Westmoreland County girls basketball game recaps from Thursday, January 11th 2024:

Norwin 52 Pine-Richland 28   WATCH BROADCAST

Norwin led 30-14 at halftime and cruised to a 52-28 triumph against visiting Pine-Richland in a Section 1-6A game. Lauren Palangio and Kendall Berger had 13 and 10 points respectively for the first place Knights (11-3, 4-0). Madison Zavasky had nine points to lead the Rams (2-9, 1-3).

Butler 67 Hempfield Area 55

Butler outscored Hempfield Area 35-23 over the final two quarters to earn a 67-55 win in Section 1-6A play. Sarah Podkul tossed in a game-high 21 points for the Spartans (7-7, 0-4) while Ashley Hosni added 19. Amelia McMichael finished with 19 points to pace the Golden Tornado (3-10, 1-3).

McKeesport 51 Penn-Trafford 38

McKeesport's defense led the way as the Tigers downed Penn-Trafford 51-38 in Section 2-5A. Olivia Pepple, who scored 23 points against Oakland Catholic on Monday, was limited to just eight points. Lauren Marton put in nine to lead the Warriors (7-5, 2-3). Madison Hertzler dropped in 18 points for McKeesport (11-1, 5-0) which outscored P-T 24-16 in the second half.

Greater Latrobe 65 Thomas Jefferson 56

Ellie Snyder racked up 24 points in helping Greater Latrobe to a 65-56 win over visiting Thomas Jefferson in Section 3-5A action. Snyder has now scored 54 points in her last two contests. Teammate Carley Berk scored 21 points and Belle Blossey had 10 for the Wildcats (7-6, 3-2). Thomas Jefferson's record falls to 5-8, 2-3.

Highlands 78 Greensburg Salem 64

Ryan Burkart poured in 37 points but it wasn't enough as Greensburg Salem dropped a Section 1-4A tussle with Highlands 78-64. Burkart connected on seven 3-pointers in the contest for the Golden Lions (2-11, 0-3) who were outscored 25-9 in the second quarter. Bradyn Foster also had a monster game for the Rams (7-4, 2-1) as he racked up 34 points and 12 rebounds. Julian Stevens also reached double figures with 12 points for Greensburg Salem.

Freeport 52 Derry Area 39

Derry Area lead 11-9 after one quarter but Freeport controlled the game after the opening frame as the Yellowjackets topped the Trojans 52-39 in a Section 1-4A game. Rachelle Marinchek returned from injury to score 12 points for Derry Area (4-10, 1-5) while Haylee Myers finished with 10. Jaden Gailot tallied a game-high 16 points for Freeport (6-8, 2-3).

Highlands 54 Greensburg Salem 47

Three players reached double figures for Greensburg Salem but it wasn't enough as the Golden Lions were beaten by Highlands 54-47 in Section 1-4A. With the victory, the Golden Rams take sole possession of second place. Blessing Gantt ended with 15 points for Greensburg Salem (11-3, 3-2) while Gia Rosensteel and Kaitlyn Mankins had 12 and 11 points respectively. Shelby Wojcik tossed in 19 for Highlands (9-3, 4-1).

Elizabeth Forward 49 Belle Vernon 27

Belle Vernon trailed 34-2 at halftime and fell at Elizabeth Forward 49-27 in a Section 3-4A tilt. Kenzi Seliga was the top scorer with nine points for the Leopards (6-7, 3-3) while Mia Sustaric scored 12 to lead the first place Warriors (11-2, 4-0).

Southmoreland 42 Ringgold 30

Southmoreland earned its first win of the season defeating Ringgold 42-30 in a Section 3-4A match up. The Scotties outscored the Rams in every quarter and led 18-9 at halftime. Bea Pawlikowsky collected 10 points for Southmoreland (1-11, 1-4) while Addison Jenkins also ended with 10 points for the Rams (3-10, 0-5).

Burrell 47 Apollo-Ridge 29

Jules Fisher dropped in 18 points leading Burrell to a 47-29 Section 3-3A victory at Apollo-Ridge. In addition to Fisher, Casey Brancato added 12 points for the Bucs (9-3, 3-1) who are in second place. Sophie Yard put up a game-high 20 points for the Vikings (6-8, 2-2).

Mount Pleasant 35 Ligonier Valley 31

Mount Pleasant used an 11-6 run in the third quarter to take control of the game and defeat Ligonier Valley 35-31 in Section 3-3A play. The contest was tied at 19-19 at halftime but the Vikings went into the fourth quarter ahead 30-25 and held on. Morgan Gesinski scored 11 points for Mount Pleasant (9-4, 2-2) with Marlee Miller tallying 12 points for the Rams (4-9, 1-3). The Vikings are tied with Apollo-Ridge for third place in the section and will face A-R on Monday.

McGuffey 57 Yough 31

Yough was outscored in every quarter by McGuffey in a 57-31 loss in Section 4-3A. The Cougars fell behind 10-5 after one and 26-15 at halftime. Kadee Roebuck's 10 points topped Yough (6-6, 1-2) while Lexi Ewig finished with 19 points for the Highlanders (11-2, 2-2).

Greensburg Central Catholic 78 Clairton 60

Erica Gribble and Avery Davis each had career high scoring nights as Greensburg Central Catholic wiped out Clairton 78-60 in Section 3-2A action. Gribble racked up 33 points and Davis poured in 25 for the Centurions (8-4, 4-0) who were playing without starter Mya Morgan due to injury. Jayla Peterson added 11 points for GCC. Iyanna Wade put in a game-high 31 points for the Bears (9-2, 3-2).

Jeannette 48 Hillel Academy 6

Jeannette's Adriana Allison scored 17 points in helping the Jayhawks to a 48-6 win against Hillel Academy in Section 3-1A play. Mary Jones and Venicia Vignoli each came in with 12 points for Jeannette (6-5, 1-2).