Local roundup: Lady Leopards clinch first section title since 1999
Aubrey Brown scored a season-high 19 points and grabbed five rebounds as Belle Vernon clinched its first girls basketball section championship since 1999 with a 64-17 victory at Southmoreland on Thursday night.
Belle Vernon (13-1, 19-3) wrapped up sole possession of first place in Section 3-4A with the victory.
Lyla McConnell added 14 points for the Lady Leopards, who also got seven rebounds, five steals and three assists from Saylor Lee and six assists and three steals from Abby Russell.
Belle Vernon roared out to a 23-4 lead in the opening quarter and never looked back.
Ashley Seder had seven points for the Lady Scotties (0-14, 1-21).
TRINITY 38, UNIONTOWN 29 — Aierra Jenkins poured in a game-high 23 points in her final high school game at Uniontown but it wasn’t enough as the Lady Raiders fell at Trinity in a Section 4-5A clash.
Uniontown (2-10, 9-12) led 8-5 after the first quarter and 18-14 at halftime but the Lady Hillers (8-4, 15-6) surged to a 32-23 advantage by out-scoring the Lady Raiders 18-5 in the third. Both teams tallied six points in the fourth quarter.
Bantly Layhue led Trinity with 10 points.
WAYNESBURG CENTRAL 46, CHARLEROI 31 — Peyton Cowell scored 14 points as the host Lady Raiders wrapped up second place in Section 3-3A with a win at Charleroi.
Emma Blair followed with 10 points for Waynesburg (10-2, 19-2), which also got nine points from Tess Pauley.
The Lady Raiders led 18-7, 21-13 and 28-19 at the quarter breaks.
Anna Kondratowicz dropped in 10 points for the Lady Cougars (1-11, 5-15).
MOUNT PLEASANT 42, RINGGOLD 29 — Addison Cole and Ryleigh Drzal each tallied 11 points in the Lady Vikings’ Section 3-4A win over the visiting Lady Rams.
Mount Pleasant (7-7, 10-11), which finished fourth in the section and qualified for the playoffs, led 11-4 after the first quarter but Ringgold (5-9, 8-12) took a 23-17 halftime lead. The Lady Vikings went back ahead in third, 29-27 and out-scored the Lady Rams 13-2 in the fourth to put the game away.
Addison Jenkins had 10 points for Ringgold.
WEST GREENE 57, AVELLA 33 — Kendra Tharp rang up 14 points and 19 rebounds as the third-place Lady Pioneers rolled past the visiting Lady Eagles on senior night.
Sammi Zimmerman added 13 points and for West Greene (10-4, 15-6), which also got eight points from Eryka Hackney.
The Lady Pioneers led 12-9, 18-14 and 37-21 at the quarter breaks.
Haleigh Rush had 11 points for Avella (1-12, 4-17) and Dakota McCullough chipped in with 10.
JEFFERSON-MORGAN 56, CARMICHAELS 33 — Ava Wood poured in 20 points to help the Lady Rockets defeat the host Lady Mikes in a Section 3-2A game.
Jefferson-Morgan (2-8, 9-13) led 14-5, 22-16 and 31-25 at the quarter breaks before pulling away with a 25-8 advantage in the fourth.
Joselyn Carter led Carmichaels (0-10, 1-20) with 10 points.
CALIFORNIA 45, BETH-CENTER 20 — Mady Morton tossed in 16 points as the host Lady Trojans secured sole possession of second place in Section 3-2A by defeating the Lady Bulldogs.
California (8-2, 11-9) led 11-4, 19-7 and 30-13 at the quarter breaks.
Beth-Center (6-4, 10-10) was led by Violet Trump who totaled nine points and 12 rebounds.
BISHOP CANEVIN 47, MAPLETOWN 20 — Kya Cooley scored 10 points and Isabella Sysak added 17 as the Lady Crusaders (8-6, 9-11) beat the visiting Lady Maples (1-13, 2-20) in a Section 2-A game.
JEANNETTE 61, FRAZIER 36 — Navarah Smith scored 30 points as the Lady Jayhawks beat the visiting Lady Commodores in a Section 4-2A game.
Jayden Goodson added 11 points for Jeannette.
Allie Yauch paced Frazier (1-8, 4-14) with 15 points.
BOYS BASKETBALL
TURKEYFOOT VALLEY 46, BROWNSVILLE 36 — Lance Jones tossed in a game-high 23 points as the visiting Rams triumphed over the Falcons in a non-section game.
Brownsville (1-8, 2-16) held a 9-8 lead after the first quarter but Turkeyfoot surged to a 19-13 halftime advantage and was up 31-26 after three. The Rams held a 15-10 edge in the final frame.
The Falcons got nine points from Jalen Blair, eight from Jaiden Praster and seven from Exzavier Vargas. Brownsville’s home game against Southmoreland originally scheduled for Friday night has been moved to noon Saturday.
FORT CHEERY 84, CARMICHAELS 30 — Gavin Grace scored 17 points as the visiting Rangers (10-4, 12-8) knocked off the Mikes in a Section 3-2A game.
Stephen Lewis led Carmichaels (3-11, 4-16) with 10 points.