Jan 5, 2023 5 min read

One of the better stories this girls basketball season is the resurgence of Washington.

After a couple of rough seasons, the Prexies have been off to a strong start this year and picked up their most significant victory of the campaign Thursday night, a 34-26 victory over Chartiers-Houston at the Wash High gymnasium.

The Prexies improved to 3-0 in the section and sit alone at the top of the standings. Chartiers-Houston (3-1, 7-5) suffered its first section loss.

The key to the game was the second quarter, when Washington held a 13-5 scoring edge to take a 21-12 lead into halftime.

Kaprice Johnson led the way for the Prexies with a game-high 14 points and Olivia Woods followed with 11.

Ella Richey led the Bucs with eight points.

Burgettstown 69, Sto-Rox 16: Burgettstown had its second consecutive Class 2A Section 2 blowout as the Blue Devils rolled to a 69-16 victory over Sto-Rox.

Burgettstown (2-0, 7-4) led 31-2 after one quarter and 52-3 at halftime. The Blue Devils have allowed only three first-half points in their last two games.

Junior Kaitlyn Nease led the Burgettstown offense with 22 points. Christny Bartley hit double figures for the second game in a row, tossing in 12 points. Jillian Frazier scored 10.

Sto-Rox is 0-1 in section and 2-5 overall.

Belle Vernon 48, Southmoreland 16: Belle Vernon remained unbeaten in Class 4A Section 3 with a 48-16 thumping of visiting Southmoreland.

The Leopards (4-0, 6-5), who have won three in a row, led 11-3 after one quarter and 35-7 at halftime.

Belle Vernon had only one player score in double figures as Farrah Reader tossed in 10 points. Tessa Rodriguez had six points, eight assists and eight steals. Jenna Dawson had nine points to go with six steals.

Carmicfhaels 43, Bentworth 41: Sophia Zalar scored four of her 14 points in overtime and Meghan Voithofer made a clutch three-pointer in the extra session as Carmichaels rallied to beat Bentworth 43-41 in Class 2A Section 4.

The Mikes (2-1, 4-8) forced overtime at 36-36 on a shot by Duski Staggers at the buzzer in regulation.

Voithofer paced Carmichaels with a game-high 15 points. The Mikes have won three in a row.

Bentworth (1-3, 3-9) led 28-22 after three quarters. Amber Sallee led the Bearcats with 14 points and Grace Skerbetz had 11.

Trinity 49, Moon 27: Balanced scoring and good defense were the key as Trinity picked up its second Class 5A Section 4 win, a 49-27 thumping at Moon.

The Hillers (2-0, 5-3) were tied 8-8 after one quarter but held Moon (0-2, 4-5) to only seven points over the next two quarters to forge a 38-15 lead.

Macie Justice and Kristina Bozek were only Trinity players to score in double figures, each netting 10 points.

Avella 50, Mapletown 28: Hanna Brownlee led three Avella players in double figures with 15 points and the Eagles cruised to a 50-28 home-court win over Mapletown in Class A Section 2.

Avella (1-1, 6-5), which snapped a three-game losing streak, dominated throughout, forging leads of 21-6 after one quarter and 41-11 at halftime.

Ava Frank scored 13 points for the Eagles and Katie Dryer tossed in 12.

Isabella Garnek scored nine points for Mapletown (1-1, 4-7).

West Greene 51, Geibel Catholic 16: West Greene stayed unbeaten in Class A Section 2 with a 51-15 thumping of host Geibel.

West Greene (3-0, 6-4), which has won four straight, led 18-2 after one quarter and 29-6 at halftime.

Taylor Karvan led a balanced West Greene scoring attack with 12 points. Kasi Meek was next with 10.

Charleroi 57, Yough 46: McKenna DeUnger had another big game as she poured in a game-high 30 points, powering Charleroi to a 57-46 win at Yough in Class 3A Section 4.

Charleroi (1-1, 5-3) led 27-22 at halftime and 38-36 after three quarters before pulling away over the final eight minutes. Bella Carroto scored 11 points for the Cougars, who have won four of five.

Laney Gerdich scored 24 points for Yough (1-1, 4-6).

Monessen 64, Jefferson-Morgan 13: Monessen moved above the .500 mark in Class A Section 2 with a 64-13 win at Jefferson-Morgan.

Avanti Stitch led the Greyhounds (2-1, 4-4) with 16 points and Sidney Campbell followed with 12.

Kayla Larkin led J-M with five points.

Brentwood 43, Fort Cherry 37: Brentwood rallied in the second half to take a 43-37 victory over Fort Cherry in Class 2A Section 2.

Fort Cherry (1-1, 6-5) led 17-14 at halftime and 25-23 with the closing seconds of the third quarter when Brentwood’s Jessie Yee made a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Spartans a one-point lead. Brentwood (1-0, 4-6) remained in the lead the rest of the way as Mia March scored a team-high 15 points.

Fort Cherry’s Rainey Staub scored a game-high 16 points.

Bethel Park 73, Canon-McMillan 51: Mary Boff scored a game-high 22 points and Bethel Park won its fifth straight, 73-51, over visiting Canon-McMillan in Class 6A Section 2.

The Black Hawks (2-2, 5-6) jumped out to a 44-29 halftime lead.

Sophia Nath scored 16 points and Ella Sabatos had 11 for Bethel Park.

Canon-McMillan (0-3, 4-7) had its three-game winning streak end. The Big Macs were led by Lauren Borella’s 19 points. 

Nadia Davis followed with 12.

California 49, Beth-Center 42:

Rakiyah Porter scored 20 points to power California to a 49-42 victory over Beth-Center in Class 2A Section 4.

The Trojans (2-1, 5-4) have won three in a row.

Samantha Smichnick added 11 points to the Trojans’ cause. California led 21-15 at halftime.

Violet Trump paced B-C (0-4, 2-9) with 12 points and Lauren Brown scored 11.

In other games: South Fayette was a 53-39 winner at Lincoln Park in a battle of the Class 5A Section 4 leaders. Plum defeated Peters Township 53-50 in a non-section game. No game details were reported by press time.