The season might be young, but it’s never too early for Blackhawk to pick up a win against Ambridge.
Thanks to some hot shooting from Mackenzie Amalia and Mady Aulbach, the Class 4A No. 2 Cougars scored a 58-49 victory against Section 2 rival and fourth-ranked Ambridge.
“These games are always important,” said Blackhawk coach Steve Lodovico. “They were really ready to go and did a great job tonight.”
Blackhawk (3-0, 1-0) nailed 10 3-pointers in the game. Amalia had five of them and finished with 17 points. Aulbach connected on four and had 20 points.
“Mady and Mackenzie can really get hot on those 3s,” said Lodovico. “That helped us pull away.”
Aniya Walker led Ambridge (3-2, 1-1) with 20 points.
Top games
Burgettstown 50, Shenango 48: Malia Castellino drilled a 3-pointer with 14 seconds remaining to give the Blue Devils (3-1, 1-0) a two-point lead that they held on to down the stretch to earn a Class 2A Section 1 win against Shenango (1-3, 0-1).
Keystone Oaks 59, Southmoreland 40: It was the Golden Eagles (3-1, 1-0) who had the high scorer in this one, as Gillian Piccolino had 22 points, including four 3s, in the Class 4A Section 3 showdown. Cali Konek, who had 34- and 42-point games earlier this season, had just 14 for No. 5 Southmoreland (3-1, 0-1).
Chartiers-Houston 47, OLSH 40: In a matchup of ranked Class 2A squads, No. 3 Chartiers-Houston (2-1, 1-0) got 24 points from Alexa Williamson and pulled away from OLSH (2-1, 0-1) in the fourth quarter.
Mt. Lebanon 47, Baldwin 38: After being held to five points in the first quarter, the Blue Devils (2-2, 1-0) rallied for a 6A Section 3 victory. Hailey Sabol led Mt. Lebanon with 12 points. Abbey Larkin had 17 for the Highlanders (1-3, 0-1).
Peters Township 53, Chartiers Valley 43: The Indians, ranked No. 3 in Class 6A, outscored the top-ranked Class 5A squad, 33-22 in the second half. Makenna Marisa of Peters Township (4-0) led all scorers with 21 points.
Latrobe 62, Pine-Richland 50: A game-high 26 points from Laura Graytok lifted Class 6A No.4 Latrobe (3-0) to a win against the Rams in a non-section game. Carly Augustine chipped in 15 and Mackenzie Markle 11 for the Wildcats. Taylor Brenner and Victoria Crankovic each had 12 for the Rams (1-2).
Stars of the night
• Olivia Westphal nailed six 3-pointers and racked up 32 points as Class 6A No. 2 Bethel Park ran away from Montour, 62-29.
• Amani Johnson, the leading scorer in the WPIAL last season, put up 30 points in Class 3A No. 3 East Allegheny’s 69-24 rout of Brownsville.
• Jeannette’s Dymond Crawford shined by pouring in 36 points, including seven 3-pointers, to lead Jeannette past Bentworth, 63-41.
Milestone
A fourth-quarter free throw gave Beth-Center’s Kinlee Whited the 1,000th point of her career. She hit the second one to finish the game against Frazier with 1,001 career points.
First Published: December 15, 2017, 2:27 p.m.