Local roundup: Lady Gators improve to 16-0 with win at Clairton
Geibel Catholic’s one-two punch of Emma Larkin and Mallory Clemmer combined for 37 points as the unbeaten Lady Gators cruised past the host Lady Bears in Section 2-A girls basketball action on Monday.
Larkin led the way with 19 points and Clemmer was right behind with 18 as Geibel improved to 9-0 in the section and 16-0 overall.
The Lady Gators, who took control from the start with a 20-2 advantage in the first quarter, also got 16 points from Janiah Darnell.
Karma Fuqua had a game-high 22 points for Clairton (2-7, 5-8).
Thomas Jefferson 69, Uniontown 46 – The first-place Lady Jaguars pounced to a 26-12 lead in the first quarter on their way to a Section 4-5A victory over the visiting Lady Raiders.
Thomas Jefferson pushed out to a 45-21 halftime advantage and was ahead 58-35 after three.
Maggie Spell had 14 points for the Lady Jaguars (7-0, 14-2) and was followed by Emma Altavilla (13) and Kaylee Deangelo (10).
Aierra Jenkins rang up a game-high 22 points for Uniontown (2-5, 9-7) which also got 11 points and a pair of 3-pointers from Charley Murtha.
Waynesburg Central 63, Fort Cherry 51 – Emma Blair scored a game-high 25 points, including three 3-pointers, as the host Lady Raiders held off Fort Cherry for a non-section victory, snapping the Lady Rangers’ 10-game winning streak.
Waynesburg (13-2) led 35-25 at halftime. Fort Cherry (11-5) whittled the gap to 45-40 after three quarters but the Lady Raiders pulled away in the fourth with an 18-11 advantage.
Addonae Johnson also hit three 3-pointers in tossing in 12 points for Waynesburg and Tess Pauley made a pair of treys in tallying 11 points.
Allison Litman and Brooke Cornali both had 15 points for the Lady Raiders.
Elizabeth Forward 70, Laurel Highlands 36 – Mia Sostaric scored 19 points in the Lady Warriors’ Section 3-4A win at Laurel Highlands.
The victory kept EF (8-1, 12-4) in a three-way tie for first place with Belle Vernon and South Park.
Kaelynn Settles contributed 18 points for Elizabeth Forward, which led 21-9, 41-14 and 57-26 at the quarter breaks.
Taylor Schwertfeger paced the Lady Mustangs (3-6, 5-11) with 13 points.
Belle Vernon 68, Yough 19 – Emerson LaCarte totaled 14 points, four assists and four steals as the Lady Leopards extended their winning streak to seven with a Section 3-4A win over the visiting Lady Cougars.
Belle Vernon (8-1, 13-3), which remains in a three-way tie for first place, rolled to a 40-7 halftime advantage.
Kyla McConnell also scored 14 points and Saylor Lee contributed 12 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals for the Lady Leopards.
Evelyn Gates had 10 points for Yough (1-8, 6-10).
West Greene 62, Mapletown 9 – Kendra Tharp rang up 15 points as all 10 Lady Pioneers hit the scoring column in a Section 2-A victory over the visiting Lady Maples.
West Greene led 11-5 after the first quarter then blew the game open with a 29-2 advantage in the second to go up 40-7 at halftime.
Sammi Zimmerman also notched double figures with 10 points for the third-place Lady Pioneers (6-3, 11-4).
Mackenna Lotspiech led Mapletown (1-8, 2-15) with three points.
South Park 56, Mount Pleasant 23 – Nika Contakos scored 19 points and the Lady Eagles maintained a share of first place in Section 3-4A with a win at Mount Pleasant.
South Park (8-1, 11-6) jumped out to a 19-2 lead in the first quarter and pulled away from there.
Addy Cole led the fourth-place Lady Vikings (4-5, 7-9) with 11 points.
Ringgold 54, Southmoreland 33 – Jada Gernot scored 23 points and the Lady Rams gradually pulled away for a Section 3-4A win over the host Lady Scotties.
Ringgold led 12-8, 21-14 and 35-22 at the quarter breaks.
Addison Jenkins contributed 15 points for the Lady Rams (4-5, 7-8).
Sayde Premus and Bailey Mains had six points apiece for Southmoreland (0-9, 1-16).
Washington 48, Brownsville 19 – Shawnti Fuller scored 14 points and Faith Partozoti followed with 12 as the host Lady Prexies (4-4, 8-7) triumphed over the Lady Falcons in a Section 3-3A game.
Ciara Horabik topped Brownsville (0-8, 4-12) in scoring with nine points.
Bethel Park 60, Albert Gallatin 16 – Bella Coleman sccored 11 points and Fiona O’Neil followed with 10 as the Lady Black Hawks (4-4, 9-6) defeated the host Lady Colonials (0-8, 0-14) in a Section 4-5A game.
Paiton Lovis led AG with eight points.
Jefferson-Morgan 48, Propel Montour 35 – Ava Wood sank five 3-pointers in scoring a game-high 23 points as the Lady Rockets (8-8) knocked off the Lady Legends (1-9) at the Aliquippa Classic on Saturday.
Boys basketball
Mount Pleasant 62, Leechburg 36 – Jonah Townsend scored 12 points as the host Vikings improved to 5-11 with a non-section win over the Blue Devils.
It was the largest margin of victory since February 2023 for Mount Pleasant the first time the Vikings won consecutive games since January 2024.
Mount Pleasant (5-11), which sank nine 3-pointers, led 15-9, 29-17 and 43-30 at the quarter breaks.
Connor Szymanski had a game-high 16 points for Leechburg (3-13).
Swimming
BOYS: Indiana 112, Laurel Highlands 58; GIRLS: Indiana 146, Laurel Highlands 33 — The Little Indians are the returning WPIAL Class 2A boys champions, and their girls team is one of the top in the district as well, which was evident in a non-section sweep at Zink Pools inside the IUP Fieldhouse.
The Mustangs’ Kasey Mahoney won the 200-yard freestyle in 1:55.23, which was a WPIAL qualifying time in Class 2A. Indiana’s Eli Aiken also hit the WPIAL cut with a time of 1:55.12 in placing second. Mahoney finished second to Aiken’s teammate Kody Griffith in the 100 butterfly, but both hit the WPIAL qualifying mark, with Griffith touching the wall in 55.49 and Mahoney in 56.33. Aiken won the 100 freestyle in 53.28.
Laurel Highlands’ Drew Tupta won the 500 freestyle in a WPIAL qualifying time of 5:25.51. Teammate Lincoln Metheney topped the field in the 100 backstroke (1:04.30).
The Little Indians won the 200 medley relay (1:49.95) and the 400 freestyle relay (3:33.67), but the Mustangs reached WPIAL cuts in both races with times of 1:52.06 and 3:40.04.
Mahoney, Metheney, Tupta and Aidan Swaney were the competitors for Laurel Highlands in both events.
Addie Ciez won the girls 200 freestyle in a WPIAL qualifying time of 2:07.45.
Hockey
Connellsville 3, Wilmington 2 — The Falcons scored the game-winning goal on the penalty kill to edge the Greyhounds in PIHL play at Hess Ice Rink in New Castle.
Wilmington had a 5-on-4 advantage when Connellsville’s TJ Snyder scored on an unassisted tally with 7:32 remaining in the third period for a 3-2 lead.
The Falcons improved to 12-4-0-0 and sit in first place in Division 2 Gold with 36 points. Knoch is second with 29 points and Morgantown is third with 27, but Connellsville has played three more games than both squads.
Sam Denny opened the scoring on an unassisted even-strength goal with 13:35 left in the first period to give the Falcons a 1-0 advantage.
The Greyhounds (4-8-0-0-12 points) tied the game at 1-1 with 6:21 remaining in the opening frame when Jacob Otto found the back of the net. Brody Young and Alex Rodgers provided the assists.
Liam King set up Nolan Wojnar with 10:52 left in the second period as the visitors regained the lead at 2-1.
Alex Otto tied the game at 2-2 on an even-strength tally at 13:14 of the third frame. Finn McGreal provided the assist.
Neither team scored on the power play, as the two were a combined 0-for-9 with Connellsville at 0-for-4 and Wilmington at 0-for-5.
The Falcons outshot the Greyhounds, 32-28. Connellsville’s Nick Daniels-Nimick stopped 26 shots, while Wilmington’s Connor Michaels made 29 saves.
The Falcons return to the ice on Jan. 29 when they face Ringgold at CFS Bank Event Center in Rostraver Township. Puck drop is scheduled for 9 p.m.