You won’t find many teams that start the season with a record of 5-9 through 14 games and go on to reach the WPIAL Class 5A semifinals, but that’s exactly what Von Pitts and the Woodland Hills girls have done.
Pitts has engineered a masterful midseason turnaround for the No. 12-seeded Wolverines, who now have won eight of their past 10 games after handing No. 4 Trinity (16-7) a 51-40 loss Friday night at Mt. Lebanon High School. The win marks the second consecutive upset of a top-five seed for Woodland Hills (13-11), which defeated No. 5 Armstrong Tuesday in the opening round, 53-48.
“Cierra Guest had a double-double. She didn’t lead us in scoring, but she led us in rebounding, which was huge,” Pitts said of his 6-2 senior forward. “We outrebounded them, 43-26, overall. That was huge. That was the game.”
For the juniors and seniors on the Wolverines, the victory also helped erase the sting of a 74-53 WPIAL semifinal loss to the Hillers two years ago. Pitts acknowledged that the win held a little bit more meaning based on his team’s history with Trinity.
“It really does [feel good], I tell you, in more ways than one,” Pitts said. “Just getting over the hurdle of beating them.”
Knowing his team has an even tougher test in front of him against defending WPIAL champion South Fayette, Pitts is convinced his players won’t back down from the challenge. After all, embracing the underdog role has worked for Woodland Hills the past two games, so why stop now?
“I know they’re well-coached. They’re like a well-oiled machine,” Pitts said about South Fayette. “If you look at our record, we’ve had our struggles over the course of the year. To see us come into our own and hit our stride, this is something we knew we were capable of.
“The one thing [our players] have always said is that our record doesn’t reflect who we are as a team today, and I like that confidence within them.”
Other Class 5A girls
• Maddie Webber once again showed why she is considered by many to be the top all-around player in the WPIAL, scoring a career-high 39 points while knocking down seven 3-pointers to lead No. 1 South Fayette (22-2) to a 70-49 win against No. 8 Penn-Trafford. Olivia Pepple finished with 22 and Lauren Marton added 17 for the Warriors (16-8), while the defending champion Lions move on to face Woodland Hills for a spot in the title game.
• No. 2 Oakland Catholic asserted its dominance from the opening tip, taking a 21-point lead against No. 7 Mars after the first quarter and activating the 30-point mercy rule with 4:40 left in the third en route to a 63-42 quarterfinal win. Olivia Donnelly finished with 19 points for the Planets (16-7), while Alexa Washington also scored 19 and made five 3-pointers for the Eagles (21-3). Oakland Catholic now will face section-rival McKeesport for the third time this season in the WPIAL semifinals.
• Fresh off an upset of No. 6 Indiana in the first round, No. 11 Hampton (15-9) gave McKeesport all it could handle, but the No. 3 Tigers outlasted the Talbots for a 55-44 win. Hampton led for much of the game, but McKeesport (20-4) closed the final quarter on a 12-0 run to seal the win and earn a trip to the WPIAL semifinals. Kaylee Charles and Rachael Manfredo led the Tigers with 17 and 16 points, respectively, while Meghan Murray finished with a game-high 20 for the Talbots.
Class 4A girls
• Playing without senior standout Quinn Borroni, No. 1 Blackhawk (20-3) cruised past No. 8 Belle Vernon and into the WPIAL semifinals after a 63-45 win. Alena Fusetti led the way with 17 points along with 14 apiece from Kassie Potts and Aubree Hupp. Jenna Dawson scored 17 and Farah Reader finished with 10 for the Leopards (15-9).
• Alayna Rocco outscored No. 7 Beaver (14-9) by herself with 26 points, powering No. 2 North Catholic to a one-sided 62-22 win to extend the Trojanettes’ winning streak to 14 games in a row. Dacia Lewandowski chipped in with 19 points and Ava Walker added 13 for North Catholic (20-3), which will take on No. 6 Highlands Tuesday in the WPIAL semifinals.
• No. 4 Quaker Valley raced to a 15-5 lead against No. 5 Knoch and never looked back, knocking off the Knights, 52-39, to advance to face top-seeded Blackhawk in the WPIAL semifinals. Maria Helkowski led all scorers with 22 points for the Quakers (16-7) to go with 15 from Shannon Von Kaenel. Hattie McGraw finished with 20 points on six 3-pointers and Nina Shaw added 11 for Knoch (15-9).
Class 6A boys
• No. 5 Butler stormed to a 19-12 lead after the first quarter, but No. 4 Mt. Lebanon quickly closed the distance before taking over down the stretch for a 55-50 WPIAL quarterfinal win. Riley Farabaugh scored a team-leading 17 points for the Blue Devils (16-7). Braylon Littlejohn finished with a game-high 19 points and Donovan Carney scored 18 for the Golden Tornado (14-8).
• Julian Dahlem scored 14 points and No. 2 Upper St. Clair (15-8) survived a furious rally by No. 7 Seneca Valley (9-13) after leading by 18 points entering the fourth quarter. The Panthers then held on for a 45-43 win to reach the WPIAL semifinals. Luke Lawson also scored 14 points to lead the way for the Raiders.
Class 2A boys
• Geno DeFrank led No. 2 Bishop Canevin with 18 points and Shea Campine added 16 for the Crusaders in a 64-57 win against No. 7 Serra Catholic (14-10). The Eagles received a game-high 22 points from Pete Burke, but a 10-point halftime deficit proved too steep to overcome. Canevin (20-4) now will face No. 6 Northgate Tuesday for a spot in the WPIAL championship.
Hot from deep
Players with 3 or more 3-pointers: Maddie Webber, South Fayette, 7; Hattie McGraw, Knoch, 6; Alexa Washington, Oakland Catholic, 5. Alayna Rocco, North Catholic, 4.
Boys scores
Class 6A quarterfinals
Central Catholic 80, Baldwin 75 (OT)
Mt. Lebanon 55, Butler 50
New Castle 59, Norwin 47
Upper St. Clair 45, Seneca Valley 43
Class 2A quarterfinals
Aliquippa 63, Shenango 37
Bishop Canevin 64, Serra Catholic 57
Greensburg Central Catholic 73, Eden Christian 54
Northgate 67, Clairton 48
Class 5A consolation first round
Mars 75, Fox Chapel 69
South Fayette 68, McKeesport 55
Class 1A consolation first round
Aquinas Academy 72, Monessen 62
Neighborhood Academy 71, Rochester 46
Girls scores
Class 5A quarterfinals
McKeesport 55, Hampton 44
Oakland Catholic 63, Mars 42
South Fayette 70, Penn-Trafford 49
Woodland Hills 51, Trinity 40
Class 4A quarterfinals
Blackhawk 63, Belle Vernon 45
Highlands 43, Elizabeth Forward 27
North Catholic 62, Beaver 22
Quaker Valley 52, Knoch 39
Class 3A consolation first round
Keystone Oaks 51, Mohawk 33
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart 41, Waynesburg 27
Class 2A consolation first round
Greensburg Central Catholic 68, Brentwood 42
Serra Catholic 50, Chartiers-Houston 24
For WPIAL postseason basketball brackets, results and schedules, go here:
Steve is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at srotstein@unionprogress.com.
