Bill Beckner stories, Page 157
Greensburg Central Catholic overcomes Sto-Rox to get back to WPIAL title game
Christian Hyland was the Centurions’ senior point guard the last time Greensburg Central Catholic made the WPIAL basketball finals. Now he is headed to the title game as the second-year coach of his alma mater. Hyland, 25, drew on his experiences from that year and passed them on to his...
Defensive strategy key for Latrobe girls against 2-time reigning champion Chartiers Valley
Latrobe is willing to throw a number of defenses at Chartiers Valley to see if one sticks. The sixth-seeded Wildcats (14-2), who are further along in the WPIAL playoffs than they have been in 23 years, face an ominous task in the Class 5A semifinals. The No. 2 Colts (21-3)...
Westmoreland basketball playoff capsules: Games for Thursday, March 11, 2021
Here’s a look at Thursday’s WPIAL basketball playoff games involving Westmoreland County teams: Girls Class 5A Semifinals 6-Latrobe (14-2) at 2-Chartiers Valley (21-3) 6 p.m. Thursday Coaches: Mark Burkhardt, Latrobe; Tim McConnell, Chartiers Valley Winner plays: Winner of 5-Woodland Hills (13-6) at 1-Trinity (20-1), 8 p.m. Monday in WPIAL championship...
Cinderella season continues for Quaker Valley girls basketball
Remember all that talk about Southmoreland being the darlings of the WPIAL girls basketball playoffs a year ago? Well, the spotlight might have shifted to the Scotties’ latest opponent. It is Quaker Valley’s turn to wear Cinderella’s slipper in Class 4A. A semifinal team for the second time in school...
Norwin freshman emerges as featured playoff performer
Next girl up. It’s the mantra Norwin has adopted out of necessity as two key players were sidelined with season-ending injuries just as the Lady Knights were poised to make a serious playoff push. Norwin (13-4) still made that push, but that it did so without sophomore Savannah Schneck and...
Westmoreland campus clippings: All-America honors for Carlow’s Olivia Miller
Carlow senior Olivia Miller is an All-American again — in two events. The Ligonier Valley product placed sixth in the high jump at the 41st NAIA Indoor Track & Field Championships to finish inside the top eight and earn the status. Her distance was 1.61 meters. She also took sixth...
Comfortable in underdog role, Jeannette to face massive challenge at OLSH
Jeannette is an underdog on a big stage. Sound familiar? Think back to the fall when some considered the Jayhawks heavy underdogs in the WPIAL Class A football championship against Clairton. This is basketball — apples to oranges, yes — but the challenge is oddly similar on the surface for...
Greensburg Central Catholic boys hope to get over WPIAL semifinals speed bump
Junior forward Brevan Williams has taken on a greater scoring role this season and leads Greensburg Central Catholic with a 20-point average. He is among the upper echelon of scorers in the WPIAL. But now can his team make a similar rise in Class 2A? Williams and the second-seeded Centurions...
Westmoreland basketball playoff capsules: Games for Wednesday, March 10, 2021
Here’s a look at Wednesday’s WPIAL basketball playoff games involving Westmoreland County teams: Boys Semifinals Class 2A 5-Jeannette (15-4) at 1-Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (19-0) 6 p.m. Wednesday Coaches: Adrian Batts, Jeannette; Mike Rodriguez, OLSH Winner plays: Winner of 3-Sto-Rox (11-5) vs. 2-Greensburg Central Catholic (15-3) in WPIAL...
Latrobe handles pressure, tops Hampton to move into Class 5A semifinalsVideo
Emma Blair hadn’t done much offensively for Latrobe up until the fourth quarter Monday night. She had only two points on a pair of free throws in the third. But Hampton can vouch for the fact that Blair was doing other things to cause it problems — and to keep...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Josh Spiegel impresses in Penn State debut
Josh Spiegel transferred to Penn State from Oklahoma State in the offseason as the redshirt freshman sought a better opportunity to see the field and make an impact. It sure looks like the Penn-Trafford grad made the right decision. He went 3-for-4 with two solo home runs in his Nittany...
Southmoreland leans on big-game experience as it readies for Quaker Valley
The WPIAL girls basketball semifinals can be daunting for newcomers. The pressure in the “final four” is different, heavier, as a trip to the championship lies in the balance. And this year, with no follow-the-winner format for PIAA playoff qualification, a loss means it’s time to turn in uniforms. But...
Westmoreland basketball playoff capsule: Game for Tuesday, March 9, 2021
Here’s a look at Tuesday’s WPIAL basketball playoff game involving a Westmoreland County team: Girls Class 4A Semifinals 3-Southmoreland (16-4) at 2-Quaker Valley (14-4) 6 p.m. Tuesday Coaches: Amber Cernuto, Southmoreland; Tom Demko, Quaker Valley Winner plays: Winner of 4-Knoch (10-1) at 1-Beaver (18-0) in WPIAL championship, 5 p.m. Friday...
Westmoreland H.S. notebook: Caddying leads to Penn State scholarship for Norwin’s Marissa Boyer
Marissa Boyer envisioned a different path to college, one that even involved a different sport. The Norwin senior thought soccer would be her ticket to the next level, but carrying a golf bag at a country club, well, that works, too. Boyer, a caddie at Pittsburgh Field Club in Fox...
Westmoreland basketball playoff capsules: Games for Monday, March 8, 2021
Here’s a look at Monday’s WPIAL basketball playoff games involving Westmoreland County teams: Boys Class 4A Quarterfinals 8-South Park (9-5) at 1-Belle Vernon (12-1) 6 p.m. Monday Coaches: Jason Dolak, South Park; Joe Salvino, Belle Vernon Winner plays: Winner of 5-North Catholic (16-4) at 4-Quaker Valley (13-4), 6 p.m. Thursday...
Franklin Regional team manager Ben Kimmich is ‘life of the team’Video
Ben Kimmich smiles as the basketball comes to him in the Franklin Regional lay-up line. He takes the ball, dribbles a couple of times, hop-steps and banks in a two-handed shot that he shoves into the air with a grunt, before jogging back to the end of the line. Varsity...
Big 2nd half allows Norwin girls to pull away from Butler
Halftime speeches and the adjustments that accompany them have helped many a WPIAL basketball team advance in the postseason. After a sluggish first half Saturday afternoon against Butler, Norwin had a heart-to-heart at the break and reversed course for another trip to the semifinals. In a flurry, the third-seeded Knights...
Greensburg Central Catholic boys advance to WPIAL semifinalsVideo
With some film to watch and more time to prepare, Greensburg Central Catholic installed a new defense for Sewickley Academy, a team that beat the Centurions in the last game of the regular season, for the rematch in the WPIAL playoffs. Maybe the result would be different, GCC figured, if...
Norwin notebook: Bilinsky to be selected for Roundball Classic
The Roundball Classic is returning in full force this spring. Organizer Allen Deep said the all-star basketball event will be played May 13-15 at Geneva. Rosters are far from finished, but Deep knows one player he will invite to the event. He said Norwin senior guard Ty Bilinsky will be...
Pine-Richland conquers nerves, Hempfield in advancing to WPIAL Class 6A semifinals
Pine-Richland boys basketball coach Bob Petcash admitted to being nervous about Friday night’s WPIAL Class 6A quarterfinal game at Hempfield. “I was on edge,” Petcash said. “We hadn’t seen them and hadn’t played them in years.” The sixth-seeded Rams didn’t let any nerves show, especially in the fourth quarter, as...
Westmoreland basketball notebook: Area teams set for rematches in quarterfinals
Rematches will be the order of the day for three Westmoreland County teams as they take to the WPIAL basketball quarterfinals Saturday afternoon. In boys Class 2A, No. 5 seed Jeannette (14-4) will take on No. 13 Winchester Thurston (9-4), a Section 3 opponent that dealt the Jayhawks a 65-60...
Westmoreland basketball playoff capsules: Games for Saturday, March 6, 2021
Boys Quarterfinals Class 5A 10-Latrobe (8-6) at 2-New Castle (18-2) Noon Saturday Coaches: Brad Wetzel, Latrobe; Ralph Blundo, New Castle Winner plays: Winner of 6-Penn Hills (13-4) at 3-Laurel Highlands (13-3), 6 p.m. Wednesday in semifinals About Latrobe: Senior Ryan Sickenberger converted a three-point play with 43 seconds left to...
Westmoreland basketball notebook: Mt. Pleasant girls get another shot at Southmoreland
The Mt. Pleasant girls basketball team did not play its best in two section games against Southmoreland, but the Vikings will get another shot against the Scotties. The Section 3 opponents will meet at 6 p.m. Friday at Southmoreland in the WPIAL Class 4A quarterfinals. Mt. Pleasant (11-7), the No....
Latrobe girls eke out 1st-round win over South Fayette
Latrobe has been working on situational plays in practice to get ready for the potentially tight fourth quarters it might see in the playoffs. Inbounds plays and careful possessions are a sidecar to mentally handling the pressure that comes with late leads. On Thursday night, the Wildcats girls got to...
Hempfield boys basketball surprises, exceeds expectations
As Hempfield boys basketball coach Bill Swan and his staff prepared for this season, masks on and attitudes upbeat, they pondered what might happen in the coming months. Would covid-19 take a swing at the Spartans? Would there even be a season, let alone playoffs? The questions piled up, yet...
