Jan 30, 2020 6 min read

Bella Skobel, Kaitlin Wagner and Cierra Gazi led a balanced scoring effort as visiting Charleroi upended first-place Seton LaSalle, 55-43, in a Class 3A Section 2 girls basketball game Thursday night.

It was the first loss in section play for Seton LaSalle (11-1, 14-5). The Rebels still hold the top spot in the section.

Skobel paced Charleroi (8-4, 12-7), going 7-for-9 from the free-throw line and scoring a game-high 21 points. Kaitlin Wagner added 12 points and Cierra Gazi chipped in with 11.

The Cougars built their lead in the second quarter. Tied 10-10 after eight minutes, Charleroi outscored Seton LaSalle 15-8 to take a seven-point lead into halftime.

Vanessa Hudson scored 19 points to lead the Rebels.

West Greene 72, Sewickley Academy, 54: Rebounding from a first-quarter deficit, West Greene took the lead and pulled away in the second and third quarters to topple Sewickley Academy in a non-section game, 72-54.

The Pioneers trailed 16-14 after the opening eight minutes. West Greene (19-0) scored 20 points in the second quarter to lead 34-27 at halftime and then 21 points in the third quarter.

It is the 30th straight home victory for West Greene and fourth consecutive year it has reached 19 wins.

Jersey Wise scored a game-high 25 points for the Pioneers. Anna Durbin and Elizabeth Brudnock scored 16 and 14 points, respectively.

Sewickley Academy (8-9) was led by Des Nance’s 23 points. Kamryn Lightcap chipped in with 13 and Bre Warner added 12.

Trinity 66, Moon 63: Riley DeRubbo and Courtney Dahlquist combined for 42 points as Trinity held off Moon in the final minutes, 66-63, to keep sole possession of second place in Class 5A Section 1.

Trinity (10-2, 14-3) led by eight points after the first quarter but that lead shrunk to one point, 33-32, by halftime. The Tigers tied the game entering the fourth quarter.

DeRubbo powered the Hillers with 23 points. Dahlquist scored 19 and hauled in eight rebounds.

Riley Sunday also scored 23 for Moon. Emma Theodorsson finished with 17.

Thomas Jefferson 38, South Fayette 37: South Fayette tried to make a final push to keep its playoff hopes alive but it wasn’t enough as the Lions fell to Thomas Jefferson, 38-37, in a Class 5A Section 1 game.

A close-scoring, back-and-forth game throughout, Thomas Jefferson (8-4, 13-6) led by just three at halftime and four after three quarters.

South Fayette (4-8, 8-12) outscored the Jaguars 10-7 in the final eight minutes, an effort led by Mia Webber’s team-high 13 points.

Graci Fairman led TJ with 16 points while Alyssa DeAngelo scored 10.

Belle Vernon 45, McKeesport 43: Strong second and third quarters were enough as Belle Vernon edged McKeesport, 45-43, in a Class 4A Section 3 game.

The win keeps the Leopards in a tie for third place with West Mifflin. It also narrows the gap between second-place McKeesport and the two third-place teams down to one game.

Rachel Wobrak was one of the main causes of keeping Belle Vernon (8-4, 15-5) in front. She scored a team-high 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Jenna Dawson scored 13 points. Taylor Rodriguez added nine points, four assists and 4 steals.

Jhayla Bray scored 23 points for McKeesport (9-3, 13-7).

Bishop Canevin 54, Chartiers-Houston 36: Diajha Allen made four three-pointers and scored 25 points to keep Bishop Canevin unbeaten in Class 2A Section 3 with a 54-36 victory over Chartiers-Houston.

Two other players, Alyssa Pollice and Rutanya Taylor, both scored in double figures for the Crusaders with 14 and 12 points, respectively.

Bishop Canevin (11-0, 14-5) benefited from a slow start from the Bucs. The Crusaders led 15-3 after the first quarter and extended that advantage to 15 by halftime, 27-12.

Zamierah Edwards scored 16 points for Chartiers-Houston (8-2, 12-7).

California 40, Monessen 37: Three players scored in double figures for California to recover from an early deficit and upend Monessen, 40-37, in a Class A Section 2 game.

Makayla Boda, Ca’Mari Walden and Charlee Petrucci all reached double-digit point totals for the Trojans. Boda led the way with 11 points. Walden and Petrucci each finished with 10.

California (6-5, 11-9) trailed 16-12 after the first quarter but outscored the Greyhounds by four points in both the second and fourth quarters.

Monessen (6-4, 12-7) was paced by Kendelle Weston’s 12 points. Zykavia Hairston chipped in with 10 points.

McGuffey 41, Beth-Center 34: Kiera Nicolella and Abby Donnelly combined for 30 of McGuffey’s 41 points as the Highlanders edged Class 3A Section 2 foe Beth-Center, 41-34.

Nicolella led all scorers with 19 points. Donnelly added 11 points for McGuffey (4-8, 8-10), which built a 19-12 halftime lead.

The teams matched one another in the second half, keeping the Highlanders lead at seven points.

Olivia Greco and Anna Sloan each scored 10 points for Beth-Center (4-8, 8-11).

Avella 53, Jefferson-Morgan 19: Using another strong defensive effort and fast start, Avella won its third consecutive game with a 53-19 victory over Jefferson-Morgan in Class A Section 2.

It’s the second straight game Avella (8-2, 14-5) has limited its opponent to 19 points. The Eagles held Geibel Catholic to that same total Wednesday night.

Jefferson-Morgan (3-7, 3-14) failed to reach double-digit point totals in any quarter and fell behind 12-2 after the opening eight minutes.

Avella’s Allie Brownlee was the lone player on either team to score in double figures, finishing with 12 points.

Autumn Gustovich scored seven points to lead the Rockets.

Washington 51, Waynesburg 40: Washington took a first-quarter lead and never looked back, defeating Waynesburg and snapping a six-game losing streak in the process, 51-40, in Class 3A Section 2.

The Prexies, whose last win came Jan. 7, jumped out to an eight-point lead, 14-6, by the end of the first quarter. The two teams combined to match one another in quarters two and three before Washington (4-8, 6-13) pulled away with 19 points in the fourth.

Kyla Woods paced the Prexies with 14 points. Samantha Maurer was the only other player in double figures for Washington with 10 points. Randi Thomas added nine.

Clara Paige Miller scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the loss for Waynesburg (1-11, 7-13).

In other games… Hempfield defeated Peters Township 56-38 in a Class 6A Section 2 game. In Class 4A Section 3, Ringgold was victorious over Mt. Pleasant, 35-25. Frazier cruised past Bentworth in a Class 2A Section 3 game, 54-14. No game details were made available to the Observer-Reporter.