Sports Briefs
Local high school athletes honored
On Monday, the Big 56 Conference held an awards banquet for at the Double Tree Monroeville Convention Center for the top performers in Class 5A and 6A for girls/boys soccer and girls volleyball.
Peters Township’s Regina LaVigna (girls soccer), Hannah Stuck (girls soccer), Natalie Daube (girls soccer), Lauren Valentic (girls volleyball), Brian Bruzdewicz (boys soccer) and Anthony Kita (boys soccer) were recognized.
For Canon-McMillan, Luke Gladden (boys soccer), Tommy Samosky (boys soccer), Joey Fonagy (boys soccer), Annabel Thomas (girls soccer) and Sydney Snyder (girls soccer) also were recognized at the banquet.
The Big 56 Conference will have their football recognition banquet on Monday, December 10, at the Double Tree.
Athletes honored
After putting together three stellar performances last week, Washington & Jefferson’s Primo Zini was named the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Basketball Rookie of the Week.
Zini averaged 9.0 points and 3.7 rebounds for the Presidents, who went 2-1 in that stretch. He also went a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line.
Zini is the first W&J men’s basketball player to receive weekly recognition from the PAC in the 2018-19 season.
- Following one of the best shooting performances in school history, California University junior Gina Vallecorsa was named the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Co-Athlete of the Week.
Vallecorsa set a career high with 30 points after going a perfect eight-for-eight from three-point territory last Wednesday in a 78-60 win at Shepherd.
She finished the game making 10 of 14 attempts from the floor and added four rebounds and three assists while playing all 40 minutes.
In her first year as a starter, Vallecorsa is averaging 17.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists through three games this campaign.
- Washington & Jefferson freshman Colin Higinbotham was named the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Swimming & Diving Rookie of the Week.
Higinbotham takes home his first Rookie of the Week award by pacing the W&J men with four individual victories last week. The freshmen’s performance on Saturday, helped W&J secure a 110-72 win over the Panthers, the Presidents’ first of the young season.
- For the second consecutive week, a Washington & Jefferson freshman has been named the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Wrestling Rookie of the Week. Manny Dovshek, a Bentworth graduate, received the honor.
Dovshek went 4-1 at the Scotty Wood Duals, hosted by Muhlenberg last Saturday in the 125-pound class.
After losing his opening match, Dovshek bounced back by winning his last four matches. His victories included a 1:11 pin against Lackawanna CC’s Mark Leggin and an 8-2 decision over Muhlenberg’s Matt Ferrante. His final two triumphs both came via forfeits.
In the NBA
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 21 points, Domantas Sabonis nearly had a triple-double and the Indiana Pacers beat the Utah Jazz 121-94. Sabonis had 19 points, nine rebounds and nine assists as Indiana won its third straight – this one without All-Star guard Victor Oladipo, who sat out with a sore right knee. Ricky Rubio matched his season high with 28 points to lead Utah.
- Andre Drummond had 23 points and 16 rebounds, and the Detroit Pistons cruised to a 113-102 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Blake Griffin added 21 points and 12 rebounds for Detroit, and Reggie Bullock scored 21 points. The Pistons led 66-46 at halftime, and the game was never close after that. The Cavaliers are now an NBA-worst 2-13 heading into their reunion with LeBron James.