Jan 23, 2020 7 min read

Kendelle Weston scored six of her game-high 20 points in overtime as the Monessen girls basketball team rallied to defeat Avella, 54-51, in a Class A Section 2 game Thursday night.

Weston went 4-for-6 from the foul line as the Greyhounds made six free throws in overtime for the comeback victory.

The game was extended to overtime when Avella (5-2, 11-5) missed two free throws at the end of regulation, which kept the game tied at 43-43.

Monessen (6-3, 12-5) pulls closer to the second-place Eagles with the win. The Greyhounds trailed 25-16 at halftime but outscored Avella 14-5 in the third quarter to take a deadlocked score into the fourth.

Qitarah Hardison recorded her 11th consecutive double-double for Monessen with 17 points and 18 rebounds.

Jordan Rush scored 14 points to lead Avella. Brianna Jenkins added 12.

Trinity 73, Montour 36: Keeping Montour to single digits in each of the first three quarters, Trinitywon its sixth consecutive game, 73-36, to clinch a playoff berth in Class 5A Section 1.

It was the fifth straight time the Hillers have won by double digits.

Riley DeRubbo and Courtney Dahlquist led a strong offensive night in limited time. DeRubbo scored 18 points and Dahlquist added 14.

Trinity (9-1, 13-2) led 38-14 at halftime.

Raegan Jadleisk scored 11 of her game-high 26 points in the fourth quarter for Montour (1-9, 6-11).

South Park 52, Charleroi 41: Charleroi couldn’t find a way to stop the balanced South Park scoring or recover from a sluggish start as the Cougars fell 52-41 in a battle for second place in Class 3A Section 2.

South Park (8-2, 10-6) extended its one-game lead it had on Charleroi for second place entering the night, firmly putting the Cougars in third.

The Eagles flew away with their fast start, leading 14-6 after the first quarter. They kept Charleroi (6-4, 10-7) at a distance by outscoring it 12-8 in the third quarter to take the 11-point lead that stuck for the remainder of the game.

Danielle DeProspo led South Park with 12 points. Maddie Graham, Kierra Moelber and Nora Ozimek each finished with 10 points.

Bella Skobel provided most of the offense for Charleroi, scoring a game-high 24 points. Cierra Gazi also added six free throws en route to eight points.

Brownsville 50, McGuffey 45: Gaining a slight edge in the first half, Brownsville held off McGuffey for an important 50-45 victory in Class 3A Section 2.

The win for Brownsville (5-5, 9-5) keeps the Falcons a half game ahead of Beth-Center for the fourth and final playoff spot in the section. It also hands McGuffey (3-7, 7-9) its third straight loss.

Abby Donnelly and Claire Redd both scored in double figures for the Highlanders with 18 and 13 points, respectively.

Emma Seto helped Brownsville to the fast start. The Falcons led 17-13 after the first quarter and doubled that lead to eight points, 28-20, by halftime. Seto finished with 16 points.

Beth-Center 55, Washington 50: A strong first quarter proved to be the difference for Beth-Center as the Bulldogs edged Washington, 55-50, in a Class 3A Section 2 game.

The teams were separated by only one point in the final three quarters, however, Beth-Center (4-5, 8-7) doubled the Prexies to take a 12-6 lead after the first quarter. Both teams scored 14 points in the third quarter and 15 in the fourth.

Elizabeth Trump and Olivia Greco paced the balanced offense for the Bulldogs, matching one another 15 points. Trump also grabbed 13 rebounds as Greco went 11-for-12 from the free-throw line. Maddy Hunyady poured in 14 points.

Four players for Washington (2-7, 4-12) reached double digits, including Randi Thomas’ 13 points. Cass Lewis scored 11. Kyla Woods and Sam Maurer both added 10. It was the Prexies fifth consecutive loss.

West Greene 68, Jefferson-Morgan 13: Jersey Wise and Anna Durbin combined for 36 points as West Greene remained undefeated with a 68-13 win over Jefferson-Morgan in Class A Section 2.

Wise and Durbin outscored the entire Jefferson-Morgan team. Wise finished with a game-high 20 points and Durbin scored 16 for the Pioneers.

West Greene (9-0, 17-0) raced out to a 22-2 lead after the first quarter and led 50-8 at halftime.

Autumn Gustovich was almost the entire offense for Jefferson-Morgan (2-6, 2-13). She scored 10 of the Rockets’ 13 points.

California 55, Geibel Catholic 14: Five players scored in double figures as California rolled to a 55-14 win over visiting Class A Section 2 foe Geibel Catholic.

The balanced scoring effort from the Trojans was paced by Jordyn Cruse’s 11-point night. Charlee Petrucci, Sydney Smichnick, Sam Smichnick and Makayla Boda each scored 10 points for California (5-4, 9-8).

The Trojans, who led 28-9 at halftime, held Geibel Catholic (1-7, 1-11) to five points in the second half.

Gayle Pokol led the Gators with six points.

Belle Vernon 39, Mt. Pleasant 22: Playing solid defense, especially in the first half, Belle Vernon remained tied for fourth place in Class 4A Section 3 with a 39-22 victory over Mt. Pleasant.

The win keeps Belle Vernon (6-4, 11-5) tied with West Mifflin for fourth place in the section. The Titans were narrow winners over Ringgold Thursday night.

The Leopards, who have now won four out of their last five games, were paced by 15 points for Rachel Wobrak. They also kept Mt. Pleasant (2-8, 3-13) from any consistent offense in the first half, limiting the Vikings to just two points in the first quarter and three in the second to lead 23-5 at halftime.

All Bailey scored seven points to lead Mt. Pleasant.

Seton LaSalle 48, Waynesburg 38: Clara Paige Miller led all scorers with 19 points but it wasn’t enough as Waynesburg fell to first-place Seton LaSalle 48-38 in a Class 3A Section 2 game.

The last-place Raiders kept it close throughout because of Miller. Seton LaSalle (10-0, 13-4) led by just three points, 26-23, at halftime. The Rebels extended that lead by outscored Waynesburg (1-9, 6-11) by six points in the third quarter.

Sarah Merlina made a trio of three-pointers to pace Seton LaSalle with 14 points. Ava Dursi also chipped in 11 points.

Miller was the lone player for the Raiders to score more than five points on the night.

Fort Cherry 48, Carmichaels 29: Fast-starting Fort Cherry built a 10-point lead in the first quarter and never looked back in a 48-29 win over Carmichaels in Class 2A Section 3.

Fort Cherry (4-5, 6-10) made the long trip to Greene County and outscored the Mikes 16-6 in the first quarter. The Rangers led 25-17 at halftime and pulled further away with a 16-point fourth quarter.

Annika Reinhart and Dana Sinatra each finished with 10 points for Fort Cherry.

Kylie Sinn led Carmichaels (1-7, 4-13) with a game-high 11 points.

Hempfield 67, Canon-McMillan 54: Sarah Liberatore scored a game-high 23 points to lead four players for Hempfield to reach double figures as the Spartans defeated visiting Canon-McMillan in a Class 6A Section 2 game, 67-54.

The balanced scoring effort from Hempfield (4-6, 7-8) keeps them in contention for a playoff spot. Emma Hoffner added 15 points. Capri DeCaro and Olivia Persin scored 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Still in search of a section win, Canon-McMillan (0-10, 1-16) fell behind by eight points in the first quarter and trailed by 11 at halftime.

The Big Macs found some balance of their own as Stellanie Loutsion scored 17 points and Caroline McCaffrey chipped in with 12.

Burgettstown 53, Bentworth 10: Avery Havelka and Celeste DiVecchio each reached double figures as Burgettstown rolled past host Bentworth, 53-10, in a Class 2A Section 3 game.

Havelka paced all scorers with 17 points. DiVecchio added 11 for the Blue Devils, who improve to 6-2 in the section and 11-6 overall.

Kaitlyn Sallee scored five points for Bentworth (0-9, 4-14).

In other games… South Fayette defeated Lincoln Park, 44-39, in a Class 5A Section 1 game. West Mifflin held off Ringgold, 37-32, in Class 4A Section 3. Additional game details were no made available to the Observer-Reporter.