GCC girls reach state semis

Just one Westmoreland County basketball team remains in the state tournament, as the Greensburg Central Catholic girls won a pair of games last week to reach the semifinals. In the Class 3A bracket, GCC outpaced Northwestern 50-36 on Tuesday, and then knocked off Trinity (Camp Hill) 65-51 three days later. In the triumph against District 10 Champion Northwestern at Sharon High School, the Centurions overcame a three-point halftime deficit to prevail. Avery Jones scored 18 points, while Erica Gribble scored 13 and Jayla Peterson added 10 points. Makayla Presser-Palmer tallied all but four points for the Wildcats. On Friday at Altoona Area High School, the Centurions engineered another rally, using a 23-3 run in the second half to oust the District 3 Champion Trinity. Gribble poured in 25 points, while Jones contributed 16 points. Emma Kostela-Laurer paced the Shamrocks with 29 points. As a result, GCC will square off against Shady Side Academy for the fourth time this season, this time in the state semifinals tonight at 7 p.m. at Norwin High School. The Bulldogs have won the three previous meetings, including in the WPIAL Class 3A Championship.

Panthers girls settle for silver at PIAA swimming

The Franklin Regional girls swimming and diving team came up just shy of state gold last week, as the Panthers came in second in the PIAA Class 2A Championships at Bucknell University. FR compiled a team score of 179, narrowly behind Side Side Academy’s total of 185. The Panthers were the only Westmoreland County team in any classification to finish within the top 10. Among the notable performances by the Panthers, FR won the 200 freestyle relay with a time of 1:37.18, finished third in the 400 freestyle relay, coming in at 3:32.09, while Anna Tomasic took fourth in the 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle with times of 23.69 and 51.78, respectively, Aidah Holm earned fourth in the 100 butterfly with a mark of 58.30, Scarlett Zolnak placed sixth in the 100 breaststroke with a mark of 58.81, and Magdalena Hull came in sixth in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:54.73.

Burrell hockey returns to title game

For the third year in a row, Burrell hockey will play for a Division 2 Championship. The fifth-seeded Buccaneers stunned top seed Morgantown 3-2 in overtime in the semifinals Thursday at the RMU Island Sports Complex. Jacob Rose tallied approximately six minutes into the extra frame to propel the Bucs to another title appearance after Burrell settled for silver each of the past two seasons. That goal capped a dramatic rally by the Buccaneers, who tied the game with just 18 seconds left in regulation, courtesy of a goal by Jared Wall. Moreover, Colton Boda netted a first-period goal for Burrell, while Seth Munda recorded 26 saves between the pipes in the victory. As a result, the Buccaneers will face third seed Ringgold, which edged Neshannock 3-2 on Thursday. The Rams feature several players who attend Belle Vernon Area. Puck drop for the championship matchup is 8:45 p.m. tonight at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry.

Westmoreland squads litter boys volleyball rankings

After the opening week of high school boys volleyball action, four Westmoreland County teams cracked the Western Pa Volleyball Coaches Association rankings that were released today. In Class 3A, Hempfield Area tops the county teams at No. 5. Penn-Trafford slots one spot behind, while Greater Latrobe is the final team in the top 10 list. North Allegheny leads the way in 3A. Meanwhile in Class 2A, Derry Area is ranked seventh, with Shaler Area holding the top spot.

Griffins WBB bows out to IUP

Seton Hill University women’s basketball saw another stellar season conclude on Saturday, as the Griffins lost to host Indiana University of Pennsylvania 94-87 in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional semifinals. The No. 5 seed Griffins outpaced the Crimson Hawks 31-15, but top-seeded IUP rallied in the fourth to move on to the title game. In the defeat for SHU, Helene Cowan netted a game-best 29 points, while Mia Kalich added 14 points and 12 rebounds. Emma Fischer scored 13 points for SHU, while Hallie Cowan and Shaye Bailey each produced a dozen points. The Griffins conclude the campaign with a record of 22-9.