Local roundup: Lady Raiders win defensive battle with Yough, 37-31
Waynesburg Central and Yough both got off to a slow start offensively on Monday night, but the Lady Raiders picked up the pace enough in the second half to claim a 37-31 Section 4-AAA girls basketball road victory.
Waynesburg (3-0, 12-1) led 7-5 at halftime and 20-17 after three quarters.
The Lady Raiders’ Kaley Rohanna and Avery Davis both scored 12 points.
Autumn Matthews led Yough (1-1, 6-5) with a game-high 14 points.
Geibel Catholic 59, Mapletown 43 – Emma Larkin and Ava Henderson combined for 51 points in the Lady Gators’ Section 2-A win over the visiting Lady Maples.
Larkin led the way for Geibel (2-1, 9-3) with 29 points. Henderson finished with 22 points.
The Lady Gators led 18-13, 29-25 and 43-29 at the quarter breaks.
Isabella Carreck scored 16 points and McKenna Lotspeich added 15 for Mapletown (2-1, 5-7).
Saturday, Jan. 6
Chatham 76, Waynesburg 71 – The Cougars claimed a Presidents’ Athletic Conference men’s basketball victory against the host Yellow Jackets.
Chatham (7-2, 9-5) made nine 3-pointers compared to just two by Waynesburg, and never trailed. The visitors led 39-30 at halftime.
Waynesburg (4-5, 7-7) outscored the Cougars in the second half, 41-37.
The Yellow Jackets’ Antone Baker scored a game-high 23 points, pulled down eight rebounds and blocked four shots. Jaylen Davis finished with 14 points, seven rebounds and three blocks. Jansen Knotts scored 12 points, while Jordan McLoyd finished with 10 points.
Women’s basketball
Chatham 58, Waynesburg 49 – The Yellow Jackets led by eight at halftime, but couldn’t hold the lead for a PAC home loss to the Cougars.
Waynesburg slips to 1-8 in the conference and 2-11 overall. Chatham improves to 8-1 in the PAC and 12-2 overall.
Marley Wolf (13), Kayla Howard (11), and Kalista Friday (10) all scored in double figures for Waynesburg. Julz Mohrbacher grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds.
Though it didn’t lead to victory, the Yellow Jackets recorded a plus-18 rebound advantage on the day (51-33).
Friday, Jan. 5
Bentworth 50, Carmichaels 40 – The Bearcats held their halftime advantage in the second half for a Section 4-AA boys basketball road victory.
Bentworth (1-3, 2-8) led 22-13 at halftime.
The Bearcats’ Lucas Burt had a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Ben Hays finished with 13 points.
Dom Colarusso led the way for the Mikes (0-3, 3-8) with 16 points. Robbie Wilson-Jones added 13 points.
Monessen 60, Jefferson-Morgan 41 – The Greyhounds put the game away with a 22-4 advantage in the fourth quarter for a Section 2-A home victory.
Lorenzo Gardner led Monessen (2-0, 8-1) with a game-high 27 points. Devontae Robinson added 10 points.
John Woodward Jr. scored 13 points and Jase Bedillion added 11 for the Rockets (1-1, 8-4).
West Greene 62, Geibel Catholic 26 – The Pioneers cruised to their first Section 2-A win of the season against the visiting Gators.
West Greene (1-1, 6-6) led 16-8, 34-15 and 52-19 at the quarter breaks.
Lane Allison paced West Greene with a game-high 20 points. Parker Burns finished with 16 points.
Gary Tarbuk led the Gators (0-2, 0-11) with 14 points.
California 59, Mapletown 51 – The Trojans made a first-quarter lead stand for a Section 2-A road victory.
California (2-0, 2-9) sprinted out to a 23-8 lead in the first quarter. The visitors led 34-21 at halftime with Vinny Manzella and Jacob Ziolecki combining for 25 first-half points.
The Trojans led 48-34 after three quarters. Mapletown (0-2, 1-8) held a 17-11 advantage in the fourth quarter.
Manzella scored a game-high 19 points. Ziolecki finished with 18 points and Noah Neil added 13.
Roger Gradek finished with 17 points and Josh Mick added 15 for the Maples.
Thursday, Jan. 4
Monessen 59, Jefferson-Morgan 33 – Monessen used a balanced offense to defeat visiting Jefferson-Morgan and give coach Janine Vertacnik her 350th victory in a Section 2-A girls basketball game.
The Lady Greyhounds (2-0, 5-1) were led by Madison Johnson with 13 points. Also hitting double figures in scoring for Monessen were Na’Jaziah Carter (11), MyAsia Majors (11) and Sidney Campbell (10).
The Lady Greyhounds led 20-10, 34-21 and 50-28 at the quarter breaks.
Kayla Larkin led the Lady Rockets (0-2, 2-10) and tied for game-high honors with 13 points.
Geibel Catholic 37, West Greene 35 – Emma Larkin scored all but four of the Lady Gators’ points including all 18 in the fourth quarter to rally Geibel past the host Lady Pioneers in a Section 2-A clash.
In a back-and-forth battle, West Greene led 9-4 after the first quarter, the Lady Gators surged to a 16-12 halftime lead and then the Lady Pioneers used a 14-3 edge in the third quarter to go up 26-19.
Geibel (1-1, 8-3) outscored West Greene 18-9 in the final frame to pull out the win.
Larkin made four of her six 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and was 6 of 8 from the foul line.
Kasie Meek paced the Lady Pioneers (1-1, 2-7) with 15 points.
Carmichaels 31, Bentworth 28 – The Lady Mikes outscored the visiting Lady Bearcats 4-1 in overtime to pull out a Section 4-A win.
Alayna Simon scored 11 points to lead the way for Carmichaels (1-2, 2-9).
Both teams struggled offensively in the first half with the Lady Mikes leading 2-0 after one quarter and 6-5 at halftime.
The Lady Bearcats (0-4, 3-9) rode a 16-9 edge in the third quarter to a 21-15 lead but Carmichaels used a 12-4 run to go up by two late in the fourth quarter.
Bentworth’s Amber Sallee, who made three 3-pointers while scoring a game-high 15 points, sank a pair of free throws late in the fourth to knot the score at 27-27 and force OT.
Aubrie Logan had 15 rebounds for Bentworth and Kayla O’Dell added 10 boards.
Waynesburg Central 62, McGuffey 32 – Kaley Rohanna rang up a game-high 26 points and Avery Davis added 17 as the Lady Raiders beat the visiting Lady Highlanders in a Section 4-AAA game.
Peyton Cowell pulled down 12 rebounds for Waynesburg (2-0, 11-1).
Libby Mallah had eight points for McGuffey (0-2, 9-2).
Mapletown 49, Avella 21 – Emma Zalar totaled 10 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals as the Lady Maples knocked off visiting Avella in a Section 2-A game.
McKenna Lotspeich and Treslee Westonn led Mapletown (2-0, 5-6) in scoring with 12 points apiece.
Ava Frank and Syd Strope both tallied eight points for the Lady Eagles (0-2, 2-9).
Wednesday, Jan. 3
California 66, West Greene 63 – Jahlem Derns’ field goal and clutch free-throw shooting down the stretch carried California to its first win of the season with a Section 2-A victory against visiting West Greene.
The Trojans (1-0, 1-9) trailed by 11 in the fourth quarter, but forged into the lead after Derns converted a steal into the go-ahead basket with less than 25 seconds left in the game.
California made four foul shots to clinch the win in the section opener.
Jacob Ziolecki paced the Trojans with a game-high 20 points, including five 3-point goals. Noah Neil finished with 18 points. Caden Monticelli scored 13 points. Vinny Manzella contributed 11 points, 10 assists and six steals.
Lane Allison led the Pioneers (0-1, 5-6) with 17 points. Matt Wassil and Parker Burns both scored 14 points. Pat Durbin added 13 points.
Jefferson-Morgan 40, Mapletown 36 – The Rockets controlled the middle two quarters for a Section 2-A home victory.
Jefferson-Morgan (1-0, 8-3) outscored the Maples in the second and third quarters, 28-14.
Dayten Marion and John Woodward Jr. both scored 13 points for the Rockets. Jase Bedillion finished with 10 points.
Roger Gradek scored a game-high 14 points for Mapletown (0-1, 1-7).
Beth-Center 61, Carmichaels 55 – The Bulldogs rallied into the lead in the third quarter for a Section 4-AA home win.
The Mikes (0-2, 3-7) led 30-27 at halftime. Beth-Center pulled into a 46-38 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Brody Tharp hit four 3-pointers to share game-scoring honors for Beth-Center (1-1, 3-6) with 20 points. Jason Zellie scored 18 points and Santino Revi finished with 10 points.
Dom Colarusso led Carmichaels with 20 points. Liam Lohr finished with 18 points and Aydan Adamson added 10.
Girls basketball
Mapletown 46, Jefferson-Morgan 38 – The Lady Maples rallied from a first-quarter deficit for a Section 2-A road victory.
Jefferson-Morgan (0-1, 2-9) led 10-6 after the first quarter. Mapletown led 23-17 at halftime.
The Lady Maples’ lead grew to 36-26 after three quarters.
Treslee Weston had a solid performance for Mapletown (1-0, 4-6) with 10 points, eight rebounds, four steals and two assists. Isabella Garnek scored a team-high 15 points and McKenna Lotspeich finished with 13 points.
Jefferson-Morgan’s Kayla Larkin scored a game-high 20 points.
Boys wrestling
Jefferson-Morgan 45, Fort Cherry 19 – The Rockets ran off to a 22-0 lead and didn’t look back for a Section 1-AA road victory.
Colton Humphreys (139) and Johnny Gilbert (145) won by forfeit, Brenton Barnhart (152) secured a major decision, and Chase Frameli won by fall at 16 pounds to open the match.
Adam McAnany (215) and Carson Sweeney (114) won by fall.
Shawn Robertson (121) won a major decision, and James Dulaney (127) and Ronin Kramer (133) won decisions. Billy Bowen received a forfeit at 107 pounds.
Jefferson-Morgan lost a team point for a technical violation (weight unknown).
Burgettstown 54, West Greene 20 – The Blue Devils ran off to a 36-0 lead on their way to a Section 1-AA road victory.
West Greene’s Johnny Lampe broke Burgettstown’s run with a pin at 189 pounds. Colin Whyte followed with a fall at 215 pounds. The Pioneers’ Noah Collins won with a technical fall at 114 pounds, and Seth Burns closed the match with a decision at 127 pounds.
Rifle
McGuffey 794-45x, Waynesburg 786-35x – The Raiders dropped Section 1 virtual match to the Highlanders.
McGuffey’s Riley Dunn and Rachel Cox shared medalist honors with a score of 100-8x. Marcus Ray and Rylee Fuller both finished with 100-6x.
Abbi Kidd (98-5x), Faithlynn Vukmanic (99-7x), Emma Lawson (99-6x), Emily Burnfield (99-4x), Wyatt Franklin (99-6x), Joe Withrow (98-5x), Olivia Sulka (95-1x) and Andy Mahle (99-1x) scored for the Raiders.
Men’s basketball
Waynesburg 76, Franciscan 61 – The Yellow Jackets won their third game in a row with a Presidents’ Athletic Conference home victory.
Franciscan (2-6, 5-7) ran out to a 9-0 lead, but Waynesburg countered with a 13-4 run. Franciscan recovered for a 38-31 halftime lead.
The Yellow Jackets regained the momentum after the halftime break and eventually pulled into a 52-43 lead.
Antone Baker paced Waynesburg (4-4, 7-6) with a game-high 25 points and 10 rebounds. Jordan McLoyd added 15 points.
Tuesday, Jan. 2
Yough 73, Waynesburg Central 34 – Terek Crosby tallied a game-high 24 points as the Cougars cruised past the visiting Raiders in a Section 4-AAA boys basketball game.
Zander Aird followed with 18 points for Yough (2-0, 7-3) and Charlie Quinn chipped in with 16.
Cole Headlee scored 10 points for Waynesburg (0-3, 2-8).
Girls basketball
Waynesburg Central 56, Charleroi 29 – Kaley Rohanna rang up a game-high 24 points as the host Lady Raiders beat the Lady Cougars in a Section 4-AAA game.
Avery Davis had 16 points for Waynesburg (1-0, 10-1) which also got 10 rebounds apiece from Addison Blair and Josie Horne.
Riley Jones tossed in 12 points for Charleroi (0-1, 4-4) which also got eight points from Bella Carroto.
West Greene 47, Avella 41 – Haleigh Rush scored a game-high 16 points for Avella but it wasn’t enough as the Lady Pioneers rode a balanced attack to a Section 4-A win over the host Lady Eagles (0-1, 2-7).
Kendra Tharp and Brooke Miller each tossed in nine points for West Greene (1-0, 2-6), which trailed 13-8 after the opening quarter. The Lady Pioneers surged in front in the second quarter to take a 29-26 halftime lead and held on from there.
Beth-Center 52, Carmichaels 34 – Lauren Brown had a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds to help the host Lady Bulldogs knock off the Lady Mikes in a Section 4-AA game.
Carmichaels led 14-10 after one quarter before B-C moved in front 26-23 at halftime, then outscored the Lady Mikes 23-2 in the third quarter to take control of the game.
Violet Trump also had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds for Beth-Center (2-1, 5-5), which also got 10 points from Kyleigh McDaniel.
Alyana Simon led Carmichaels (0-2, 1-9) with 12 points.