Chris Rossetti, www.d9sports.com
Special to MaxPreps.com
Wilkinsburg High School's Darche' Jackson will probably never forget the night she reached 1,000 career points. Nor will anyone else in attendance.
Jackson poured in a career-high 54 points to lead the Wilkinsburg girls to a 64-62 win over Shady Side Academy Monday night in a WPIAL game, handing the Indians their first section loss.
The leading scorer in the WPIAL at 31.4 points per game (according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette), Jackson entered the night needing 22 points for 1,000. She reached that milestone with no trouble, and then added 32 more for good measure. Her two free throws with five seconds left proved to be the winning points.
WPIAL Boys Basketball: Top Class AAAA teams struggle
Tuesday wasn't a good night for the top teams in Class AAAA in the WPIAL as one lost and three barely won.
Seneca Valley upset North Alleghany, which was ranked third in the WPIAL by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and first by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 56-40, behind double-doubles from John Fitzpatrick (18 points, 10 rebounds) and C.J. Brown (10 points, 11 rebounds).
Meanwhile, McKeesport (No. 1 PG; No. 2 Trib) had to hold off four-win Woodland Hills, 74-68. The Wolverines, not known as a basketball power, stayed in the game thanks to 30 points from Corley White, but McKeesport got 20 from Devon Alexander.
Also, the Post-Gazette's No. 2 team, Pittsburgh Central Catholic, needed a perfect overtime (6-for-6 from the floor) to beat Gateway, 72-59, while Upper State Clair (No. 5 by PG) had to overcome a four-point overtime deficit to beat Bethel Park, 60-56.
Elsewhere in the WPIAL, Tuesday night, Uniontown broke 100 points in a 101-73 win over Belle Vernon, while Hempfield's Nate Perry hit seven 3-pointers on his way to 25 points in a 65-46 Spartan win over rival Penn-Trafford.
District 9 Boys Basketball: DuBois Central Catholic continues to roll; ECC pulls mild upset
DuBois Central Catholic, last year's PIAA Class A runner-up, continued to roll Monday, winning its 11th straight game to move to 13-1 on the season with a 66-52 win over defending District 9 Class AA champion Kane. DCC, which is ranked third in the RRR Roadhouse D9Sports.com District 9 overall rankings, got 25 points from senior Dom Varacallo.
Tuesday night saw Elk County Catholic, ranked No. 5 in District 9, pull a mild upset, 48-47, over No. 2 Bradford at ECC. The Owls had beaten ECC, 42-25, Dec. 11 but couldn't overcome a 31-percent shooting night in the rematch. ECC, which shot 50 percent, was led by Kiel Nissel's15 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots.
On Monday, once-beaten Rocky Grove shut out Clarion-Limestone by 8-0 in overtime to get a 62-54 win in a key Keystone Shortway Athletic Conference boys' game. The Orioles trailed by three points late before Dylan Gravatt's nailed a 3-pointer to tie the game. C-L then held for the last shot in regulation but couldn't connect. Ethan Gravatt then scored four of his team-high 14 points in overtime to lead Rocky Grove to the win. Ethan Gravatt finished with a triple-double (14 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds). It was C-L's third overtime game in the last eight days and the Lions second overtime loss in that span.
District 10 Boys Basketball: Divito nets 27 as General McClaine rolls; North East keeps winning
Defending PIAA Class AAA champion General McClane got 27 points from Dom Divito Tuesday to roll past Titusville, 74-53, in District 10 action.
Also in D10 Tuesday, North East upped its record to 14-1 with a 78-48 win at Maplewood behind 21 points apiece from Matt Triana and Michael Rouse. Kennedy Catholic's Kyle Randall netted 33 points in an 82-42 win at Cochranton.
WPIAL Girls Basketball: USC beats the buzzer; North Catholic wins inter-classification showdown
Meghan McLean's 15-foot jumper at the horn lifted Upper St. Clair past upset-minded Bethel Park, 48-46, Monday night. USC is ranked No. 4 in the WPIAL by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Monday also saw a rare inter-classification showdown between North Catholic, the Post-Gazette's No. 1 Class A team, and Greensburg Central Catholic, the PG's No. 3 Class AA squad. But it didn't end up being much of a game, with North Catholic getting 23 points from Amy Longo in a 64-49 win. It was the second straight win over a top-ranked WPIAL foe for North Catholic, which beat Mt. Lebanon, which was ranked No. 1 in Class AAAA at the time Saturday, 48-42.
On Tuesday, there was an upset when Quigley Catholic knocked off Serra Catholic, the No. 3 ranked Class A team by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 63-57.
District 10 Girls Basketball: Villa Maria shows why it's No. 1
District 10's Villa Maria showed why it's ranked No. 1 in Pennsylvania in Class AA by the Harrisburg Patriot-News as it rolled past previously unbeaten and No. 4 Girard, 44-26, at Girard Monday. The loss broke a 15-game win streak for Girard and was its first loss of the season. Sophomore Kayla McBride led the victors with 19 points.
District 9 Girls Basketball: Keystone; West Forest get key wins; Brookville pulls out OT thriller
There were two key Keystone Shortway Athletic Conference crossover games on Tuesday. Keystone, the first-place team in the KSAC West, held off Karns City, the third-place team in the KSAC East, 50-47, behind 14 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals from sophomore Sam Schwabenbauer.
West Forest, the third-place team in the KSAC West, produced a 44-38 upset over Clarion, which entered the game ranked fifth in District 9 and tied for first in the KSAC East. Wake Forest received a triple-double of 24 points, 10 rebounds and 10 steals from sophomore Geena Sneeringer, while Jackie Lutz contributed 19 rebounds and five blocked shots.
Monday saw Brookville win a non-conference thriller over Clarion-Limestone, 58-56, in overtime, when Janelle Mescall hit a driving lay-up with 11 seconds left to break a 56-all tie. Olivia Pinson had a shot to win the game for C-L at the horn, but her shot was off.
