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Friday March 21, 2025 | 5:18 p.m.
Josh Jackowski by South Allegheny fights for a rebound with Michael Gaskins d’Aliquippa during the Basketball Basketball Championship 3a Wpial on Saturday, March. 1, 2025 at the Petersen Events Center.
The road to Hershey has a last stop while the state basketball semi-finals end with the boys 6A, 3A and 2A, as well as the girls 5A, 4A and a Final Four occupying the front of the stage.
Two of the PIAA semi-final matches on Saturday are revenge matches of WPIAL league games.
Gladiators vs quips
Three years ago, they locked the horns on the same stage of the State semi-final with a trip to Hershey in play.
Three weeks ago, they met during the WPIAL 3A WPIAL championship match.
The budding rivalry continues on Saturday when the Wpial South Allegheny (26-3) champion is displayed with the PIAA 2A 2024 Aliquippa (23-5) champion at Canon-McMillan at noon.
During the WPIAL 3A 2025 championship match, South Allegheny followed Aliquippa three points at halftime and five points heading to the fourth quarter before gathering to win his first basketball championship for District boys, 37-35.
The defense of the gladiators limited the quips to only four points from the fourth quarter.
The Dynamic Backcourt duo of its senior Cam Epps and Junior designed combined for 21 points, six rebounds and four interceptions.
The two continued to dominate the PIAA qualifiers, combining for 42 points in a victory in the first round on Cranberry, 30 points in a triumph of La Ronde 2 against Bishop Guilfoyle and 40 points in the quarter -final on Camp Hill Trinity.
The junior goalkeeper Josh Pratt did the bulk of the work for Aliquippa, starting with the defeat of the district match against South Algheny in which he scored 18 of the 35 points of his team.
In the victories of the playoffs on Westmont-Hilltop, Mercer and Forest Hills, Pratt scored 80 points combined.
The only time the Basketball Program of South Allegheny’s boys reached the PIAA Four Four was in 2022 against Aliquippa.
The game was close to the quips, the edge of the gladiators, 57-55.
DJ Walker led Aliquippa with 20 points while Bryce Epps scored 15 points to lead South Allegheny.
The victory over Forest Hills in the quarter-final was historic for the quips, because she raised her record of all time in the basketball matches of Piaa boys at 100-28.
Aliquippa plays in his fourth consecutive state semi-final and seeks to remain perfect after victories on South Allegheny in 2022, Otto-Edred in 2023 and Fort Cherry a year ago.
The competition of the other Basketball semi-finals of the boys PIAA 3A stopped the Champion of the District 12 West Catholic (12-14) against the second in the District 2 Holy Cross (25-4) in Parkland at 2:30 p.m.
Revenge n ° 2
They played for District Gold three weeks ago, now a trip to Chocolate Town to play for State Gold is at stake in a confrontation in the semi-finals of Piaa Girls 5A between the canton of Peters (26-3) and South Fayette (27-2) with Canon-McMillan at 2 p.m.
The first battle was eagerly awaited because the Indians and Lions had been the two best teams classified in female hoops 5A all season.
In this match for the title at the Pete, South Fayette’s junior, Haylie Lamonde, hit a stab beyond the half-breaked band at the half-time to put the triple champion in title Lions seven points.
But the canton of Peters kept it near the third quarter before the Indians became the Lions, 13-3, in the fourth quarter to win the crown of the district n ° 2, 40-36.
Natalie Wetzel, senior of the canton of Peters, paved the way with 13 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two interceptions.
The Miami Committee kept his hot hand in PIAA qualifiers, marking 57 points combined in victories against Conrad-Weiser, Thomas Jefferson and Cathedral Prep.
Lamonde collected 19 points in the defeat of the district 7 championship match for the Lions. She scored 15 points in the victory in the quarter -final of the PIAA against Hollidaysburg, winner of the District 6.
During the last two victories of the South Fayette qualifiers, Juliette Leroux led the lions with 41 points combined.
The canton of Peters tries to join the Piaa championship match for the first time since he won everything with a perfect record in 2019.
South Fayette seeks to return to Hershey and the state finals for the second time in three years after falling at the Archbishop Wood in the match for the title PIAA 5A in 2023.
The match of the semi-finals of the other girls of the State 5A has the winner of the district 2 Crestwood (24-4) against the archbishop of the district 12 of the champion Wood (21-7) in Parkland at 1 p.m.
District 12 Party Crashers
As the old song of Sesame Street says… ”One of these things is not like the other.”
Soon, we will discover if “one of these things simply does not belong”.
The Final Four in the Basketball Basketball Baskets in Class 6a Piaa has three teams from the Powerful Catholic League of Philadelphia in the District 12, and the District winner USC.
The Wpial Upper St. Clair (26-2) champion faces team n ° 3 from District 12 to the Roman Catholic (24-5) in Norristown at 1 p.m.
This is only the second trip of the panthers to the semi-final of the Piaa.
The first was in the champions shortcut tournament in 2021 PIAA in which they only needed one victory to reach the Final Four. The USC lost against the possible Reading State champion, 68-46.
Meanwhile, it will be the sixth trip to the State Four of the State for the Roman Catholic in the past 10 years.
Cahillitis are a perfect 5-0 in these semi-final matches and won everything in 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2022.
The USC had three best scorers in three victories on the road to Hershey.
Tyler Robbins Senior scored 15 in a victory in the first round against York William Penn, the Junior Jake Foster led 22 points during a victory in the second round against Governor Mifflin, and senior Nico Gidas recorded 22 points in a spectacular victory against McDowell in the quarter -finals.
The Roman Catholic eliminated Lower Merion, Central York and Coatesville by 71 points combined.
In the match of the other semi-finals of boys 6a, the father judges (22-7) beats the charter Imhotep (26-5) in Norristown at 1 pm in a revenge match of the finals of the district 12.
Wpial force test
The two heads of the basketball playoffs of class 2A WPIAL boys have never met in the district qualifiers or even the consolation round after the two did not come to reach the game for the title at Pete.
However, they will lock themselves in the PIAA semi-finals for a place in the 2A State Championship match at the Giant Center in Hershey.
Greensburg Central Catholic (26-2) faces the Sewickley Academy (23-5) in the canton of Peters at noon.
Many thought that these two duels for district gold in the final 2A, but the best classified centurions were upset in the quarter-final by Union while the Panthers fell in the semi-finals to the possible champion Jeannette.
For GCC, the senior goalkeeper Liam Gallagher scored 42 points combined during the first two laps of the victories against McConnelsburg and Neshannock.
During the quarter -final victory against the Jeannette rival for the third time this season, Junior Samir Crosby scored 13 and the second student AJ Tarley added 12 points for the Centurions.
Meanwhile, the Sewickley Academy had three best different scorers in three victories in the Piaa qualifiers.
Junior striker Lucas Grimsley scored 20 points in a triumph of the first round on Windber, the first year striker Mamadou Kane collected 22 points in a victory in the second round against Lakeview and the senior striker Nolan Donllly led 14 points in a quarter-final victory against Notre-Dame du Sacré-Coeur.
The match of the other semi-finals of boys 2A presents the champion of the district 4 Northwest (26-3) against the winner of the district 3 Linville Hill Christian Academy (22-5) at Martz Hall in Pottsville at 2:30 p.m.
Another Bloc Festival of the District 12
Class 6a boys are not the only PIAA basketball support with three district 12 teams and one of the wpial.
It was the same match that produced the last four teams of the class 4A female tournament.
In the Western final, two n ° 3 teams of their respective districts meet when Lansdale Catholic (22-5) will face North Catholic (25-4) in Chambersburg at 1 p.m.
The young Trojan horses bounced well in state qualifiers after being steam in the District semi-final by Oakland Catholic.
Led by the second year student Brady Wehner, who collected 48 points combined, North Catholic eliminated Penn Cambria, Harbor Creek and Blackhawk on the road to Hershey.
Meanwhile, Lansdale Catholic barely left the first round, Lancaster Catholic, 52-48.
However, in the second round and quarter -final on the Champion of the District 6 Forest Hills and the winner of the District 7 Oakland Catholic, the Crusaders won 38 and 34 points respectively.
In the competition of the other semi-finals of the girls 4A, Neumann-Goretti (24-4) fights on Charter (23-7) in St. Joseph’s Prep at 1 p.m. in a revenge match of the 12 district championship won by Audenreid Charter.
Another public service
There are no wpial teams to stay in girls A, but here are the two games in the semi-finals on Saturday.
• Bishop Carroll (21-7) of the District 6 Bishop Carroll (21-7) against the Champion of the District 6, Bishop Guilfoyle (28-2) in Altoona at noon.
• Winner of the District 3 Linville Hill Christian (23-2) against the Champion of the District 4 Lourdes Regional (23-6) at Martz Hall in Pottsville at 1 p.m.
Pa cup to win
With three new Champions of the Penguin Cup crowned earlier in the week, he opens the way for the last day of high school hockey this season.
The three champions of the Penguin Cup face the winners of the Flyers Cup at the annual state championships of the Pennsylvania Cup.
This year’s event takes place at the Robert Morris University Sports Complexe on the island of Neville and can be seen on Trib HSSN.
The first state championship competition is in class A while Aonworth takes the Garnet valley at 12:45 p.m.
In the class 2A final, the preparation of the cathedral fights North Penn at 3.30 p.m.
Finally, during the final of the PA Cup of the class 3A, Seneca Valley comes up against the preparation of the Holy Spirit of the 2015 PA Cup at 6.15 p.m.
Over the past four years, the Flyers Cup champions have won nine of the 12 state title games.
The only winners of the Penguin Cup who won a state of the PA Cup this decade were Baldwin in 2021, the canton of Peters in 2022 and Pine-Richland in 2023.
Seneca Valley and Avonworth have never won a state championship while Cathedral PREP is looking for title 4 of the PA Cup.
This year marks the very first hockey championship of the Lycée in Division 2 of the PA Challenge Cup.
Morgantown has won the title Pihl Division 2, but because it is from Virginia-Western, it is not eligible, so the finalist Burrell will represent the West and Play Pope John Paul II of the East.
The playing time for the Division 2 championship is 10 a.m.
Tags: Aliquippa,, Avonworth,, Burrell,, Greensburg CC,, Canton of Peters,, Seneca valley,, Sewickley Academy,, South of Allegheny,, South Fayette,, Upper St. Clair