Dec 12, 2019 6 min read

Belle Vernon outscored Ringgold 19-9 in the fourth quarter to come from behind and defeat the Rams, 43-37, in the Class 4A Section 3 girls basketball opener Thursday night.

Ringgold (0-1, 2-2) led 20-17 at halftime and 28-24 after three quarters. The Rams hurt themselves at the free-throw line, where they made only eight of 12 attempts.

Taylor Rodriguez scored a game-high 13 points for Belle Vernon (1-0, 3-1), which has won three in a row. Jenna Dawson followed with 11 points.

Nya Adams and Jada Cathers each scored eight points to lead Ringgold.

West Greene 67, Monessen 25: Jersey Wise scored 27 points and undefeated West Greene cruised to a 67-25 victory over visiting Monessen in the Class A Section 2 opener.

Wise’s total included five three-pointers. The Pioneers (1-0, 5-0) forged leads of 22-2 after one quarter and 47-7 at halftime.

Anna Durbin scored 16 points for West Greene. Qitarah Hardison had nine points for Monessen (0-1, 3-2).

Charleroi 41, Waynesburg 35: Charleroi outscored host Waynesburg 9-3 in overtime to defeat the Raiders 41-35 in the Class 3A Section 2 opener.

The game was tied, 21-21, after three quarters and both teams produced 11 points in the fourth to force overtime.

Bella Skobel paced Charleroi (1-0, 3-2) with 12 points and Kaitlyn Wagner had 11.

Waynesburg’s Clara Paige Miller was the game’s leading scorer with 15 points.

Brownsville 62, Washington 50: Aniya Tarpley and Emma Seto combined for 36 points, powering unbeaten Brownsville to a 62-50 victory over host Washington in Class 3A Section 2.

Brownsville (1-0, 4-0) held the scoring edge in every quarter though the game was close throughout.

Randi Thomas led three Wash High players in double figures with 12 points. Kayla Woods had 11 points and Cass Lewis 10. The Prexies are 2-2 overall.

Seton LaSalle 58, Beth-Center 40: Seton LaSalle put three players in double figures, led by Sarah Merlina’s 14 points, and defeated visiting Beth-Center 58-40 in the Class 3A Section 2 opener.

Chloe Lestitian had 13 points and Vanessa Hudson scored 10 for Seton LaSalle (1-0, 1-2).

Beth-Center’s Olivia Greco took game scoring honors with 20 points, which included five three-pointers. She also had six assists.

Beth-Center is 0-1 in section and 2-2 overall.

California 52, Mapletown 27: California ran its winning streak to three games with a 52-27 victory over Mapletown in the Class A Section 2.

The Trojans took control early, leading 19-4 after one quarter and 32-8 at halftime.

Ca’Mari Walden led California (1-0, 3-1) with 13 points and Makayla Boda had 10. Morgan Williams led Mapletown (0-1, 0-3) with 12 points.

Upper St. Clair 69, Canon-McMillan 47: Canon-McMillan’s Tori Wesolowski scored a game-high 17 points, but Upper St. Clair put three players in double figures and used a strong first half to beat the Big Macs, 69-47, in the Class 6A Section 2 opener for each team.

USC (1-0, 2-1) led 21-10 after one quarter and 42-26 at halftime.

Mia Brown led USC with 16 points, Ava Keating had 14 and Sam Prunzik 13. C-M’s Stellanie Loutsion scored 10 points.

South Park 59, McGuffey 33: Balanced scoring and strong defense helped South Park to a 59-33 thumping of visiting McGuffey in Section 2 of Class 3A.

Maddie Graham scored 15 points and Danielle DePosto 14 for the Eagles (1-0, 1-3), who held the Highlanders to 4 points in the first quarter.

Abby Donnelly led McGufffey (0-1, 1-3) with 11 points.

Chartiers-Houston 48, Frazier 36: Chartiers-Houston jumped to a big lead then fought off a late rally by Frazier to take a 48-36 win in a Section 3-AA game.

Zalayah Edwards scored 11 points for C-H (1-0, 2-2), which led 46-20 before Frazier went on a 16-2 run in the fourth quarter.

Frazier (0-1, 0-4) was led by Kaelyn Chaporka’s 11 points.

Bishop Canevin 52, Burgettstown 42:

Alyssa Pollice scored a game-high 27 points as Bishop Canevin defeated Burgettstown, 52-42, in a Section 3-AA game.

Diajha Allen tossed in 14 points for BC (1-0, 1-2).

Emily Prasko scored 14 points and Madison Kozares added 10 points for the Blue Devils (0-1, 3-1).

Fort Cherry 53, Bentworth 33: Annika Rinehart tossed in a game-high 20 points as Fort Cherry defeated Bentworth, 53-33, in a Section 3-AA game.

Kayla Salvini contributed 10 points and Dana Sinatra pulled down 11 rebounds for Fort Cherry (1-0, 2-2).

Bentworth (0-1, 1-3) was paced by Caroline Rice’s 17 points.

Boys results

Belle Vernon 78, Waynesburg 60: Belle Vernon forged a 22-point lead in the first quarter and held steady the rest of the night to defeat Waynesburg 78-60 in the Class 4A Section 3 opener.

The Leopards (1-0, 2-2) were in high gear in the opening quarter, forging a 34-12 after eight minutes. Waynesburg (0-1, 2-2) managed to climb back to within 61-47 after three quarters but was unable to make a fourth-quarter charge.

Devin Whitlock scored 26 points to lead the BV attack. He scored 10 points in the big first quarter. Mitch Poholt followed with 16 points and Thomas Hepple had 10. Hunter Ruokonen had a team-high 11 rebounds and Jared Hartman grabbed 10.

Luca Garber of Waynesburg scored 23 points and Caleb Shriver had 10 for the Raiders.

Chartiers-Houston 68, Burgettstown 56: Seth Dunn scored 23 points to pace Chartiers-Houston to a 68-56 win over Burgettstown in a non-section game.

Ahlijah Vaden and Austin Arnold each scored 14 points for C-H.

Dylan Poirier scored 23 points for Burgettstown (1-3).

Allderdice 69, Canon-McMillan 37: Blake Huber led three Allderdice players in double figures with 15 points and the Pittsburgh City League power Allderdice defeated cold-shooting Canon-McMillan, 69-37.

Josphat Mukogsi had 12 points and Rob Jones 10 for Allderdice (3-1). Canon-McMillan (1-2) was led in scoring by Cole Stanley’s 11 points.

Geibel Catholic 55, Avella 51: Enzo Fetsko scored 32 points and Geibel Catholic rallied in the fourth quarter to beat Avella 55-51 in Class A Section 2.

Avella (0-1, 1-3) led 43-33 after three quarter but Geibel (1-0, 4-0) outscored the Eagles 22-8 in the pivotal fourth quarter.

Gabe Lis scored 15 points to lead Avella and Tyler Cerciello had 14.