PITTSBURGH - The Canon-McMillan girls basketball team was happy to make history by winning its first WPIAL Class 6A championship with a 60-38 win over Norwin. But the Big Macs had a unique start to a historic day.

Canon-McMillan had one of its players, Olivia Ross, sing the national anthem. It clearly energized her teammates. The Big Macs surged to a 13-7 first-quarter lead.  Canon-McMillan would lead by as many as 19 points in the third quarter. Norwin never led.

While the two teams split during the regular season, the Big Macs looked more comfortable throughout the game. Norwin rallied in the third quarter with the Big Macs ahead 34-15. Norwin ran off 15 straight to cut the deficit to four.

Madison Clair led Canon-McMillan with 15 points, while Sam Miller (12) and Lauren Borella (10) also finished in double figures.

Quips win again
Aliquippa was missing three starters, but still found a way to get by South Allegheny to win its record 15th WPIAL final.

They said it

"Everyone poops the bed sometimes. Even the coaches."

-Thomas Jefferson coach Dom DeCicco ​after the Jaguars' loss to Chartiers Valley

PITTSBURGH - Reaching the WPIAL Class 3A girls basketball championship game didn't bring Greensburg Central Catholic guard Erica Gribble any solace. The career 2,000-point scorer would have liked to added a third medal to her collection, but it didn't work out for the two-time defending champion Centurions. Section rival Shady Side Academy pulled away after halftime to grab a 57-40 win.

"I'm frustrated," Gribble said. "I wanted to win another one."

It was the Bulldogs' third win over GCC this season. Last season, the Centurions upended SSA, which went on to reach the PIAA final, in the championship game at Petersen Events Center. The Bulldogs were able to grab the championship thanks to an efficient offensive performance. Shady Side Academy shot 61.1 percent (22-of-36) from the field.

Karis Thomas scored 21 points for Shady Side Academy, while Cassie Sauer added 14. Gribble, who fouled out in the fourth quarter, scored nine points and had two rebounds. Avery Jones led GCC with 14 points.

Centurions coach Chris Skatell felt the Centurions played well.

"I thought we missed some opportunities in the first half where we could stretch things a little bit," Skatell said. "I thought we played well into the third quarter. Somewhere in the third quarter things got a little loose. The score isn't indicative of the game."

Bulldogs guard Karis Thomas said she felt what she saw from GCC was similar from the team's two matchups during the regular season.

"We didn't really see anything new," Thomas said. "They worked hard on defense. They tried everything."

Eagles fall short again
Serra Catholic took a tough loss where it lost to Neighborhood Academy in the 1A final for the second straight year. Read more about the game here. The Eagles didn't make a 3-pointer.

Brayden Graham, who scored 10 point for Serra Catholic, said the Eagles weren't discouraged with the defeat. They battled back to take the lead in the fourth quarter before the Bulldogs closed the game on a 15-2 run to win the game.

"It feels good coming back here two times in a row," Graham said. "Losing both times is hard, but we're going to be back here next year."

Neighborhood Academy won despite shooting 38.8 percent from the floor. The Bulldogs were able to make five 3-pointers and 17 free throws to find an edge.

Knoch makes history
The Knights won their first WPIAL crown in school history. Read my story on it for the Tribune Review.

Josh Rizzo is the editor of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be submitted to [email protected] or on X @J_oshRizzo.

Penn Hills will be losing one of its top players for next season. Carter Bonner announced on X Wednesday afternoon that he will play next season at powerhouse Saint Frances (Md.) Academy for his senior season. Bonner was limited to four games last season due to an injury.

The Indians struggled to a 3-7 record last season and finished 2-3 in the Northeast Conference. Penn Hills missed out on the playoffs when Plum returned a kick the Indians blocked for a touchdown in the final week of the season. Bonner played his freshman season at Shady Side Academy.

Bonner moved to Penn Hills during his sophomore season.

Josh Rizzo is the editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be submitted to [email protected] or on X @J_oshRizzo.

Oakland Catholic and North Catholic have become a frequent dance partner in the WPIAL playoffs. For the second consecutive year, the Eagles knocked off the Trojanettes in the WPIAL Class 4A semifinals. Oakland Catholic has won seven of the past nine meetings with North Catholic.

The Trojanettes only made 9 of their 41 field goal attempts. The Eagles will be seeking their second consecutive WPIAL championship win. Oakland Catholic also beat Blackhawk in the final last season.

Brashear graduate Tamara Humphries posted recently that she plans to transfer from Pitt Johnstown. Humphries made waves during her freshman season with the Mountain Cats, compiling a 17-4 record and earning the No. 2 seed at the NCAA National Tournament qualifier at 117 pounds. Humphries ended up placing fifth during the qualifiers and helped the team finish eighth out of 18 teams.

Humphries finished 20-6 during her senior season and placed third in the PIAA at 112 pounds. She also participated in the Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic, picking up a win at the event dubbed the "Rose Bowl of Wrestling."

​Josh Rizzo is the editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be submitted to [email protected] or on X @J_oshRizzo.

Mt. Washington resident Xavier Rodela, who recently made his successful novice amateur debut with 247 Fighting Championships, signed to compete with the Future Fight League in their 135-pound bantamweight division.

The FFL is planning to hold an event March 21 in Harrisburg. According to Tapology, the FFL is based out of Ottawa, Canada. Rodela debuted with a second-round KO during the 247 MMA at the Venue 4 event in North Versailles.

Josh Rizzo is the editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be submitted to [email protected] or on X @J_oshRizzo.

Chartiers-Houston's Kamden Stamm pulled the biggest upset at the WPIAL Class 2A individual wrestling championships Friday night at Chartiers Valley High School. Stamm, the No. 15 seed at 121 pounds, was trailing Valley's Radyn Thomas, who was seeded eighth, 9-1 with 41 seconds remaining in their Round of 16 match.

Stamm seized the momentum in the final five seconds. He scored a takedown with five seconds remaining and secured a pin fall with two ticks left on the clock. Stamm was pinned by Quaker Valley's Bruce Anderchak in the first round in the quarterfinals.

Stamm improved to 37-36 for his career and 19-15 on the season.

Geller creeps up on 100 wins
Fox Chapel senior wrestler Joe Geller started the season 31 wins short of 100. Geller, a 215-pound record, will have at least one more chance to hit the mark. During the WPIAL Class AAA championships at Canon-McMillan, No. 7 seed Geller picked up a 2-0 win over Gateway's Donovan DeLuca to get win No. 99.

Geller then ran into the No. 2 seed, Kiski Area's Cooper Roscosky. Roscosky won by technical fall. Geller will face Indiana's Jackson Higgins in the consolation round. He beat Higgins 8-1 at the section tournament last weekend.

​Josh Rizzo is the editor and publisher of PIttsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be submitted to [email protected] or on X @J_oshRizzo

Dalton Rosta is getting prepared for his next professional fight, which will be March 28 at Robert Morris University's UPMC Event Center. Rosta, a former middleweight title challenger in the Professional Fighters League, will take on former PFL champion and UFC veteran Impa Kasanganay in the co-main event.

Rosta, who attended Laurel High School, recently posted a picture of him training with the wrestlers at his high school program. Rosta, who is 11-2 in his career, is looking to bounce back from his first career knockout loss. 

Rosta was knocked out by a headkick against Fabian Edwards, who is the brother of former UFC champion Leon, during the PFL middleweight tournament championship fight last August. The loss was disappointing for Rosta after he avenged his first career loss by beating Aaron Jeffrey in a controversial decision in the semifinal.

Rosta last competed in the Pittsburgh area during a 247 Championships grappling event in October 2023. He beat Tanner Hall via decision in a grappling bout during Sprawl in the Burgh 2 at the Meadows Casino.

Josh Rizzo is the editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be submitted to [email protected] or on X @J_oshRizzo.

EAST CARNEGIE -  Alex Demchak was happy to get out of Kai Lamberson's way Tuesday night. Lamberson, a 5-foot-11 sophomore guard for Shady Side Academy, didn't miss many of his shot attempts during the first round of the WPIAL Class 3A playoffs.

He made six 3-pointers in the first half and added another in the third quarter, finishing with 32 points to help the No. 13 seed Bulldogs collect a 61-48 road win. Demchak had a simple message for what he told his hot-shooting teammate.

"Just keep shooting," said Demchak, who scored 12 points. "We're going to be there for you. He was hitting tonight. I trust him every time. Every time I was running back on the court, I knew he was hitting. I just wanted to be there for him."

Shady Side Academy (9-14) stuck together, especially on defense. The Bulldogs spent much of their time trying to clog up the driving lanes for Bishop Canevin. The fourth-seeded Crusaders never quite found a way to attack Shady Side Academy for long stretches.

"I think they came out and smacked us in the mouth early," Bishop Canevin coach Tim Tyree said. "For us, playing from behind isn't really our game, as you've seen tonight."

The Crusaders (13-9) took its last lead, 5-4, on a 3-point by Damar Olds around 3 minutes into the game. Shady Side Academy responded with a 7-0 run, capped by a 3-pointer from Lamberson.

"My teammates always have my back," Lamberson said. "They try to rally me each game. They pick me up every time I make a mistake. When they share the ball, it makes me feel ready to shoot and I'm ready for every game."

The Bulldogs stretched their lead to 10 points by the end of the first quarter and led 33-22 at halftime. Demchak said Shady Side Academy wanted to keep the pressure on defensively.

"We've been on that all year," Demchak said. "We've been focused on keeping our hands up, staying on each other when we get fouls and we were being aggressive. We wanted to stay disciplined and keep our hands up."

Drew Allen Jr. was Bishop Canevin's most consistent scorer. Allen finished with 15 points and scored eight in the first half. Allen missed a few minutes in the fourth quarter after suffering from cramping after going up for a layup.

Bishop Canevin, which trailed by as many as 17 points, had the lead down to eight, 52-44, when Austin Wang made a free throw with 4 minutes, 22 seconds remaining. The Crusaders wouldn't get any closer.

"We had to chase around a little bit in the half court defensively and that wore on us," Tyree said. "That didn't allow us to player our best in those last few minutes."

Shady Side Academy coach Jim Dudas said the Bulldogs were prepared fro how they wanted to move the ball if they faced pressure. While Bishop Canevin found success with steals and scores to open the fourth quarter, the momentum dissipated.

"We talked a little bit about how we wanted to approach their trapping," Dudas said. "We worked at this in practice for a couple days. We got a little anxious at the end of the third quarter and beginning of the fourth quarter and didn't handle the traps the way we should have. But we picked it up in the second half of the fourth quarter and spread the court much better."

Lamier Wade also finished in double figures for Bishop Canevin, scoring 12 points. Shady Side Academy was able to set itself up well for springing an upset by taking an early lead and never giving it back.

Demchak said he always believed the Bulldogs could find postseason success, even after they started the season 1-7.

Shady Side Academy proved it has plenty of bite.

"I knew it from the beginning," Demchak said. "Everyone looks at the rankings, but we know that we always start off against the hard schedule. We face off against the 5A like Fox Chapel and Kiski. We're ready for them when we play high competition."

Josh Rizzo is the editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be submitted to [email protected] or on X @J_oshRizzo.

PITTSBURGH - Eric James Jr. spent a year and a few games playing high school basketball for Green County in Kentucky. When James came back to Western Pennsylvania midway through this season, he wasn't worried about how Obama Academy would ease him into the lineup. James was already familiar with many players in the program.

That made the feeling out process a little easier. His path to playing for the Eagles took a few twists and turns. ​James played at North Hills for his freshman and sophomore years. He then transferred to play for Green County, which is where his dad lives, before returning.

"Some of the guys I already knew," James said. "I already played pickup basketball with them and I played AAU with some of the other guys. I was already familiar with their game. It wasn't too bad fitting in."

James, who averages around 20 points per game, played a big role in putting years of frustration behind the Eagles Sunday at Brashear High School. Obama, which lost in the City championship game last season after leading by nine points after three quarters, overcame a seven-point deficit entering the final frame to score a 64-58 overtime win.

Eagles coach Naron Jackson said he wanted to see James be more aggressive. While James finished with 19 points, he missed both of his field goal attempts in the first and only had one point. Allderdice made the situation more difficult, as the Dragons made five of their eight 3-point attempts to stretch the lead to 19-12.

"We've been working all week with getting (James) in some space with the ball," Jackson said. "(Naron Jackson II) was getting him in space with the ball early and he was being a little gun shy. We had a talk at halftime with him and Ron and told them we have to go back to what we know."

Collectively, Obama had a tough time getting started on offense. The Eagles shot 14.2 percent (1-of-7) from the 3-point line and 25 percent (2-of-8) from the free-throw line.

"Everybody on the team always makes sure everybody's up and in a good mood," James said. "We always hype each other up and make sure we're all good."

James, who was named the game's MVP, scored 10 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter.  He would convert a 3-point play with 3 minutes remaining to cut the deficit to 47-46. James fouled out with 1:59 remaining in regulation.

James believed his teammates would close out the win.

"I felt like they were ready," James said. "They were ready and confident to get in the game and do what they had to do to win."

Josh Rizzo is the editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be submitted to [email protected] or on X @J_oshRizzo.