For the second year in a row, Elizabeth Forward has rapidly rebounded from a slow start by going on a midseason tear — and the surging Warriors may have just locked up the Class 4A Section 3 title on Monday night.
There is still plenty of basketball to be played, of course, but Elizabeth Forward used a stifling defensive effort to sweep the season series against section rival Laurel Highlands (11-5, 6-3), turning away the Mustangs with a 37-32 home win. Nobody finished in double figures for the Warriors (10-3, 7-0), but Michelle Jellison tallied 9 points in the win to go with 8 apiece from Kaelynn Settles and Chloe Zombek.
“These are good games for us,” said Elizabeth Forward coach Noah Yartin. “Laurel Highlands is a really good team. They’ve had some really good wins as well. We were just happy to stay undefeated in the section and get another good win.”
Yartin said both Settles and fellow junior guard Mia Sostaric average more than 5 steals per game, and the tandem was essential to slowing down the potent Laurel Highlands offense, which leads Class 4A with an average of 59.7 points per game.
“We just are really into pressuring the ball,” said Yartin, less than a week removed from his 28th birthday. “I feel like we have two of the best perimeter defenders in Kaelynn [Settles] and Mia [Sostaric]. Probably two of the best in any class. They get after it. I would not want to be guarded by either one of them. … They fly around the court on every play.”
Jellison has taken over for former standout forward Alyssa Terza as the team’s leading scorer this season, averaging a little more than 18 points per game on the year for the Warriors. But they have relied on several key contributors alongside Jellison to help fill the stat sheet during their nine-game winning streak, with Zombek running the point as the unquestioned senior leader.
“[Zombek] is so dependable,” Yartin said. “She might not be the quickest guard or the best scoring guard, but we know when we’re facing pressure, we can get her the ball. She just completely slows the game down for us and makes it really easy for us to get into our stuff.”
Elizabeth Forward still has work to do in order to clinch the section title, but the Warriors are well on their way there with a two-game lead over South Park. Of course, even with a loaded Class 4A field that includes defending PIAA champion Blackhawk and powerhouse programs like North Catholic and Oakland Catholic, a section title isn’t the ultimate goal for Elizabeth Forward — these Warriors want the grand prize.
“Defense wins championships,” Yartin said. “Same type of thing last year. We were really good defensively, and that’s why we knew it would come around. We just had to keep working, and it’s paying off.
“I wouldn’t really want to play us in the playoffs. It will be a tough out.”

Other girls games
• Three players finished in double figures for two-time defending WPIAL champion South Fayette (14-1, 7-0), led by a game-high 19 points from Haylie Lamonde in a 64-34 win at West Allegheny in Class 5A Section 3. Lailah Wright contributed 13 for the Lions to go with 11 from Ryan Oldaker, while Ella Smith led the Indians (9-6, 2-6) with 13 points in the defeat.
• Three-time defending WPIAL Class 4A champion North Catholic was on the ropes in a marquee non-section clash against Seneca Valley, but the Trojanettes (13-2) rallied back from an 11-point third-quarter deficit for a 50-42 home win. Brady Wehner racked up 19 points for North Catholic to go with 14 from freshman Sam Weir, while Gracie Cato finished with 19 for the Raiders (10-5).
• Gia Minton led all scorers with 23 points for North Hills (5-11), but it wasn’t enough to overcome a balanced scoring attack for Mt. Lebanon (9-7), as Payton Collins led the host Blue Devils with 20 points in a 62-33 non-section win. Anessa Donoghue chipped in 18 and Emily Twman added 10 to round out a trio of double-digit scorers for Mt. Lebanon.
• Allie Cervola poured in a game-high 26 points for host Hempfield (8-7) to lead the Spartans to a 58-47 non-section win against Butler (8-7). Amelia McMichael led three players in double figures for the Golden Tornado with 19 points in the loss, followed by 11 from Avery Maier and 10 from Malina McElroy.
• Ava Shazer scored a game-high 19 points for Chartiers Valley while Rachel Boehm tacked on 13 for the Colts (11-6, 7-1), who used a 29-4 run in the second quarter to cruise to a 59-39 win at Montour in Class 5A Section 3. Zoe Woessner led the Spartans (6-9, 1-6) with 11 points in the defeat.
• Alayla Bivens led all scorers with 18 points for Oakland Catholic (11-2, 7-1), which built a commanding 34-point halftime lead on its way to a 68-37 win at Highlands in Class 4A Section 1. Bella Bonnett posted a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Golden Rams (4-11, 3-6) to go with 13 points from Tyarah Woody.
• Neah Ewing finished with 17 points to lead the way for Knoch (7-8, 6-2), and Karlee Buterbaugh added 11 for the Knights in a 47-40 win against Burrell (10-5, 5-3) in Class 4A Section 1. McKenna Miller led the visiting Buccaneers with 14 points to go with 11 from Casey Brancato.
• Taylor Pullen tallied a game-high 27 points for Beaver Falls (7-5, 6-3), but Our Lady of the Sacred Heart relied on its well-rounded offense to roll to a 71-38 home win in Class 3A Section 1. Shae Trombetta scored a team-leading 17 points for the Chargers (14-2, 9-0), while Lola Garner and Claudia Ierullo finished with 10 points apiece.
• Talented freshman Bella Dumbroski led three players in double figures for Serra Catholic with 25 points in a 54-33 home win against Bishop Canevin in Class 1A Section 2. Abby Genes added 15 points for the Eagles (8-6, 6-2) along with 10 from Niki Sfanos, while Kya Cooley scored a team-high 9 points for the Crusaders (8-5, 3-4).
• Janelle Norman scored a game-high 24 points for Valley and Trinity Ingram finished with 14 to help the Vikings (2-13, 1-7) pull out a 56-37 win at Derry in Class 4A Section 1. Jane Huss led the Trojans (3-11, 1-8) with 21 points to go with 10 from Kylee Metcalf.

Boys games
• One of the leading scorers and top multisport athletes in the WPIAL, Brady Mayo delivered another vintage performance for Beaver with a game-high 35 points in a 93-55 non-section win against visiting Sto-Rox (2-11). Nick Krzeczowski added 19 points for the Bobcats (12-4) while Junior Marino chipped in with 16, and L.J. Washington finished with a team-high 13 points for the Vikings.
• In a makeup game from last Thursday, Aydan Cunningham led all scorers with 21 points for host McGuffey in a 63-34 non-section victory against Carmichaels. Wyatt Frazee added 13 for the Highlanders (12-4) along with 10 from Mason Nemeth, while Robbie Wilson-Jones led the Mighty Mikes (3-11) with 8 points in the loss.
• Bryce Wright buried seven 3-pointers on his way to a game-high 25 points for Avella (7-7), leading the Eagles to a 79-37 non-section win over visiting Mapletown. Lucas Stevenson scored a team-leading 22 points on the night for the Maples (0-14).

Three stars
*** — Alayna Wagner, Keystone Oaks. Wagner poured in a game-high 29 points to power the visiting Golden Eagles to a 57-34 win at McGuffey in Class 3A Section 3.
** — Jaedin Griggs, Moon. Griggs outscored New Castle by herself with a 30-point performance for the Tigers in a 48-29 home win over the Red Hurricanes in Class 5A Section 3.
* — Vita Vargo, Mars. Vargo tallied a team-high 15 points to propel the Planets to a 37-31 non-section win over visiting Pine-Richland, becoming the eighth girls player in school history to surpass the 1,000-point plateau.
Hot from deep
Players with 3 or more 3-pointers: Bryce Wright, Avella, 7; Brady Mayo, Beaver, 5; Payton Collins, Mt. Lebanon, 4; Anessa Donoghue, Mt. Lebanon, 4; Ava Shazer, Chartiers Valley, 4; Gianna Bianchini, Fort Cherry, 3; Aubrey Brown, Belle Vernon, 3; Dominique Douglas, Central Valley, 3.

Scoreboard
Boys scores
WPIAL CLASS 2A
Section 2
Sewickley Academy 53, Brentwood 31
Section 4
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart 72, Western Beaver 30
Non-section
Avella 79, Mapletown 37
Beaver 93, Sto-Rox 55
Beaver County Christian 54, Environmental Charter 43
McGuffey 63, Carmichaels 34
Girls scores
WPIAL CLASS 5A
Section 1
Fox Chapel 53, Gateway 23
Section 2
Greensburg Salem 38, McKeesport 36
Penn-Trafford 61, Latrobe 45
Section 3
Chartiers Valley 59, Montour 39
Moon 48, New Castle 29
South Fayette 64, West Allegheny 34
WPIAL CLASS 4A
Section 1
Knoch 47, Burrell 40
Oakland Catholic 68, Highlands 37
Valley 56, Derry 37
Section 2
Blackhawk 67, Ambridge 14
Central Valley 51, Lincoln Park 35
Hopewell 38, Hampton 20
Section 3
Belle Vernon 46, Yough 26
Elizabeth Forward 37, Laurel Highlands 32
WPIAL CLASS 3A
Section 1
Mohawk 53, New Brighton 5
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart 71, Beaver Falls 38
Quaker Valley 68, Sto-Rox 19
Riverside 40, Ellwood City 37
Section 2
Deer Lakes 54, South Allegheny 32
Section 3
Keystone Oaks 57, McGuffey 34
Washington 41, Brownsville 39
WPIAL CLASS 2A
Section 3
California 50, Bentworth 41
WPIAL CLASS 1A
Section 1
St. Joseph 56, Leechburg 22
Section 2
Geibel Catholic 65, Clairton 62 (OT)
Serra Catholic 54, Bishop Canevin 33
Non-section
Apollo-Ridge 61, Northgate 8
Beaver County Christian 40, Nazareth Prep 11
Fort Cherry 51, Waynesburg 31
Hempfield 58, Butler 47
Mars 37, Pine-Richland 31
Mt. Lebanon 62, North Hills 33
North Catholic 50, Seneca Valley 42
Shaler 59, Upper St. Clair 47
South Side 61, Freedom 23
Winchester Thurston 48, Chartiers-Houston 43
Steve is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at srotstein@unionprogress.com.