High School Playbook

     For what could have been a close game that went down to the last seconds, it was the total oposite. The Lady Bulldogs came into this game the No. 2 seed, while the Lady Bears entered the No. 4. The game started off with a 12-0 run by the Bulldogs, taking the initaitive and the game into their own hands.

 Highlights: First Half | Second Half

      As the game progressed, one could easily see that the Bulldogs, being a much faster and aggressive team, had the advantage and would be hard to stop. At the end of the first half, the score was 31-16 in the Bulldogs favor, almost putting the game out of reach for the Lady Bears.

      The entire game, the Bulldogs out hussled, rebounded, and took the ball to the hoop much more effectively and consistantly than the Bears could have kept up with. By the end of the third quarter, the score was 48-20, and from the look of Olivers players and coache,s it was time to just let the fourth quarter play out.

       As the fourth quarter began, the Bulldogs continued to hussle and never let up. Their play resembled the same of their first quarter play, acting as if the game was in jeapordy. This would most likely be another reason why the Bulldogs dominated the Bears. The final score was 56-26 with Shalonda Winton claiming a double-double and most of the team's points along with it. When asked how Winton continued to play for virtually the entire game without losing a step she said, "In practice we're always running."  Look for the Lady Bulldogs, along with Winton, to play Schenley in the City League Championship game this Thursday at 7:30 at Duquesne University's A.J. Palumbo Center.

It was expected for Mt. Lebanon to face its toughest test of the season in the PIAA Class AAAA championship against Cardinal O'Hara. But the Blue Devils (31-0) did everything necessary to outlast the Lions, 67-58, and complete a wire-to-wire undefeated season, joining Mt. Alvernia (1983) as the only girls WPIAL teams ever to do so.

Senior guard/forward Emily Miller led all scorers with 21 points, sophomore guard Madison Cable scored 19 with 11 rebounds, and junior point guard Jess Babe handed out 11 assists for Mt. Lebanon. Senior all-state center Stephanie Holzer scored 14 points for Cardinal O'Hara (27-3) before she left the game early in the third quarter with an ankle injury and did not return.

A strong early showing on offense by both teams left the score tied at 16 at the end of the first quarter. Mt. Lebanon had a three-point lead late in the second, but Holzer's turn-around jumper from near the foul line at the buzzer made it 30-29 at the half.

Holzer's departure in the third quarter left Cardinal O'Hara without their star player, but junior guard Natasha Cloud picked up the slack, leading the Lions with 20 points, including five three-pointers. They cut their deficit to three late in the third until Cable got a pass in the lane from Miller for a layup at the buzzer to go ahead, 45-40.

Mt. Lebanon turned on the intensity in the fourth, led by Miller's 13 points in the quarter. Cardinal O'Hara still hung around, down by five late in the game, but Miller's two free throws with 26 seconds remaining sealed it for the Blue Devils. Another layup off a steal during the closing seconds capped off a dream season for their veteran leader, and etched their name in local basketball history.

By Josh Taylor, School Coordinator

North Catholic has a rich tradition with their girls' basketball team. Their fifteen WPIAL championships are a record, including this season's title. The lone seniors on this year's team, Lauren Savulchak and Ashley Bellovich, have won two of those championships as teammates, and this week, they are our Clearview Federal Credit Union Co-Student-Athletes of the Week.

(Lauren Savulchak and Ashley Bellovich)

Our High School Playbook team visited North Catholic, where Channel 4 Action Sports anchor Guy Junker presented our honorees with their respective trophies in front of the student body. Sean McGrath from Clearview Federal Credit Union presented the school with a check for $250.

 WATCH THE VIDEO

Savulchak, a 6'0" guard/forward, was one of the leading scorers in the WPIAL during the regular season, averaging 19.6 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. She also scored her 1,000th career point during this year's league quarterfinals.

(Lauren Savulchak)

Bellovich, a 5'9" guard, was the team's second leading scorer this season, including a double-double (11 points, 10 rebounds) in the championship win over Mt. Alvernia. She also led all scorers with 16 in the Trojanettes' PIAA quarterfinal win over Vincentian, before falling in the semifinals to Bishop Guilfoyle Wednesday night.

(Ashley Bellovich)

In one of our most exciting visits this year, the North Catholic fans met us with a warm response, still reeling on the success of their boys' basketball team, who won the WPIAL Class AA championship and have reached the PIAA finals. In gratitude of our acknowledgement of two of their student-athletes, the student body presented each of our team members with North Catholic caps and t-shirts featuring their storied Championship Bell.

As far as their future plans are concerned, both are planning to play basketball in college, but haven't selected schools yet. Savulchak plans to study nursing, while Bellovich would like to pursue a career in law.

 Previous Honorees:

Friday, March 6

Boys Class A

Boys Class AAA

Girls Class AA

Girls Class AAAA

Saturday, March 7

Boys Class AAAA

Girls Class AAA

Mars Area High School goes by the nickname of the "Fighting Planets." This week, High School Playbook chose the Butler County school to honor a girl that is out of this world.

Lily Grenci, a 6'1" senior guard/forward, was the leading scorer in the WPIAL this season, averaging 24.4 points per game, along with 11 rebounds. Also, she is the only player in Mars history -- boys or girls -- with 1,000 plus-points (1,699) and 1,000-plus rebounds (1,092) in her career.

 WATCH THE VIDEO

Led by WTAE Channel 4 Action Sports anchor Guy Junker, our High School Playbook team presented Lily with the Clearview Federal Credit Union Student-Athlete of the Week award in front of the entire student body. Also among the crowd were her mother, father, and stepfather. She was nominated by Mars assistant coach Lauren Varacalli.

Lily helped to lead the Fighting Planets to 19-6 overall record, second in the WPIAL Class AAA Section 1. They qualified for the WPIAL playoffs, falling to Gateway in the quarterfinals, and will meet General McLane Saturday in the first round of the PIAA playoffs.

Aside from her leadership on the basketball court, she is also ahead of the pack in the classroom. She has a 4.2 GPA, and is among the top ten in her senior class. As for her future plans, she has accepted an athletic scholarship to play at Siena, but is still undecided on what she will study when she arrives in the fall.

Previous Honorees:

By Josh Taylor, School Coordinator

Mount Alvernia came into Friday's matchup at the A.J. Palumbo Center with the task of repeating as WPIAL Class A champions, while North Catholic, a section rival who finished in first place, had other plans in mind. North Catholic won the third match-up between the two teams just they did the former, 48-44 to reclaim the title they won two seasons ago.

In a back-and-forth battle that saw several lead changes, the two teams withstood each other's attack, despite an aggressive trapping defense by North Allegheny and a strong inside presence for Mount Alvernia.

North Allegheny used their press defense to collect three steals and go on a 12-6 run in the first three minutes. A three-point play by sophomore guard Erin DiSanti put the Trojans up, 15-8 with 3:13 left in the first quarter. 

But Mount Alvernia went on a 10-3 run to close out the quarter, and senior forward Tahlor McIntosh tied the game for the Lions on a spin move in the lane for a layup. Freshman guard Carah Johnson hit a three-pointer for North Catholic with five seconds left, but Mount Alvernia senior guard Hannah Butler's half-court shot went in at the buzzer and the game was tied at 18.

Mount Alvernia used their momentum to push ahead early in the second quarter. A breakaway layup by junior guard Gabrielle Holko, followed by a rebound layup by McIntosh (who finished with 13 points) that gave the Lions a four-point lead. 

North Catholic went on a 6-0 run to close out the second quarter and take a 26-24 lead into halftime, sparked by back-to-back baskets by senior guard/forward Lauren Savulchak, who led all scorers with 16 points. They took the lead early in the third quarter on a layup by DiSanti, and maintained it until Holko hit a three-pointer with 1:11 left in the third to tie the game at 36.

After North Catholic scored twice in the first minute of the fourth quarter, Mount Alvernia cut the lead to one with just under six minutes remaining in the game. But Sevulchak led the way for the Trojans, scoring six of their final eight points to help them hold on and win their second league title in three years.

Senior center Kat Owunna led Mount Alvernia with 14 points and six blocked shots, and Holko finished with nine. DiSanti scored seven points for the Trojans, and senior guard Ashley Bellovich scored nine.

By Josh Taylor, School Coordinator

It could be argued that perhaps the most competitive and exciting of the WPIAL girls' basketball championships was played Saturday afternoon when Section 4 champion West Mifflin (19-7) took on Section 2 champion New Castle (24-2) in the Class AAA championship at the A.J. Palumbo Center. West Mifflin looked to win their first league championship since 2001, while New Castle was looking for their first since moving down from AAAA.

After a close contest that saw nine lead changes in the second half alone, New Castle eventually outlasted West Mifflin, 54-47. West Mifflin started the game on a 14-7 during the first four minutes, 12 of those points from inside the paint.

New Castle eventually began to keep pace, as sophomore forward LaShauna Brothers' layup with 2:05 remaining brought the Hurricanes within four. Brothers scored seven in the quarter and led all scorers in the game with 19, but West Mifflin went on a 6-2 run and the Titans led, 21-13, at the end of the first.

West Mifflin came out running in the second, with a three-pointer by senior point guard Taylor Fulton and a layup from junior forward Jessica Pitts to take a 13-point lead with just over a minute elapsed. But New Castle came back on a 19-6 surge to close out the half, and back-to-back three pointers by Zyneickia Bester and Shelby Rodgers helped the Hurricanes tie the score at 32 going into the break.

Foul trouble became an issue in the third when Brothers was issued her fourth foul just over a minute in and had to be replaced by Ashley DeHaas. But despite their leading scorer being out of the game, New Castle held on and matched West Mifflin to deadlock the game at 40 apiece at the end of the quarter.

The two teams traded baskets throughout the fourth, and Monica Poupakis' three-pointer from the left side gave West Mifflin a 47-46 lead with just over three minutes left in the game. But New Castle got the boost they needed when Brothers returned to the game and scored off the glass with 2:45 left, forcing freshman center Jayla Leftwich-Johnson to foul out and sparking an 8-0 Hurricanes' run to close out the game.

The Titans went cold in the last two minutes of the game, missing several three-point attempts. With about 30 seconds left, the New Castle fans explained to the West Mifflin faithful that, "It's all over," and advised them to, "Drive home safely."

Sophomore guard/forward JaNia McPhatter added 10 points for the Hurricanes, while Pitts led the Titans with 16 and Leftwich-Johnson scored 10.

By Josh Taylor, School Coordinator

When it comes to the Mt. Lebanon girls' basketball teams success, they've narrowed it down to a simple formula: keep the other team from putting points on the board. They held opponents to less than 40 points in 22 of their previous 25 games preceding the WPIAL Class AAAA championship game, including a 29.6 average allowed throughout the playoffs.

Saturday night, the Blue Devils kept to their system, holding Fox Chapel (20-5) below that playoff average in a 50-24 rout to improve to 26-0 on the season and win their first ever WPIAL championship. They held Fox Chapel scoreless on their first seven possessions of the game, with three steals in the first quarter and outscoring the Foxes, 13-4.

The second quarter was more defensive pressure, and more opportunistic scoring, as junior guard Chelsea Apke ripped off one of her three steals in the half and turned it into a Madison Cable layup from the right baseline with 1:58 left to make the score 23-7. The Blue Devils carried a 25-10 lead into the break, with junior forward Lauren Arbogast's 12 points leading the way.

Fox Chapel showed some signs of life in the third, going on a 7-2 run to start the quarter, and Holly Bourquin's three-pointer from the right wing made the score 25-17 with 3:58 to go. Mt. Lebanon went almost five minutes without a field goal, but Fox Chapel couldn't take advantage because they would only score two more points the rest of the way.

Emily Miller's layup from the left block on a nifty Jessica Babe pass closed out the third quarter scoring at 33-19. The senior guard/forward finished with 13 behind Arbogast's game-high 14.

In the fourth quarter, the Blue Devils stepped on the gas pedal and scored the first nine points of the frame, sparked by Babe's steal and breakaway layup just 15 seconds in. Fox Chapel mustered only five points in the fourth, but it wouldn't matter; Mt. Lebanon was already on cruise control, behind six of Cable's 11 points.

The Mt. Lebanon fans began chanting, "Undefeated," during the closing seconds, and when senior reserve Sarah Nydes closed out the scoring on a breakaway layup with three seconds to go, the Blue Devil faithful exulted and celebrated their league undefeated run.

Both teams will advance to the PIAA quarterfinals, which will begin on Friday, March 6.