Local roundup: Lady Maples earn key section win at Avella
McKenna Lotspeich scored 15 points and Mapletown edged host Avella to earn a key Section 2-A win Monday night in girls basketball action.
Mapletown trailed by four with 2:50 remaining but fought back to tie the score at 38-38 and then forced a turnover with 1:28 left. The Lady Maples’ Emma Zalar was fouled with one minute left and scored what proved to be the winning point when she hit one of two free throws. Mapletown got the ball back and Isabella Gradek was fouled with 28 seconds left. She also made one of two to set the final score and the visitors hung on from there.
The win moved the Lady Maples (3-4, 6-10) two games in front of the Lady Eagles (1-6, 3-14) and Jefferson-Morgan in the battle for the fourth and final playoff spot in the section. A win by Avella would’ve pulled it into a fourth-place tie with Mapletown.
The Lady Maples used a big second quarter to take an 18-10 halftime lead but Avella roared back to grab a 30-28 advantage after three. Mapletown outscored the hosts 12-8 in the final frame to secure the win.
Garnek added nine points and 13 rebounds for the Lady Maples.
Haleigh Rush and Ava Frank paced the Lady Eagles with 15 and 14 points, respectively.
Geibel Catholic 49, West Greene 44 – Geibel withstood West Greene’s strong third quarter for a 49-44 victory in a Section 2-A home game.
The Lady Gators (12-5) sit alone in second place behind Monessen in the section standings with a 5-2 record. The Lady Pioneers slip to 4-3 in the section and 7-10 overall.
Geibel led 28-12 at halftime, but the visitors stormed back in the third quarter with a 23-11 advantage.
Emma Larkin paced Geibel with 23 points. Ava Henderson added 13.
West Greene’s Kendra Tharp scored a game-high 24 points.
Monessen 57, Jefferson-Morgan 15 – The Lady Greyhounds scored all the points they needed in the first quarter for a Section 2-A road victory.
Monessen (7-0, 13-3) led 19-5 after the first quarter and 36-9 at halftime.
Hailey Johnson led Monessen with 14 points. Ava Wood scored five points for the Lady Rockets (1-6, 3-15).
Waynesburg Central 65, McGuffey 40 – The Lady Raiders remained unbeaten in Section 4-AAA play with a road victory over the Lady Highlanders.
Waynesburg improves to 7-0 in the section and 17-1 overall.
The Lady Raiders led 18-7 after the first quarter and 35-22 at halftime. The lead grew to 52-24 after three quarters.
Addison Blair (17), Avery Davis (16), Kaley Rohanna (13), and Peyton Cowell (11) all scored in double figures for Waynesburg.
McGuffey’s Taylor Schumacher scored a game-high 22 points. Madison Gaso finished with 11 points.
Carmichaels 40, Bentworh 36 – The Lady Mikes held on in the fourth quarter for a Section 4-AA road win.
Carmichaels (2-7, 3-15) led 11-9 after the first quarter. Bentworth rallied back for a 23-16 halftime lead.
The Lady Mikes responded with a 14-6 advantage for a 30-29 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Megan Voithofer led Carmichaels with 13 points.
Aubrie Logan scored a game-high 16 points for the Lady Bearcats (1-9, 4-15). Amber Sallee finished with 15 points and Kayla O’Dell pulled down 11 rebounds.
Saturday, Jan. 27
Monessen 40, West Greene 25 — The Lady Greyhounds held visiting West Greene scoreless in the fourth quarter to rally for a Section 2-A girls basketball victory.
Monessen (14-3) remains alone atop the section standings with a 6-0 record. West Greene goes to 4-2 in the section and 7-10 overall.
The Lady Pioneers led 25-23 heading into the fourth quarter. Monessen held a 17-0 advantage in the final eight minutes for the win.
Hailey Johnson scored a game-high 14 points for Monessen. Madison Johnson added 12.
Madelynn Roberts led West Greene with 10 points.
Women’s basketball
Saint Vincent 70, Waynesburg 58 – The home team pulled away in the second half for a Presidents’ Athletic Conference victory over the Yellow Jackets.
Kalista Friday led Waynesburg (4-5, 3-11) with 14 points. Tori Wesolowski finished with 11 points.
Alana Winkler (14), Emily Cavacini (13), Camden Bashor (11), and Ashley Lippold (10) scored in double figures for Saint Vincent (8-6, 10-9).
Men’s basketball
Waynesburg 63, Saint Vincent 47 – The visiting Yellow Jackets upended the first-place in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference.
The Yellow Jackets go to 7-7 in the conference and 10-9 overall. The Bearcats are 12-2 in the PAC and 17-2 overall.
Jansen Knotts led the way for Waynesburg with a game-high 19 points. Antone Baker finished with 12 points and Korey Mitchum added 10.
Dev Ostrowski scored 15 points, Jaden Gales finished with 13, and Osyon Jones added 11.
Friday, Jan. 26
Yough 58, Waynesburg Central 50 — Terek Crosby scored a game-high 35 points to lead the Cougars to a Section 4-AAA boys basketball win over the visiting Raiders.
Yough led 27-23 at halftime and 40-33 after three quarters. Austin Matthews added 11 points for the Cougars.
Waynesburg’s Cole Headlee finished with 15 points and dished out six assists. Alex Eck pulled down 11 rebounds.
Beth-Center 40, Carmichaels 34 — The Bulldogs returned home with a Section 4-AA win.
Carmichaels (0-8, 3-13) led 15-12 at halftime, but Beth-Center pulled ahead after three quarters, 28-27.
Jason Zellie (15), Santino Revi (12), and Brody Tharp (10) all scored in double figures for Beth-Center (3-5, 5-12).
Dom Colarusso scored 12 points for Carmichaels.
West Greene 61, California 49 — The Pioneers kept pace with Monessen in the Section 2-A standings with a home win over the visiting Trojans.
West Greene improves to 5-1 in the section and 11-5 overall. California goes to 3-3 in the section and 4-15 overall.
Lane Allison led the way for the Pioneers with 17 points. Parker Burns scored 14 and Matt Wassil added 10.
California’s Vinny Manzell finished with 15 points and Jacob Ziolecki scored 12.
Rifle
Waynesburg Central 781-38x, Avella 751-27x – The Raiders returned home with a non-section victory over the Eagles.
Waynesburg’s Faithlyn Vukmanic was medalist with a score of 100-7x. Abbi Kidd (100-6x) and Emily Burnfield (100-4x) were also perfect.
Logan Crouse (98-6x), Emma Lawson (97-5x), Wyatt Franklin (95-3x), Joe Withrow (96-3x), and Aylah Ford (95-4x) also scored for the Raiders.
Kelly Doman was the top scorer for Avella with a score of 99-7x.
Thursday, Jan. 25
Waynesburg Central 62, Charleroi 41 – The Lady Raiders remained unbeaten in Section 4-AAA play with a road victory at Charleroi in girls basketball action.
Waynesburg (6-0, 16-1) led 11-3, 29-13 and 42-25 at the quarter breaks.
Josie Horne paced the Lady Raiders with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Avery Davis finished with 12 points.
Riley Jones led the Lady Cougars (0-6, 7-9) with 16 points. Ella Sypolt contributed 12 points.
West Greene 46, Avella 27 – The Lady Pioneers held the visitors to single digits in each quarter for a Section 2-A victory.
Kasie Meek led West Greene (4-1, 7-9) with 12 points. Melissa Tharp contributed 11 points and Kylee Davis added 10.
Ava Frank scored 12 points for the Lady Eagles (1-5, 3-13).
Jefferson-Morgan 48, Mapletown 31 – The Lady Rockets pulled ahead at halftime and kept adding to their advantage in the final 16 minutes for a Section 2-A road victory.
Jefferson-Morgan (1-5, 3-14) led 26-17 at halftime and 36-27 after three quarters.
The Lady Rockets’ Kayla Larkin scored a game-high 26 points. Ali Ostrich finished with 10 points.
Isabella Garnek had a solid all-around performance for the Lady Maples (2-4, 5-1) with 19 points, 20 rebounds and five steals.
Rifle
McGuffey 796-46x, Waynesburg Central 51x – The Raiders dropped a Section 1 virtual match to the Highlanders.
Abbi Kidd was the top shooter for Waynesburg with 100-6x. Faithlynn Vukmanic was also on target with a score of 100-5x. Logan Crouse (99-8x), Emma Lawson (99-8x), Wyatt Franklin (97-7x), Joe Withrow (98-7x), and Aylah Ford (97-4x) rounded out the scoring for the Raiders.
McGuffey’s Riley Dunn (100-8x), Abigail Noble (100-8x), Marcus Ray (100-6x), and Rachael Cox (100-6x) were all perfect.
Wednesday, Jan. 24
Waynesburg Central 58, McGuffey 46 – Cole Headlee totaled 17 points, seven assists and five rebounds to help the Raiders upend the visiting Highlanders in a Section 4-AAA boys basketball game.
McGuffey held a 29-27 halftime advantage but Waynesburg surged to a 43-38 lead after three quarters and outscored the Highlanders 15-8 in the final frame to put the game away.
Alex Vansickle followed Headless with 15 points for the Raiders (2-6, 5-11) who also got 11 points and eight rebounds from Dane Woods.
Grayson Wallace led all scorers with 19 points for McGuffey (3-5, 12-6) and Aydan Cunningham chipped in with 13 points.
Boys wrestling
Beth-Center 40, Jefferson-Morgan 26 – Beth-Center won the final two bouts to hold on for a victory in a Section 1-AA match at Jefferson-Morgan.
The Rockets’ Adam McAnany won a 7-0 decision at 215 pounds. Mason Sisler had a second-period pin at 285 pounds, and Carson Sweeney received a forfeit at 107 pounds to close the gap to 28-26.
The Bulldogs’ Alex Medlen secured the victory at 114 pounds with a third-period pin. Mason Wright closed out the win with a first-period fall at 121 pounds.
James Dulaney spotted Jefferson-Morgan the early lead with a 9-4 decision at 127 pounds.
Rylan McCollum (133) and Pablo Bautista (139) won by fall, and Brandon Dunn received a forfeit at 145 pounds to give Beth-Center an 18-3 lead.
The Rockets rallied back to 18-11 with Brenton Barnhart’s 4-2 decision at 152 pounds and Chase Frameli’s technical fall at 160 pounds.
The Bulldogs pushed the lead to 28-11 with Noah Layhue’s pin at 172 pounds and Jacob Layhue’s major decision at 189 pounds.
McGuffey 50, West Greene 12 – The Highlanders put a damper on the Pioneers’ Senior Night festivities with a Section 1-AA road win.
West Greene’s Hayden Hamilton won a 9-0 major decision at 160 pounds. Colin Whyte secured a 17-2 technical fall at 5:52 in his 215-pound bout. Noah Collins won an 8-3 decision at 114 pounds.
Tuesday, Jan. 23
Brownsville 51, Waynesburg Central 31 – The Falcons led throughout the game for a Section 4-AAA boys basketball home victory.
Brownsville (2-6, 7-11) led 12-7, 18-16 and 29-23 at the quarter breaks, and then pulled away with a 22-8 advantage in the fourth quarter.
The Falcons’ Trent Wible scored a game-high 24 points.Harlan Davis contributed 14 points.
Alex Vansickle scored nine points for the Raiders (1-6, 4-11).
Burgettstown 56, Carmichaels 48 – The Mikes had a tough time on the road with a Section 4-AA loss at Burgettstown.
The Blue Devils led 19-9 after the first quarter and 28-18 at halftime.
Dom Colarusso scored 14 and Aydan Adamson added 11 for the Mikes.
Zack Schrockman paced Burgettstown with a game-high 23 points. James Leuice (12) and Carson Tkalcevic (11) also scored in double figures.
Turkeyfoot Valley 73, Mapletown 61 – The Rams led 41-27 at halftime and then held off the visiting Maples for a non-section victory.
Jeremiah Mick paced Mapletown (2-12) with 24 points. Roger Gradek added 10 points.
Bryce Nicholson scored a game-high 38 points for Turkeyfoot. Zack Ryan contributed 13 points.
Women’s basketball
Penn State Mont Alto 74, Penn State Fayette 62 – Penn State Fayette’s rally in the fourth quarter came up short in a PSUAC home loss.
Fayette held a 29-18 advantage in the fourth quarter. Penn State Mont Alto led 56-33 after three quarters.
Carmichaels graduate Sophia Zalar came off the bench to score a team-high 19 points for Penn State Fayette. Daelin Burnsworth finished with 15 points.
Mont Alto’s Dariana Perez had a double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Autumn Fischer (17), Shanez Morales (14), and Kaleigh Hartman (18) also scored in double figures.
Girls basketball
West Greene 52, Hundred (W.Va.) 17 – The Lady Pioneers held the visitors to single digits in each quarter for a non-section road victory.
Kendra Tharp and Brooke Miller shared scoring honors for West Greene with eight points apiece.
Hundred’s Ashlynn Peters also scored eight points.
Rifle
Waynesburg Central 793-47x, Bethel Park 778-27x – Five Raiders scored 100 for a non-section home win at Waynesburg 缅北禁地man’s Club.
Waynesburg’s Joe Withrow was medalist with a 100-9x. Logan Crouse (100-8x), Emma Lawson (100-5x), Wyatt Franklin (100-4x), and Corbin Flanagan (100-5x) also had perfect scores.
Abbi Kidd (99-5x), Emily Burnfield (97-5x), and Oliva Salka (97-6x) rounded out the scoring for the Raiders.
Lindsay Saffer shot a team-best 99-7x for Bethel Park.