Jan 12, 2024 By the Herald-Standard 8 min read

Emma Larkin set a new Geibel Catholic girls basketball mark for points in a game with 51 as the Lady Gators romped over host Avella, 77-43, in Section 2-A action on Thursday night.

Larkin hit four 3-pointers on her way to breaking the previous record of 49 points by Shelley Bortz. Jamie Misiak, who held the mark before Bortz with a 45-point performance, is now third on the list.

Larkin, only a sophomore, is on track to reach the 1,000-point mark for her career this season.

Geibel (3-1, 10-3) also got 17 points from Ava Henderson.

The Lady Gators led 19-11, 38-22 and 57-37 at the quarter breaks.

Syd Strope led the Lady Eagles (0-3, 2-11) with 19 points and Ava Frank added 10.

Laurel Highlands 46, West Mifflin 20 – The Fillies moved into a second-place tie with West Mifflin in Section 3-AAAA after defeating the visiting Lady Titans.

Miya Harris scored 16 points for Laurel Highlands (4-1, 11-1) which also got 13 points and 13 rebounds from Aierra Jenkins and 10 boards from Ayrianna Sumpter.

The Fillies galloped out to a 30-4 halftime lead.

West Mifflin falls to 4-1 in the section and 6-5 overall.

Waynesburg Central 48, South Park 36 – Addison Blair scored a game-high 13 points as the Lady Raiders rode a balanced attack in rallying for a key Section 4-AAA victory at South Park.

The win gives Waynesburg (4-0, 13-1) sole possession of first place while knocking the Lady Eagles (3-1, 7-4) into second.

Kaley Rohanna, Josie Horne and Avery Davis added nine points apiece for the Lady Raiders.

Addy Kerr and Brook Paylo both had 10 points for South Park, which led 13-8 after the first quarter and 21-13 at halftime.

Waynesburg erased that deficit by outsourcing the hosts 20-7 in the third quarter to take a 33-28 lead and pulled away from there.

Southmoreland 42, Ringgold 30 – The Lady Scotties gradually pulled away from the visiting Lady Rams to earn their first win of the season in a Section 3-AAAA game.

Bea Pawlikowsky scored 10 points for Southmoreland (1-4, 1-11), which led 10-4, 18-9 and 30-20 at the breaks.

Addison Jenkins tallied 10 points for Ringgold (0-5, 3-10).

Elizabeth Forward 49, Belle Vernon 27 – The first-place Lady Warriors cruised to a 34-2 halftime lead on their way to a Section 3-AAAA win over the visiting Lady Leopards.

Mia Sustaric and Kaelynn Settles paced Elizabeth Forward (4-0, 11-2) with 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Kenzi Seliga scored nine points for Belle Vernon (3-3, 6-7) which also got seven rebounds from Caroline Lee.

Frazier 46, Carmichaels 30 – Allie Yauch tossed in a game-high 18 points to help the Lady Commodores down the host Lady Mikes in a Section 4-AA game.

Gabby McGavitt followed with 12 points for Frazier (2-3, 5-7) and Malana Burton chipped in with 10 points.

The Lady Commodores led 12-5, 24-11 and 36-17 at the quarter breaks.

Megan Voithofer topped Carmichaels (1-3, 2-10) in scoring with nine points.

Monessen 57, Mapletown 32 – The first-place Lady Greyhounds built a 40-28 advantage then outscored the host Lady Maples 17-4 in the final quarter to earn a Section 2-A victory.

Hailey Johnson scored a game-high 13 points for Monessen (3-0, 6-2) and was followed by Madison Johnson (12) and Na’Jaziah Carter (11).

Isabella Garnek and McKenna Lotspeich tallied 12 points apiece for Mapletown (2-2, 5-8) which also got 10 rebounds from Emma Zalar.

West Greene 52, Jefferson-Morgan 39 – The Lady Pioneers took a 33-19 halftime lead and held on from there for a Section 2-A win over the visiting Lady Rockets.

Kasie Meek led West Greene (2-1, 3-7) with 12 points and Kylee Davis added 10.

Kayla Larkin poured in a game-high 20 points for J-M (0-3, 2-11) and Ava Wood contributed 10 points.

Beth-Center 36, Bentworth 24 – Violet Trump totaled 14 points and 13 rebounds to help the Lady Bulldogs fend off the visiting Lady Bearcats in a Section 4-AA game.

Beth-Center led 5-3 after the first quarter, 19-8 at halftime and 29-14 after three quarters.

Lauren Brown contributed 10 points and also had 13 rebounds for the Lady Bulldogs (3-2, 6-6).

Kayla O’Dell had nine points for Bentworth (0-6, 3-11) which also got eight points from Amber Sallee.

Washington 56, California 41 – Olivia Woods racked up 31 points and the Lady Prexies took control in the second quarter on their way to a Section 4-AA win at California.

The Lady Trojans (3-2, 6-5) held a 17-15 edge after the first quarter but Washington (4-1, 5-7) surged to a 32-25 halftime lead. The Lady Prexies still held a 42-35 advantage after three quarters and put the game away by outscoring California 14-6 in the final frame.

Teyler Barner added 10 points for Washington.

Rakiyah Porter led the way for the Lady Trojans with 16 points.

Preston (W. Va.) 47, Uniontown 25 – The Lady Knights took a 16-10 halftime lead then pulled away in the second half to top the host Lady Raiders in a non-section game.

Cameryn Sypolt had 12 points for Preston (8-4).

Geelece Ingram and A’Kira Dade both tallied seven points for Uniontown (3-8).

Mount Pleasant 35, Ligonier Valley 31 – The Lady Vikings held off the host Lady Rams for a Section 3-AAA win.

The game was tied 10-10 after one quarter and 19-19 at halftime before Mount Pleasant pushed in front with an 11-6 advantage in the third and hung on from there.

Morgan Geseinski led the Lady Vikings (2-2, 9-4) with 11 points.

Marlee Miller had 12 points for Ligonier Valley (1-3, 4-9).

McGuffey 57, Yough 31 – Alexis Ewig scored 19 points as the Lady Highlanders triumphed over the visiting Lady Cougars in a Section 4-AAA game.

Taylor Schumacher followed with 10 points for McGuffey (2-2, 11-2).

Kadence Roebuck tossed in 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, for Yough (1-2, 6-6).

Boys basketball

Albert Gallatin 70, Belle Vernon 67 – The Colonials used a 19-12 advantage in the fourth quarter to upend the visiting Leopards in a Section 3-AAAA battle.

Blake White poured in 25 points for Albert Gallatin (2-1, 6-5) which gave its playoff hopes a boost with the win.

Zion Moore scored 25 points, including three 3-pointers, for Belle Vernon to tie White for game-high honors.

The Colonials jumped out to a 20-10 lead in the first quarter but the Leopards (2-2, 7-4) bounced back to take a 32-26 halftime lead and was still up 55-51 after a high-scoring third quarter before the hosts rallied.

Albert Gallatin also got 22 points from Shymere Wilson and 11 from JJ Jackson. White, Wilson and Jackson each hit a pair of 3-pointers.

Curtis Wade contributed 14 points for Belle Vernon, which also got 16 rebounds from Alonzo Wade.

Winchester Thurston 68, Geibel Catholic 36 – Henry McComb scored 15 points and Michael Hammerling added 14 as the host Bears beat the Gators in a non-section game.

Charlie Tea chipped in with 10 points for Winchester Thurston (7-5).

Tommy Kolencik paced Geibel (0-13) with 14 points.

Boys swimming

South Park 95, Belle Vernon 76 – The Eagles were tough at home for a Section 5-AA home victory over the visiting Leopards.

Tim Reda (200 freestyle, 500 freestyle), Gaige Watson (200 IM), 200 freestyle relay and 400 freestyle relay had first-place finishes for Belle (0-2, 4-4).

Elizabeth Forward 120, Laurel Highlands 19 – The visiting Warriors rolled to a Section 5-AA victory over the Mustangs.

Bryce McLaughlin (200 freestyle), Matthew Vietmeier (50 freestyle), Brodie Weagley (100 butterfly, 100 backstroke), Conner Egan (100 freestyle), and Thomas Fine (500 freestyle) all finished first for Elizabeth Forward.

The Warriors swept the relays. Garrett Vietmeier won the diving competition.

Girls swimming

South Park 83, Belle Vernon 76 – The Lady Eagles edged visiting Belle Vernon for a Section 5-AA home victory.

Megan Shusteric (200 IM), Grace Newbould (50 freestyle), Melina Stratigos (100 freestyle), Ava Bosetti (100 breaststroke), 200 medley relay and 200 freestyle relay finished for the Lady Leopards (1-1, 4-4).

Elizabeth Forward 79, Laurel Highlands 73 – The Lady Warriors returned home with a Section 5-AA victory.

Elizabeth Forward’s Brooke Yurkovich was a double winner with first-place finishes in the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke. Madison Alessio (200 freestyle), Juliana Egan (100 butterfly), Aliyah Jackson (diving), and Allison Glessner (100 freestyle) all won one event.

The Lady Warriors also won the 200 medley relay and 400 freestyle relay.

Hockey

Ringgold 8, Trinity 0 – The Rams broke open a scoreless game with five goals in the second period for a PIHL D2 Blue Division home victory over the visiting Hillers.

Ringgold’s Brady Lippert opened the scoring two minutes into the second period. Lippert doubled the home team’s lead with a short-handed goal at 6:47.

The Rams netted consecutive power play goals over a two-minute span. Phil Quattrone scored at 9:45 and Owen Haywood followed with a goal at 11:57.

Landon Vaccaro made the score 5-0 with two minutes left in the period.

Ringgold (7-4-0-1-1) needed just 19 seconds to increase the advantage to six goals on Bruce Santina’s score. Quattroned added his second goal of the game and Caden Doren found the back of the net.

Ringgold pelted 43 shots on Trinity goalie Kirsten Lallone. The Rams’ Colllin Moffett preserved the shutout with 27 saves.