds left lifted the Rockets to a 53-51 win at Maplewood, while West Middlesex got two free throws from Marcus Murray with 1.3 seconds left to hand Reynolds (11-1) its first loss of the season.
Also on Friday, Matt Hilliard scored 28 points including 16 in the first quarter alone to help Villa Maria to a 59-35 win at Linesville Friday night.
On Thursday night, Girard’s Andrew Rickard scored 28 points including the 1,000th of his career in a 66-48 win over Erie Central. Rickard’s teammate Jeff McDonald added 25 points.
District 10 Girls Basketball: Freshman nets 26 for North East
North East freshman Annie Artise scored 26 points in a 60-35 win over visiting Fairview Thursday night.
District 9 Boys Basketball: Venango Catholic’s Rynd has monster week
Venango Catholic sophomore Maxx Rynd had a monster week – or more like two days – for the Vikings scoring 59 points Thursday and Friday. He had 34 points in a 78-70 win over A-C Valley Thursday and then added 25 points in a 77-60 loss to Keystone Friday.
Rynd’s teammate, Parker James, didn’t have a bad couple of games, either, scoring 28 points on eight 3-pointers against A-C Valley and following it up with 20 vs. Venango Catholic.
Rynd is averaging 20.9 points per game with James following at 15.9 per outing.
Speaking of putting up points, Union’s Scott Booth had 34 points and 15 rebounds Monday in a 53-47 win over Redbank Valley and then added 27 points in a 93-35 victory over East Forest Friday. Booth, a junior, is averaging 22.5 point per game on the year and has topped 30 twice.
District 9 Girls Basketball: Keystone’s Schwabenbauer has big week
Keystone junior Sam Schwabenbauer, one of the top players in District 9, had her best week of the season last week combining to score 45 points to go with 29 rebounds, 16 assists and 13 steals. She had 24 points, 10 rebounds, six steals and six assists in a 47-42 win over Venango Catholic Friday after posting 21 points, 19 rebounds, 10 assists and seven steals in a 63-59 overtime loss to Clarion-Limestone Monday.
Union’s Tina Lipps (25 points, 29 rebounds) also had a solid week including 13 points and 18 rebounds in a 62-22 win over Redbank Valley Monday, while West Forest’s Geena Sneeringer scored 55 points during the week including a 14-point, 10-rebound, 8-steal effort in a 44-31 win over Karns City Monday and a 19-point, 8-rebound, 5-assist, 5-steal game in a 47-29 win over Redbank Valley Thursday.
Two other top performances during the week came from Venango Catholic Kayla Cook who had 13 points, 13 rebounds and three assists in the loss to Keystone Friday and from East Forest’s Kelsey Rini who scored 22 points to go with 16 rebounds, four steals, two blocked shots and an assist in a 60-53 win over East Forest Monday.
District 9 Basketball: Big week ahead
It’s a marquee week in District 9 basketball with six games, five boys’ and one girl’s tilts featuring two teams ranked in the Top 10 of the RRR Roadhouse D9Sports.com District 9 Top 10.
On Monday, boys’ No. 1 DuBois Central Catholic (8-1) hosts No. 7 Cameron County, and No. 2 Keystone (10-1) hosts No. 8 Punxsutawney (7-2). On Tuesday, No. 3 Clearfield (7-0) will play No. 9 Elk County Catholic (8-3), while Wednesday will see No. 4 St. Marys (7-2) play Punxsutawney. Friday will feature St. Marys and Clearfield in a rematch of a Dec. 20 game won by Clearfield 65-63.
The premier girls’ game of the week takes place Friday when No. 2 West Forest (11-0) takes on No. 3 Cranberry (8-2) at West Forest with the winner possibly being in position to take over the top spot. West Forest beat Cranberry 47-44 Dec. 23.
