Lady Pioneers fall in first round, lose to North Catholic, 61-28
West Greene fell behind in the first quarter, 16-2, and never recovered, losing in the first round of the WPIAL girls Class A basketball playoffs Wednesday to North Catholic, 61-28, at Moon High School.
The Lady Pioneers trailed 48-7 at halftime and 52-13 after three quarters. They outscored the Lady Trojans in the fourth quarter, 15-9.
Emily Courtwright led West Greene (12-12) with six points.
Sarah Goets scored a game-high 16 points for North Catholic, while teammate Lindsay Mueller added 12.
Women’s tennis
California (Pa.) 9, Denison 0 – The Vulcans swept past the sixth-ranked team in Division III Thursday for a non-conference victory.
Martina Rubesova and Franziska Steinhardt, Jade Pondicas and Annabel Pieschl, and Kelsey Geppner and Kate Westenberger won the doubles to spot California to a 3-0 lead.
Rubesova won in straight sets at No. 1 singles. Pieschl, Pondicas, Ramona Czakon, Zherdeva and Steinhardt also won in straight sets.
California improves to 6-1 overall.
Women’s lacrosse
Waynesburg 18, Wheeling Jesuit (W.Va.) 9 – Five Yellow Jackets scored at least two goals Thursday, leading Waynesburg to a non-conference victory over the visiting Cardinals, who were playing their first match in school history.
Mandy Ormsby and Toria Shepherd both scored five goals. Maria Shepas finished with four goals. Tiffany Stansberry and Carly Smithyman scored two goals apiece. Shepherd added two assists for a game-high seven points.
Waynesburg (1-1) travels to Denison Saturday afternoon.
Men’s basketball
California (Pa.) 74, Clarion 61 – The Vulcans and Golden Eagles were tied at halftime Wednesday night, 29-all, but the home team pulled away in the final 20 minutes for a key PSAC-West victory. California outscored Clarion in the second half, 45-32.
Mitchell Weedon led California (13-8, 16-11) with 14 points. Steve Swiech finished with 13 points. Travon Vann scored 11 and Tynell Fortune added 10.
Paul McQueen scored a game-high 23 points for Clarion (11-10, 15-12).
Women’s basketball
California (Pa.) 93, Clarion 63 – Leading 44-35 at the half, the Vulcans breezed through the second half Wednesday night for a convincing PSAC-West victory over the visiting Golden Eagles.
California improves to 14-7 in the conference and 17-8 overall. Clarion slips to 6-15 in the PSAC-West and 7-18 overall.
Amy Johns scored a game-high 16 points for the Vulcans. Danielle Luckett finished with 15, and Stephanie Michael added 13.
Hannah Heeter led Clarion with 14 points.