Feb 23, 2022 By The 4 min read

Elizabeth Forward had four girls score in double figures Tuesday night as the Lady Warriors opened the WPIAL Class AAAA basketball playoffs with a 75-41 victory over visiting Central Valley.

The Lady Warriors (18-4) travel to Beaver Friday night for a quarterfinal game. Beaver, the fourth seed, defeated Freeport, 46-28.

Brooke Marland led Elizabeth Forward with a game-high 19 points. Bailie Brinson scored 18, Joselyn Dawson finished with 13 points and Alyssa Terza added 12.

Abrielle Underwood scored 16 points for Central Valley (7-14).

Chartiers Valley 72, Connellsville 33 — Chartiers Valley scored 31 points in the first quarter and added 20 more in the second quarter for an opening round victory in the WPIAL Class AAAAAA basketball playoffs against the visiting Lady Falcons.

Chartiers Valley, the top seed, led 51-16 at halftime and 62-22 after three quarters.

Whitney Bobish led Connellsville (8-15) with 14 points. Neveah Hamborsky scored 10.

Aislin Malcolm pace Chartiers Valley (22-1) with a game-high 19 points. Hallie Cowan and Perri Page both scored 11.

McKeesport 66, Albert Gallatin 43 — The Lady Tigers built an 18-point lead in the first quarter and didn’t look back for a WPIAL Class AAAAA first round playoff game victory against the visiting Lady Colonials.

McKeesport (19-4) led 24-6 at the end of the first quarter and 42-20 at halftime. Albert Gallatin sliced two points off the deficit in the third quarter, but McKeesport came back with an 11-8 advantage in the fourth quarter to close out the win.

Gianna Michaux paced the Lady Colonials (16-5) with 18 points. Courtlyn Turner was also in double figures with 12 points.

Quaker Valley 43, Belle Vernon 21 — The Lady Leopards were held to under 10 points in every quarter for a WPIAL Class AAAA first round playoff game loss at Quaker Valley.

Quaker Valley (12-10) led 10-8, 23-13 and 39-17 at the quarter breaks.

Jenna Dawson finished with seven points and six rebounds for Belle Vernon (15-8).

Lauren Blackmer scored 15 points for Quaker Valley.

Boys basketball

Carlynton 74, Jefferson-Morgan 40 — The third-seeded Cougars pulled away in the middle two quarters for a WPIAL Class AA first round playoff game victory over the visiting Rockets.

Carlynton (19-2) led 16-15 after the first quarter and then outscored Jefferson-Morgan in the next 16 minutes, 39-18, for a 55-33 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Colt Fowler led the Rockets (10-8) with 16 points.

Jaime McClure paced the Cougars with a game-high 21 points. Khalil Kerr added 20.

Winchester Thurston 61, Carmichaels 51 — The Mikes led 15-6 after the first quarter, but the Bears rallied for a 25-24 halftime lead and continued the momentum into the third quarter for a WPIAL Class AA first round playoff game victory.

Winchester Thurston (11-7) entered the fourth quarter with a 41-31 lead. The two teams both scored 20 points in the fourth quarter.

Tyler Richmond led Carmichaels (14-5) with 15 points. Michael Stewart finished with 13 points and Christopher Barrish added 10.

Jackson Juzang led the way for Winchester Thurston with a game-high 35 points. Jack Anderson-Jussen finished with 14 points.

Men’s basketball

Waynesburg 60, Geneva 59 — The Yellow Jackets led by a point at halftime and made the slim lead hold in the second half to advance in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference tournament.

Waynesburg (14-12) will play top-seeded Washington & Jefferson in the semifinals on Thursday.

The Yellow Jackets led 29-28 at halftime.

Nijon Kirkland led the way for Waynesburg with 28 points and 17 rebounds. Jansen Knotts finished with 10 points, and Ryan Felberg and Jake Scheidt both scored eight.

Lyle Tipton scored 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Golden Tornadoes. Ryan Rachic had a double-double with 13 rebounds and 11 points.

Women’s basketball

Washington & Jefferson 77, Waynesburg 45 — The Presidents scored 53 points in the middle two quarters to pull away from the visiting Yellow Jackets for a PAC Tournament victory.

Washington & Jefferson (21-4) led 16-13 after the first quarter, but the advantage grew to 69-31 entering the fourth quarter.

Brooke Fuller had a double-double for Waynesburg (6-20) with 18 points and 14 rebounds.

Sarah Berardelli and Albert Gallatin graduate Bryn Bezjak shared scoring honors for Washington & Jefferson with 12 points apiece. Piper Morningstar added 11.