Ever since the shift from four to six classifications for the 2016-17 school year, the WPIAL has managed to send at least one girls team to the PIAA basketball championships in every year while crowning at least one champion in every season since 2018 — the canceled 2020 tournament notwithstanding — but both of those streaks could be in serious jeopardy this year.
With only three teams remaining in the PIAA semifinals and zero all-WPIAL matchups in any of the Western Region finals, there is no guarantee that the WPIAL will be represented in any of the six girls state championship games in Hershey, Pa., later this week. And when you take a moment to examine the powerhouse programs standing in the way of McKeesport, Blackhawk and Greensburg Central Catholic in the semifinal round, the likelihood of the WPIAL being entirely left out of the girls state finals for the first time since 2016 starts to feel nearly inevitable.
So who can slay one of Pennsylvania’s proverbial giants in order to keep the WPIAL’s streak of PIAA girls championships alive? Only time will tell, but let’s start by taking a look at a team that has been there before as recently as 2023 — Blackhawk.
Yes, the Cougars have a new coach calling the shots in Greg Huston after the resignation of longtime coach Steve Lodovico, who won four WPIAL and two state titles in 18 years at the helm. But Blackhawk (25-3) has proven all year long to be just as formidable as in years’ past, boasting the No. 1 scoring defense in the WPIAL at an average of 28.2 points allowed per game.
Although the Cougars aren’t playing a full-court press as much as they did under Lodovico, the trademark defensive intensity and attention to detail remains fully intact. According to Huston, much of the credit goes to the players, whose determination to make it back to Hershey after falling in last year’s PIAA Class 4A title game has inspired another deep playoff run.
“I felt the pressure [coming in],” Huston said. “I was a little nervous about it, for sure. But it really has been a great experience. … Everything that was giving me a little anxiety has kind of been washed away as the season has progressed. And that’s really due to the group of girls I’ve been working with. They make my life easy.”
Blackhawk’s lockdown defense was on full display in a 43-19 victory against District 10 champion Fairview in the quarterfinal round — and the Cougars will need much more where that came from going into a showdown with undefeated District 3 champion Wyomissing (28-0), which just knocked off WPIAL champion North Catholic, 61-46, to reach the semifinals.
If Blackhawk is going to spoil Wyomissing’s perfect season, it will be up to senior guard Alena Fusetti and sophomore forward Aubree Hupp to carry the load, just as the talented tandem has done all season. A Mercyhurst recruit, Fusetti leads the team with an average of 16.2 ppg and has totaled well over 1,000 points for her career. Still, it’s all the little things she does besides scoring that makes Fusetti such a special player for the Cougars.
“She’s a great player, but she’s a great kid, too,” Huston said. “She helps me so much with everything that we do, from what we’re doing on the court to what’s going on behind the scenes. … She does a great job as our leader and our captain. There’s a reason she’s going on a full ride to Mercyhurst, because they see the same things we see every day.”
Having experienced, veteran players who have played in plenty of big games before will certainly work to Blackhawk’s benefit in the matchup with Wyomissing at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Altoona. The main focus for the Cougars will be slowing down 6-1 junior forward Amaya Stewart, who averages a team-leading 19.4 ppg for Wyomissing. Hupp is an excellent post player for Blackhawk, but she might have her hands full going against Stewart on Tuesday. Still, expect the Cougars to throw multiple different looks at Stewart defensively, rather than relying on one player to try to stop her.
“We know North Catholic can defend, and Wyomissing put up 61 on them,” Huston said. “It’s definitely going to be a tough challenge for us. As I watch the film here, we’ll try to formulate how we want to do it. It’s definitely going to be a tough task. We realize that.
“Our defense always gives us a chance, but we also know we have to come out and knock some shots down, too. We’re hoping the defense will be the X-factor that gives us a shot at winning the game.”
In the end, Blackhawk’s best chance is likely to play a slow-paced, low-scoring game and hope to keep things close until the final possession. And when it comes down to crunch time, having a go-to scorer on the perimeter like Fusetti could prove to make all the difference.
“To have a good defense, you have to have good athletes, and we have nine or 10 girls who can really go,” Huston said. “We have size, speed and toughness. … When everybody is on the same page, these are the results you’re going to get.”
Class 5A semifinal
After losing to eventual WPIAL champion South Fayette in the WPIAL semifinals on Feb. 27, McKeesport quickly regrouped and refocused its attention toward a state playoff run, winning its first three PIAA playoff games by 20-plus points to reach the state semifinals for the second time in the past three seasons.
The Tigers’ reward? A date with mighty District 10 champion Cathedral Prep (22-3), a team that has also won each of its first three PIAA playoff games by double digits. Cathedral Prep knocked off Oakland Catholic by a score of 39-29 in the quarterfinal round after winning its first two state playoff games by 24 and 25 points, clinching a berth in the PIAA semifinals for the 13th time in school history.
After taking over for previous coach Amy Gumbert, who resigned midseason, Matt Miller has steered McKeesport to a record of 11-2 since stepping into the head coach’s position. He said numerous changes were made to the Tigers’ offensive sets and defensive alignments, and the results have mostly been positive so far.
“We made a lot of tweaks. A lot of little things,” said Miller, also McKeesport’s head football coach. “It’s still them. It’s still the girls. It’s their effort and what they put into it. We just try to put them in the best position to win games.”
Now, with senior forward Kaylee Charles back in the fold after missing several weeks with an injury, the Tigers are back to full strength and firing on all cylinders going into their clash with Cathedral Prep at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Slippery Rock University.
“Honestly, yeah, I thought we had a team that could get to this point,” Miller said. “These girls were here two years ago, then made it to the Elite Eight last year and ran into a really good Oakland Catholic team. There always seems to be one team that’s our Achilles’ heel, one team that’s always had our number, and I think Oakland Catholic had their number last year, and Chartiers Valley had it the year before.
“Now, we’re here playing a totally new team, and it’s exciting.”
Senior Rachael Manfredo is an Edinboro recruit coming off a 22-point performance in a one-sided 57-35 PIAA quarterfinal win against Armstrong, and the 5-11 guard-forward has only gotten stronger for McKeesport as the season has gone on. A second-team PUP All-Star selection in the 2022-23 season, Manfredo averages a team-high 15 ppg for the Tigers.
Although Manfredo is certainly one of the top players in the area, she rarely looks to do things by herself. McKeesport’s depth and balance are the biggest reasons the Tigers have made it this far, with senior guards Brooke Evans, Maddie Cherepko and Madison Miller also playing key roles on a nightly basis.
In order to take down Cathedral Prep to reach its first state championship game, though, McKeesport will likely need another massive effort from Manfredo — especially while going head-to-head with Georgetown recruit Jayden McBride on the other side.
“She’s a stud,” Miller said about McBride. “She can go inside-outside. She’s big, she’s tall and she’s a physical presence. … It’s going to take four quarters and a lot of focus. I’m more worried on the defensive side, making sure we’re able to make stops.
“Hopefully when it comes down to the end of the game, I think we can make a big play if we have to.”
Most will likely be picking the Tigers to lose going into the game, but then again, that has been the case for many of McKeesport’s playoff wins over the past three seasons. During that time, the Tigers have been one of the most consistent teams in the WPIAL, while still in search of one more major victory to finally get over the hump.
Could this be the year McKeesport goes where no Tigers team has gone before?
“Everybody thought we wouldn’t be around,” Miller said. “We all believed we were that good, and I think we like our chances. We have about 14 people in our room who are believing, and we’ve got to play the game. If we win this game, this would be the furthest any McKeesport girls team has ever gone.
“It’s something they want to tack onto their legacy, and they’ve got a chance to do it.”
Class 2A semifinal
Perhaps the toughest task any of the remaining WPIAL teams will face lies in front of Greensburg Central Catholic, which is set to square off with reigning PIAA Class 2A champion Kennedy Catholic in the state semifinals for the second year in a row. This year’s matchup will take place at 6 p.m. Monday at North Allegheny.
Last season, the Centurions advanced all the way to the Western Region finals after losing in the WPIAL quarterfinals, rattling off five wins in a row before falling to Kennedy in the PIAA semifinals, 56-44. Kennedy (23-4) is seeking its third consecutive state championship appearance, while Greensburg Central (23-6) hasn’t advanced to the state finals since making back-to-back appearances in 1996-97.
The Centurions hung around for most of the first three quarters in last year’s PIAA semifinals before Kennedy began to pull away, but that meeting still left coach Chris Skatell and his players with the belief that they belonged. And with star sophomore Erica Gribble at the forefront and seniors Mya Morgan and Avery Davis rounding out a talented trio of guards for the Centurions, Greensburg Central appears to be equipped for an even more competitive battle against Kennedy this time around.
“It would be nice if we were playing Tuesday instead of Monday, just to have more time to prepare for this team, but that’s not how the world works,” Skatell said. “They have a couple days, too. We’ll do the best we can to be ready, and we hope to go up there and play our tails off.”
Gribble, who leads the team with an average of 20.5 ppg, was right on her season average with a game-high 20 points in a 56-26 win against District 5 champion Everett in the quarterfinal round. And with Morgan (15 points) and Davis (13 points) also chipping in with double-digit efforts, the Centurions make it difficult for teams to key on Gribble without paying the price.
“Every time we kind of teeter a little bit here and there, one of those seniors steps up,” Skatell said. “Avery Davis hit some big shots in the first half to keep us in the [quarterfinal game], then Mya did some things defensively and scoring, and then Gribble got hot, and that was that.”
The reigning PIAA Class 2A Player of the Year, 6-foot junior Layke Fields presents a nightmare matchup for any defense, and Greensburg Central will be searching for any ways they can find to try to contain Kennedy’s star forward. Fields leads the team at 20.1 points and 11.8 rebounds per game, but Kennedy also has three more players averaging double figures in sophomore guard Bella Magestro (12.3 ppg), junior guard Monique Vincent (11.4 ppg) and freshman guard Tori Harvey (11 ppg).
Good luck finding a weakness in that lineup.
“[The message is] the same, pretty much, every time we go out to play,” Skatell said. “You’ve got an opportunity in front of you. No matter when you play, somebody is watching. Go compete. Be willing. And we’ll see where we are when the clock is done.”
Steve is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at srotstein@unionprogress.com.
