Top of their class: Canon-Mac, South Fayette girls earn No. 1 seeds
The brackets in WPIAL girls basketball’s biggest classifications are headed by local teams.
Defending state champion South Fayette is the top seed in Class 5A.
And fresh off its first section title in 10 years, Canon-McMillan is seeded first in Class 6A.
“It’s a good feeling seeing that the girls were rewarded with the No. 1 seed,” Canon-McMillan coach John Fontana said. “There were other teams that were deserving of it also, but the committee made their decision and we’re excited to be that No. 1 seed.”
On the boys side, Avella earned the best seed. The Eagles are the No. 3 seed in Class A.
The Class 5A girls bracket gets underway on Friday. South Fayette will host No. 16 Kiski at 7:30 p.m.
No. 9 Trinity will travel to No. 8 West Allegheny and No. 12 Peters Township plays at No. 5 Plum in other Class 5A first-round games Friday.
If South Fayette and Trinity win, then the two teams will meet in Wednesday’s quarterfinals.
Class 3A also starts Friday.
Waynesburg received the seventh seed and hosts No. 10 Deer Lakes. No. 11 McGuffey travels to play No. 6 OLSH. Both games are at 7 p.m.
Canon-McMillan will have to wait a little longer to play its first playoff game. The Big Macs will host the winner of a preliminary round game between North Hills and Mt. Lebanon Thursday, Feb. 19.
“We’ll have a scrimmage on Thursday and I’ll give them a day off or so and then we’ll get ready for that game next Thursday,” Fontana said.
In Class 4A, Belle Vernon is the No. 4 seed and will host No. 13 Lincoln Park on Monday at 7 p.m.
Class A also begins Monday as No. 6 West Greene hosts No. 11 Clairton at 7 p.m. and No. 10 Monessen is at No. 7 Sewickley Academy at 6 p.m.
Four local teams have home games in the first round of the Class 2A tournament, which begins Tuesday.
No. 8 California hosts No. 9 Laurel, No. 4 Fort Cherry hosts No. 13 Riverview, No. 7 Burgettstown hosts Jeannette and No. 3 Chartiers-Houston hosts No. 14 South Side Beaver. All four games have 7 p.m. start times.
No. 11 Beth-Center travels to Aliquippa and No. 15 Bentworth plays No. 2 Winchester Thurston at Keystone Oaks. Both games start at 6 p.m.
Boys
Avella missed out on a section title with a loss to Beaver County Christian on Friday, but will still host a playoff game for the first time ever.
The Eagles host No. 6 Serra Catholic on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Class 2A begins with preliminary matchups on Thursday. Beth-Center plays at Brentwood and West Greene travels to Bentworth.
The Class 2A first round begins Monday.
Jefferson-Morgan, after earning a split of the section title with Chartiers-Houston, was seeded sixth and hosts No. 11 Springdale.
It’s a rematch of a preliminary round game from last year that Springdale won, 42-33.
“It’s a good rematch for these seniors of mine,” Jefferson-Morgan coach Brandon Lawless said. “I know they have a little bit of a sour taste from last year, so they are pretty excited to get a second chance against the team that sent them home last year.
“There was a little bit of should have, could have, didn’t, in the game last year that I think we all reflected on. These guys have had to sit with it for over a year now and I think they will have a better chance to execute this year with having some prior experience.”
Chartiers-Houston, who split the Section 3 title with Jefferson-Morgan, hosts Winchester Thurston in a 7/10 matchup. No. 13 Fort Cherry will make the trek to No. 4 Neshannock.
In Class 4A, Belle Vernon received the No. 4 seed and hosts No. 13 Burrell, 7 p.m. Friday. The Bucs will be without their coach, Mike Fantuzzo, who was placed on leave after being charged Monday with allegedly stealing over $240,000 from the Pennsylvania Occupational Therapy Association, where he served as voluntary treasurer.
Wash High is back in the Class 3A playoffs after a year hiatus and travels to No. 5 Southmoreland Tuesday. No. 10 Charleroi plays No. 7 Seton LaSalle at Peters Township at 6 p.m.
Ringgold hosts Laurel Highlands in a Class 5A preliminary round game Thursday at 7 p.m. The winner advances to play No. 2 Lincoln Park in the first round Tuesday.
Peters Township received the No. 7 seed and hosts No. 10 Hampton at 7:30 p.m. No. 11 South Fayette is at No. 6 Penn Hills at 7 p.m.