Fillies, Lady Greyhounds draw No. 5 seeds in basketball pairings
Jim Downey | 缅北禁地
Elizabeth Forward, as expected, was the highest seeded area team when the WPIAL announced its girls basketball playoff pairings Monday.
The Section 3-AAAA champions, who are 19-2 overall, were seeded third in Class AAAA with Laurel Highlands (18-2) drawing the No. 5 slot.
Also garnering a No. 5 seed was Section 2-A champion Monessen while in Class AAA, Waynesburg Central was only given a No. 6 seed despite a sparkling 19-2 overall record while sharing first place in Section 4-AAA.
That foursome joins Brownsville, California, Beth-Center, West Greene, Geibel Catholic, Mapletown, Mount Pleasant and Belle Vernon in the postseason.
The Fillies would’ve received a first-round bye, as EF did, had they been seeded in the top four, but will still get a first-round home game. Laurel Highlands hosts No. 12 Quaker Valley on Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. The winner will travel to No. 4 Highlands in the quarterfinals.
“I knew we were probably going to get the fifth seed,” LH coach Stewart Davis said. “I was studying both Quaker Valley and Highlands. I’m OK with the pairings.
“It’s great to have a playoff game at home. Being in my second year here, I thought we had a tremendous year and I’m happy the girls will get to play in front of their home fans.”
Also in Class AAAA, No. 11 Belle Vernon will play at No. 6 Knoch, also at 7 p.m. on Feb. 20, with the winner heading to Elizabeth Forward in the quarterfinals.
In Class AAA, Waynesburg and South Park won on each other’s court and tied for the Section 4 title but the Lady Raiders (19-2) were slotted below the No. 5 Lady Eagles (15-6), who host No. 12 Mount Pleasant on Saturday at 2 p.m. Waynesburg hosts No. 11 Seton LaSalle and No. 13 Brownsville is at No. 4 Neshannock both at 12 noon on Saturday.
In Class AA, No. 13 Beth-Center plays No. 4 Fort Cherry at Peters Township’s AHN Arena at 6 p.m. on Friday and No. 15 California is at No. 2 Aliquippa also on Friday at 7 p.m.
In Class A, the Lady Greyhounds host No. 12 Leechburg, No. 7 Geibel Catholic plays No. 10 Eden Christian Academy at Yough, No. 8 West Greene is at home against No. 9 Jeannette and No. 11 Mapletown travels to No. 6 Bishop Canevin with each game starting at 7 p.m. next Monday, except for the Lady Gators who have a 6 p.m. tipoff.