Bill Beckner stories, Page 158
Westmoreland basketball playoff capsules: Games for Friday, March 5, 2021
Here’s a look at Friday’s WPIAL basketball playoff games involving Westmoreland County teams: Boys Class 6A Quarterfinals 6-Pine-Richland (12-5) at 3-Hempfield (12-5) 6 p.m. Friday Coaches: Bob Petcash, Pine-Richland; Bill Swan, Hempfield Winner plays: Winner of 7-North Allegheny (16-6) at 2-Fox Chapel (19-2), 6 p.m. Tuesday in semifinals About Pine-Richland:...
Senior forward’s big night boosts Baldwin past Penn-Trafford
Baldwin girls basketball coach Jamal Woodson sounded like he was at the podium at an awards show when senior forward Meghan Dryburgh’s name came up in a postgame interview. He went all Golden Globes after he and his team celebrated with a small group of fans Wednesday night. And the...
Austin Butler leaving Holy Cross, enters transfer portal
Austin Butler plans to play another year of college basketball, but it won’t be at Holy Cross. The senior guard from Latrobe who saw this season end prematurely when Holy Cross had to pull out of the Patriot League playoffs due to a positive covid test on the team has...
Westmoreland basketball playoff capsules: Games for Thursday, March 4, 2021
Here’s a look at Thursday’s WPIAL basketball playoff games involving Westmoreland County teams: Girls First round Class 5A 11-South Fayette (14-5) at 6-Latrobe (12-2) 6 p.m. Thursday Coaches: Bryan Bennett, South Fayette; Mark Burkhardt, Latrobe Winner plays: Winner of 14-Moon (7-11) at 3-Hampton (14-5), 6 p.m. Monday About South Fayette:...
Latrobe to rely on late-game composure in WPIAL playoffs
There was a time when Latrobe girls basketball players felt a certain kind of way about fourth-quarter leads. The ball became slippery, the heat of the moment unsavory, as time crawled by and became their enemy. But this year’s edition of the Wildcats seems to appreciate the challenge that comes...
American Basketball Hall of Fame’s ‘greatest unsung players’ list includes local standouts
The American Basketball Hall of Fame out of Detroit prides itself on recognizing basketball stars of note who reached the doorstep but did not get into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. It is a tweeners’ delight. The new hall, which sprouted in 2019 due in large part to...
Hempfield boys hold off Baldwin in Class 6A first round
Stepping foot into what is considered a wide-open WPIAL Class 6A playoff field, while exciting, can also be like a mine field. Leads, no matter how large, can be unstable in a year like this as teams look for bracket-busting upsets. Need proof? Look at Hempfield. Need proof of a...
Westmoreland Campus Clippings: Hempfield’s Orie sisters continue dominance
Shattering throwing records are nothing new to Hempfield’s Orie sisters. They’ve had spots on the Spartans’ big leaderboard. Now they’re breaking marks together at the collegiate level. DePaul sophomore Mackenna Orie broke a school record in the shot put in the program’s first competition since March at the Big East...
Westmoreland basketball notebook: Franklin Regional, Mars set for another playoff meeting
Rivalry is a strong word. Franklin Regional and Mars have a history, yes. But it’s more of a friendly get-together when they play than a mean-spirited rivalry. You could argue Franklin Regional had more of a competitive spark with Highlands before the Golden Rams went to Class 4A. (They’re back...
Westmoreland basketball playoff capsules: Games for Wednesday, March 3, 2021
Here’s a look at Wednesday’s WPIAL basketball playoff games involving Westmoreland County teams: Girls First round Class 6A 9-Baldwin (8-7) at 8-Penn-Trafford (10-6) 6 p.m. Wednesday Coaches: Jamal Woodson, Baldwin; John Giannikas, Penn-Trafford Winner plays: At 1-North Allegheny (19-1), noon Saturday About Baldwin: After a rash of early-season postponements, the...
Derry boys rout Southmoreland to earn program’s 1st playoff victory
The long wait is over for Derry. And don’t even think about stamping an asterisk next to the Trojans’ accomplishment. Forget the circumstances surrounding a season unlike any that came before it in the WPIAL. Forget program shutdowns, daily uncertainty and a free-for-all playoff tournament that gave the Trojans the...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Ligonier Valley grad makes nationals in high jump, pentathlon
Senior Olivia Miller will again compete on a national stage for the Carlow women’s track and field team. Miller, a Ligonier Valley graduate and multi-event athlete, qualified to compete in the high jump and pentathlon at the NAIA Indoor Track & Field Championship held Wednesday through Friday at Dakota State...
Battle-tested Norwin ready to handle rigors of postseason play
Abnormal best describes their season. Resilient characterizes how they have handled it. Norwin’s boys basketball team has run the gamut on and off the court, from player setbacks and covid pauses to impressive wins. Buddy Valinsky never imagined his second year as coach of the Knights would be such an...
Westmoreland basketball playoff capsules: Games for Tuesday, March 2, 2021
Here’s a look at Tuesday’s WPIAL basketball playoff games involving Westmoreland County teams: Boys First round Class 6A 14-Baldwin (6-12) at 3-Hempfield (11-5) 6 p.m. Tuesday Coaches: Jeff Ackermann, Baldwin; Bill Swan, Hempfield Winner plays: Winner of 11-Peters Township (6-8) at 6-Pine-Richland (11-5), 6 p.m. Friday About Baldwin: Baldwin, under...
Second-seeded GCC to play at No. 18 Serra Catholic
Size matters this year in the WPIAL basketball playoffs, but it has nothing to do with height. The WPIAL said there might be cases where lower-seeded teams would host playoff games because their gymnasiums have more room to put up a percentage of spectators than their opponents. That will be...
Westmoreland high school notebook: Norwin’s Bilinsky to get Roundball invite
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...
Westmoreland basketball playoff capsules: Games for Monday, March 1, 2021
Here’s a look at Monday’s WPIAL basketball playoff games involving Westmoreland County teams: Boys Preliminary round Class 4A 20-Southmoreland (2-16) at 13-Derry (5-6) 6 p.m. Monday Coaches: Frank Muccino, Southmoreland; Tom Esposito, Derry Winner plays: At 4-Quaker Valley (12-4), 6 p.m. Thursday About Southmoreland: The youthful Scotties debated going to...
Franklin Regional boys rally in 4th quarter to defeat Armstrong
Franklin Regional scored three points in the third quarter and surrendered the lead for the first time to that point against visiting Armstrong. Some teams might have withered at the lack of offense and shift in momentum, especially in a playoff atmosphere. Not Franklin Regional. “We weren’t losing this game,...
Norwin notebook: Swim teams have season to remember
Norwin will remember the 2020-21 swimming and diving season for more than a global pandemic. The girls team made history in the water this year, claiming its first section title since 2007. “The strength of this team is our depth,” coach Doug Watson said. “We are really three-strong in most...
Westmoreland County basketball playoff preview capsules for Feb. 27, 2021
Saturday’s games Boys Class 6A Preliminary round 17-Canon-McMillan (0-13) at 16-Greensburg Salem (0-12) Noon, Saturday Coaches: Charles Murphy, Canon-McMillan; Mark Zahorchak, Greensburg Salem Winner plays: At 1-Upper St. Clair (15-1), 6 p.m. Tuesday About Canon-McMillan: The Big Macs may be winless, but they have been in a number of games....
Senior emerges as unlikely top scorer for Franklin Regional
In a flash of a couple of seconds, Kadyn Hannah saw a microcosm of his basketball career manifest before his eyes, in the form of a turnover. A painful turnover. But he owned the moment. “It was a travel, yes,” the 6-foot-4 senior forward from Franklin Regional said. “But here’s...
Latrobe celebrates ‘section’ title with win against Woodland HillsVideo
The section standings were uneven, but the ladder underneath the basket was sturdy as Latrobe girls basketball players climbed the rungs and each snipped a piece of the net. Latrobe isn’t worried about the WPIAL not recognizing section champions because of unbalanced records this season, and the Wildcats celebrated their...
WPIAL open tournament in 1984 helped pave way for Latrobe’s future success
Neal Fenton was a junior at Latrobe in 1984, the year the WPIAL opened its playoff doors to everybody. The first open tournament, more of a trial run idea than one reflecting the damage done by a global pandemic like this year, welcomed any team far and wide within the...
Westmoreland boys basketball notebook: Deep bond for Mt. Pleasant senior, freshman
Nate Kubasky is a senior and Dante Giallonardo, a freshman, but the Mt. Pleasant boys basketball teammates share a common bond as they prepare to play in the WPIAL Class 4A playoffs. They each lost a loved one to cancer. They not only support each other but also get a...
Derry boys basketball shooting for 1st playoff win in program history
Motivation can come in many forms in basketball. For Derry, the WPIAL playoffs, while open this year to every team because of disproportionate records and games played — a reflection of the pandemic — did not come with a free pass. Coach Tom Esposito still wanted his team to earn...
