Westmoreland County girls basketball section recaps from Thursday, January 26th 2023:

North Allegheny 52 Norwin 45

Norwin couldn't recover from a poor second quarter and suffered its first Section 1-6A loss of the season at North Allegheny 52-45. The Knights were down by just two points after the first quarter but that deficit ballooned to 30-18 at halftime. Norwin played better in the second half but couldn't completely close the gap. Kendall Berger had 16 points to pace the Knights (14-3, 5-1) while Lydia Betz tallied 18 points for the Tigers (11-4, 5-1). The teams are now tied for first place in the section.

Hempfield Area 48 Pine-Richland 47

Hempfield Area erased a five-point deficit to begin the fourth quarter to defeat Pine-Richland 48-47 in a Section 1-6A match up. The Spartans outscored the Rams 15-9 in the final frame. Sarah Podkul tallied 17 points, including three 3-pointers, to lead Hempfield Area (8-9, 2-4). Brooke McCoy added 13 points. Madison Zavasky registered 15 points for Pine-Richland (8-8, 2-4).

Penn Hills 44 Franklin Regional 42

Egypt Coleman and Hannah Pugliese accounted for 43 of the 44 points scored by Penn Hills as the Indians edged Franklin Regional 44-42 in a Section 1-5A contest. Sarah Penrod's 14 points topped the Panthers (5-11, 4-5) who defeated Penn Hills (7-9, 4-5) earlier in the season. The teams are now tied for fourth place in the section.

Penn-Trafford 61 Thomas Jefferson 45

Penn-Trafford raced out to a 31-10 advantage at halftime and went on to a 61-45 victory against Thomas Jefferson in Section 3-5A action. Olivia Pepple collected 21 points for the Warriors (12-4, 6-3) while Lauren Marton chipped in with 14. Laekyn Flinn had 17 points for the Jaguars (8-9, 2-6).

North Catholic 63 Derry Area 17

North Catholic outscored Derry Area in every quarter in a 63-17 victory in Section 1-4A play. Alayna Rocco ended with 16 points for North Catholic (14-3, 9-0) who led 40-12 at halftime. Rachelle Marmchek was the leading scorer for Derry Area (9-10, 2-7) as she scored seven points.

Greensburg Salem 53 Valley 22

Greensburg Salem held a 25-11 lead at halftime and earned a Section 1-4A victory over Valley by a final of 53-22. Ashley Smith scored 13 points while Kaitlyn Mankins tossed in 12 points for the Golden Lions (13-4, 5-3).

Belle Vernon 47 Uniontown 10

Belle Vernon outscored Uniontown 21-0 in the second quarter going on to a 47-10 Section 3-4A triumph against Uniontown. Jenna Dawson tallied 12 points for the Leopards (12-6, 8-1) with teammate Presleigh Colditz finishing with 10.

Elizabeth Forward 75 Southmoreland 30

Southmoreland trailed 27-4 after the first eight minutes and couldn't recover in a 75-30 loss to Elizabeth Forward in a Section 3-4A tilt. Maddie Moore collected 14 points for the Scotties (1-17, 0-8) while Alyssa Terza put in a game-high 25 for the Warriors (14-4, 9-0).

Mount Pleasant 39 Burrell 24

Tiffany Zelmore racked up 22 points leading Mount Pleasant to a 39-24 victory at Burrell. The Buccaneers were ahead 14-13 at halftime but the Vikings finished the game on a 26-10 run. Mount Pleasant (12-6, 3-3) is now tied for third place with Deer Lakes while Burrell (8-10, 2-4) drops to fifth.

Deer Lakes 53 Ligonier Valley 27

Ligonier Valley dropped a a 53-27 decision at Deer Lakes in Section 3-3A. The Rams fall to (2-13, 0-6).

Yough 35 Brownsville 28

Yough pulled away from Brownsville in the fourth quarter to earn a 35-28 victory over the Falcons in Section 4-3A play. The Cougars, up by one after three quarters, closed out the game on a 14-8 run. Laney Gerdich registered 13 points for the Yough (9-8, 4-2) while Ava Clark's nine points paced Brownsville (5-11, 0-6).

Greensburg Central Catholic 83 Springdale 16

Mya Morgan poured in 25 points powering Greensburg Central Catholic to an 83-16 win over Springdale in a Section 3-2A tussle. In addition to Morgan, Eric Gribble racked up 22 points and Cara Dupilka scored 10 for the Centurions (16-2, 9-0). Ashlyn Ferderbar scored 11 points for the Dynamos (4-12, 1-7).