Nobody in their right mind was questioning Maddie Webber’s place among the top players in the WPIAL before Thursday’s action, but she decided to issue a reminder just in case.
Webber caught fire early on in South Fayette’s 74-61 victory against Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Md., Thursday at the St. Elizabeth tournament in Delaware, and she had no plans of turning down the heat. “The Webber Grill” scored a game-high 30 points for the defending WPIAL Class 5A champion Lions and surpassed 1,000 points for her career in the process.
The win helped South Fayette (8-2) rebound from a disappointing 50-49 loss the previous night to St. Thomas Aquinas, N.J. The Lions will return home to open section play Jan. 3 against Moon.
Other girls games
• Oakland Catholic has been on a roll lately under first-year coach Eddie Benton, and the Eagles (7-2) notched another impressive win with a 73-46 triumph at Hoover, Ohio, in the North Canton Hoover Classic. Alexa Washington paced four double-digit scorers for Oakland Catholic with 17 points to guide the Eagles to their fifth consecutive victory.
• Lauren Palangio led all scorers with 19 points in a high-profile showdown of two championship contenders, as Norwin (8-1) bounced back from its first loss this season with a 61-45 win against North Catholic. Kendall Berger chipped in with 14 points for the Knights, while Anna Waskiewicz finished with a team-high 13 points for the Trojanettes (6-3).
• Gemma Walker finished with a game-high 20 points, but it wasn’t enough to keep Peters Township’s winning streak alive as Indiana (6-3) eked out a 55-54 win at the Latrobe tournament. Katie Kovalchick scored a team-high 18 points to help the Little Indians snap a Peters Township (8-2) seven-game win streak.
Boys games
• Peters Township (7-2) emerged from a back-and-forth battle with a 68-63 win against Norwin (6-2) at the Peters Township/USC tournament, handing the Knights their second loss in as many days after a 6-0 start. Despite the loss, Norwin senior Adam Bilinsky stole the show by throwing down a jaw-dropping slam dunk that is being called the “Dunk of the Year” so far in the WPIAL. See for yourself:
• Kam Greil led a balanced attack for Fox Chapel with 21 points, 6 assists and 3 steals in a 68-60 win against Shady Side Academy (6-2) in the Peter Sauer Memorial tournament. Erik Wilson (13 points), Will Siegel (11 points) and Jefferson Moorefield-Brown (10 points) also reached double figures for the Foxes (7-2), while Eli Teslovich led all scorers with 27 points for the Indians.
• Rowan Carmichael scored a game-high 37 points while Austin Johncour contributed 18 for Avonworth (4-4) in an 82-75 overtime win against Deer Lakes (5-5). Billy Schaffer scored a team-high 27 points for the Lancers while Bryce Robson tacked on 26 in the losing effort.
Three stars
*** — Josh Williams tallied a game-high 37 points in a high-scoring affair against Clairton to lead Northgate to a 94-78 home win for its fifth consecutive victory.
** — Emma Paul scored 32 of Armstrong’s 49 points against Obama Academy, and the River Hawks needed all 32 of them to secure a nail-biting 49-47 victory against the Eagles.
* — Another day, another 40-point game for Aquinas Academy senior Vinnie Cugini. “The Genie” poured in 46 points for the Crusaders in a 71-47 win against Keystone Oaks, giving him seven consecutive 40-point games and 2,470 points for his career. He now is only 368 points away from Tom Pipkins’ all-time WPIAL record.
Hot from deep
Players with 3 or more 3-pointers: Rowan Carmichael, Avonworth, 6; Billy Schaffer, Deer Lakes, 5; Riley Collins, Mt. Lebanon, 4; Bryce Robson, Deer Lakes, 4; Jack Glies, Neshannock, 3
Boys scores
Aliquippa 45, West Philadelphia 40
Archbishop Wood 57, Penn Hills 55
Armstrong 36, Linsly School, W. Va., 33
Auburndale, Fla., 53, Allderdice 52
Avella 55, South Side Beaver 51
Beaver 59, Upper St. Clair 45
Bishop Guilfoyle 56, Yough 54
Blackhawk 52, Sto-Rox 42
Carlynton 71, Brentwood 39
Chartiers Valley 67, Central Valley 31
East Allegheny 78, California 58
Eden Christian 66, Riverside 27
Fort Cherry 69, McGuffey 41
Fox Chapel 68, Shady Side Academy 60
Freeport 50, Obama Academy 43
Gaston Day School (Gastonia), N.C., 66, Mt. Lebanon 61
Greensburg Central Catholic 68, Connellsville 19
Hempfield 66, Connellsville 19
Hickory 51, Canon-McMillan 44
Highlands 60, Pine-Richland 43
Hillcrest Christian Academy 63, Propel Andrew Street 42
Jeannette 61, Mount Pleasant 23
Leechburg 61, Apollo-Ridge 29
Lincoln Park 70, Laurel Highlands 66
Monessen 63, South Park 61
Mount Saint Joseph, Md., 65, Central Catholic 48
Nazareth Prep 73, Trinity Christian 49
Neighborhood Academy 57, Springdale 54
Neshannock 68, Greenville 39
Northgate 94, Clairton 78
Peters Township 68, Norwin 63
Rochester 59, Sewickley Academy 53
Shaler 54, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart 53
Shenango 71, Hopewell 40
Slippery Rock 60, Brashear 35
Steel Valley 73, Knoch 50
Trinity 75, Albert Gallatin 66
Union 63, Wilmington 11
Uniontown 88, Southern Garrett, Md., 43
Washington 68, Propel Braddock Hills 57
Western Beaver 68, Propel Montour 27
Woodland Hills 60, Kiski Area 54
Girls scores
Aliquippa 59, Central Valley 55
Apollo-Ridge 56, Derry 25
Armstrong 49, Obama Academy 47
Beaver 46, Shenango 35
Bethel Park 41, Plum 36
Blackhawk 61, New Lexington, Ohio, 37
Bridgeport, W. Va., 60, Albert Gallatin 49
Butler 57, Avonworth 42
Charleroi 64, Beth-Center 19
Ellwood City 53, Portersville Christian 30
Hampton 49, Starr’s Mill, Fayetteville, Ga., 42
Hempfield 52, Seton LaSalle 29
Hopewell 41, Grove City 34
Indiana 55, Peters Township 54
Keystone Oaks 59, Chartiers-Houston 48
Knoch 63, Ellis School 4
Latrobe 72, McLean, Va., 60
Laurel 56, Eden Christian 30
Laurel Highlands 57, Washington 30
Leechburg 40, East Allegheny 21
Mercer 42, Ambridge 28
Moon 51, Rochester 37
Mt. Lebanon 55, Dalton School, N.Y., 30
Neshannock 82, Hickory 27
North Allegheny 60, Sarnia Northern, Ontario, 42
Northgate 35, Neighborhood Academy 12
Norwin 61, North Catholic 45
Oakland Catholic 73, Hoover, Ohio, 46
Pine-Richland 45, Quaker Valley 36
Quaker Valley 47, Burgettstown 46
River Valley 61, Franklin Regional 37
Seneca Valley 72, South Side Beaver 16
Sewickley Academy 57, Carrick 34
Shady Side Academy 50, Fox Chapel 47
Shaler 52, Mohawk 42
South Fayette 74, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Md., 61
Wilmington 63, Deer Lakes 20
Winchester Thurston 51, West Mifflin 49
Yough 44, Connellsville 34
Steve is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at srotstein@unionprogress.com.
