State title quest begins for local teams
Eight local high school basketball teams – two boys and six girls – will begin quests for a state championship when they open play this weekend in the PIAA playoffs.
Five teams will be in action tonight, including both boys qualifiers.
The Peters Township boys (22-4), the WPIAL Class 5A runner-up, will host Milton Hershey (19-8) at AHN Arena. Tipoff is 6 p.m. Milton Hershey is the sixth-place team from District 3.
Also in 5A boys, South Fayette (16-10), which made a late-season charge and finished fifth in the WPIAL, will play District 10 champion Erie Cathedral Prep (21-3). The game will be played at the Hagerty Family Events Center in Erie and will be part of a doubleheader involving local teams. The Waynesburg girls (21-5), the seventh-place team out of the WPIAL in Class 3A, will play District 10 champion Mercyhurst Prep (19-5) in the 6 p.m. opener.
A pair of Class 2A girls team will be in action tonight. Burgettstown (20-6), the third-place team out of the WPIAL, will play District 6 runner-up United (17-8) at Central Cambria High School in Ebensburg at 7 p.m. Chartiers-Houston (16-10), which grabbed the final state tournament spot out of the WPIAL, has to play a true road game, at District 6 champion Homer Center (20-7) with a 7 p.m. tipoff. Burgettstown and Chartiers-Houston might have been watching the same video to prepare for their opponent because Homer Center beat United 52-45 for the District 6 title.
On Saturday, WPIAL champion South Fayette (24-2) puts its 18-game winning streak on the line when its hosts West York (13-13), the eight-place team out of District 3, in a Class 5A girls game. The Lions have not lost since the calendar turned to 2023. Also in Class 5A girls, Trinity (18-7) will play District 10 champion Erie Cathedral Prep (21-1) at the Hagerty Family Events Center.
The Monessen girls (17-6) will make the long trek to Duke Center to play District 9 champion Otto-Eldred (23-2) in a Class A game.