Thursday basketball rundown: Clairton's Iyanna Wade scores WPIAL-record 65 points; South Allegheny boys top Avonworth; Imani Christian boys thumped by nation's No. 1 team

There have been a lot of great girls basketball players that have come through Western Pennsylvania over the years, but none of them has ever done what Clairton’s Iyanna Wade did Thursday night in a game.

Wade set a WPIAL girls single-game scoring record after going off for 65 points in Clairton’s 82-32 win at winless Steel Valley in Class 2A Section 3.

Wade, a 5-foot-4 junior guard and the WPIAL’s leading scorer, broke the record of 62 points set by Wilkinsburg’s Maude Searcy in 1990. In doing so, Wade also broke the school single-game mark set by 2003 graduate Kam Gissendanner, who once scored 60 her senior season.

“I’m blessed,” said Wade, who scored a then-career high 56 points just a week earlier. “I didn’t even know it was a WPIAL record because I was trying to break Kam’s record. To know [that it’s a WPIAL record], that’s awesome.”

Wade is close with Gissendanner, now the women’s coach at La Roche, and the two exchanged texts afterwards.

“She just congratulated me,” Wade said. “She wants me to break all of her records.”

Wade, who upped her season scoring average to 41.8 points per game, reached the record after scoring 17 points in the first quarter, 17 in the second, 12 in the third and 19 in the fourth. Most of her points came on drives to the basket, as she finished with just two 3-pointers.

“I knew at halftime I had like 34 or 37,” Wade recalled. “And then at the end of the third I was close to 50. I looked up in the stands and my mom said to keep going.”

Wade’s career scoring total now stands at 1,740 points. Gissendanner holds the school record of 2,703 points, which ranks fifth in WPIAL history.

The win was Clairton’s sixth in a row and improved the Bears to 14-2 overall and 6-2 in Class 2A Section 3. Jamiya Childs added 11 points for the Bears, while Ava Caiarelli led Steel Valley (0-17, 0-9) with 13.

For Wade, there was no big celebration afterwards. Her favorite women’s college team, South Carolina, was playing on TV, and there was no missing that.

“I didn’t do anything,” she said. “I came straight home to watch the LSU-South Carolina game.”

Norwin’s Averi Brozeski goes for a basket in her team’s 64-44 win against North Allegheny Thursday in a home game (Emily Matthews/Pittsburgh Union Progress)

Other girls games

• Bethel Park (5-12, 2-7) snapped a four-game losing streak by going on the road and edging Chartiers Valley, 48-46, in Class 6A Section 2. Julia Benlock led the Black Hawks with 18 points, while Emma Reynolds paced Chartiers Valley (13-3, 6-2) with 15.

• Megan Marston pumped in 28 points and Plum (12-5, 8-1) stormed back from a seven-point halftime deficit to defeat visiting Woodland Hills, 60-52, in Class 5A Section 1. Plum outscored Woodland Hills, 22-5, in the third quarter. Carmen Vasquez led the Wolverines (6-9, 4-4) with 17 points.

• Jordyn Wolfe’s 27 points helped Montour (6-9, 1-4) win at Trinity (11-5, 4-2), 59-56, in overtime in Class 5A Section 4. Trinity has lost four games in a row, each of them in overtime. Ruby Morgan led the Hillers with 22 points.

• Erica Hall scored 22 points to help host South Fayette (10-6, 4-2) grab a 47-43 overtime win against Moon in Class 5A Section 4. The Lions outscored Moon, 8-4, in the extra period. The Tigers (11-5, 2-3) got 23 points from Jaedin Griggs.

• Hopewell (9-7, 4-2) won for the fourth time in five games, beating visiting Beaver (6-10, 3-3), 34-31, in Class 4A Section 2. Caylee Sundy scored 15 points for Hopewell, which held an 11-7 scoring advantage in the fourth quarter. Annsley Baker paced Beaver with 13 points.

• Meghan Murray scored 18 points and Emma Rick added 16 as Hampton (11-6) extended its win streak to five after a 40-32 non-section win at Highlands (11-6). Tyarah Woody paced Highlands with 11 points.

• Burrell (13-3, 5-1) now has won six games in a row after a 37-36 double-overtime win at Mount Pleasant (10-6, 3-3) in Class 3A Section 3. Jules Fisher scored 12 points for Burrell. Grace Arrigo led Mount Pleasant with 13.

• South Park (11-6, 5-1) ran to a 10-point first-quarter lead and went on to coast to a 48-32 win against visiting McGuffey (13-4, 3-3) in Class 3A Section 4. Addy Kerr led South Park with 12 points, while Taylor Schumacher scored 23 for McGuffey.

• Union (13-5, 4-0) won its 10th game in a row, 38-27, against visiting Aquinas Academy (14-3, 2-2) in Class 1A Section 1. Kylie Fruestorfer led Union with 16 points and Kelly Cleaver added a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds.

• Na’Jaziah Carter’s 13 points helped Monessen (11-3, 5-0) claim its fifth consecutive win after defeating visiting Geibel Catholic (11-5, 4-2), 58-34, in Class 1A Section 2. Geibel’s Emma Larkin, the second-leading scorer in the WPIAL at 32 points a game, was limited to 17.

Boys games

• Moon (13-3, 6-0) strengthened its grip on the Class 5A Section 4 lead courtesy of a 58-49 win at South Fayette (10-7, 4-2). Elijah Guillory scored 29 points for the Tigers, who outscored South Fayette, 23-13, in the fourth quarter. Gavin Orosz scored 28 for South Fayette. Moon coach Gino Palmosina picked up his 100th career win.

• Montverde Academy, Fla. (20-0), ranked No. 1 in the country, scored 70 points in the first half on its way to a 127-40 win against Imani Christian (6-8) in the Montverde Academy Invitational tournament. Montverde, which features three McDonald’s All-Americans and five, five-star seniors, got 13 points off the bench from Duke recruit Cooper Flagg, the country’s No. 1-ranked player. Montverde shot 57% from the field and had 17 dunks. Nate Brazil led Imani with 16 points.

• Drew Cook poured in 25 points to help host South Allegheny (12-5, 3-3) deal Avonworth (11-5, 5-1) its first section loss, 59-55, in Class 4A Section 4. Two nights earlier, the Gladiators handed Uniontown its first loss overall. Jeston Beatty chipped in 12 points for the Gladiators, while Rowan Carmichael scored 21 points for the Antelopes.

Three stars

*** — Madison Zavasky, Pine-Richland. Zavasky scored 30 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in leading Pine-Richland (5-10, 3-3) to a 52-36 home win against Hempfield (7-10, 0-6) in Class 6A Section 1.

** — Mallory Daly, Seton LaSalle. Daly poured in 36 points to propel Seton LaSalle (10-5, 4-1) to an 83-18 win against visiting East Allegheny (0-17, 0-6) in Class 3A Section 2. The Rebels scored 65 points in the first half.

* — Erynne Capalbo, Mohawk. Capalbo scored 15 of her game-high 27 points in the second half to lead host Mohawk (10-7, 3-1) to a 44-33 win against Laurel (4-13, 1-5) in Class 3A Section 1.

Hot from deep

Players with 3 or more 3-pointers: Addie Lonergan, Seton LaSalle, 6; Elijah Guillory, Moon, 5; Patrick Weldon, Seton LaSalle, 5; Eden Schleis, Avonworth, 3; Katie Lucarelli, Baldwin, 3; Kaylee DeAngelo, Oakland Catholic, 3; Megan Marston, Plum, 3.