PLAYOFFS! Three Local Basketball Teams Qualify For WPIAL Playoffs

For the second consecutive season both the Ellwood City boys and girls basketball teams have qualified for their respective WPIAL Playoffs. The Riverside Panthers girls basketball team has also qualified for the WPIAL Playoffs.

The Lady Wolverines (13-8, 8-6 Section 1-3A), who drew a #10 seed, will travel to Chartiers Valley HS on Friday evening to face #5 Seton LaSalle in opening round action.

The Lady Panthers (14-8 Overall, 9-5 Section 1-3A), an #8 seed in the Class 3A Playoffs, will host its opening round contest against #9 Deer Lakes on Friday night at 7:00 p.m.

Unbeaten section champion Our Lady of Sacred Heart (19-2, 14-0 Section 1-3A) draws a 3-seed while Quaker Valley (7-seed) and Beaver Falls (11-seed) round out the five teams representing Section 1 in the Class 3A Playoffs.

Ellwood City was swept by Riverside in two contest this season, but has won five of its last six games entering the playoffs. Riverside drubbed New Brighton on its senior night and enters the playoffs on a two game win streak. With a victory Friday, Riverside would face defending champion Shady Side Academy in the semifinals.

Shady Side Academy (22-0 Overall) is one of three undefeated teams in the WPIAL. No. 2 Greensburg C.C. is coming off a WPIAL Class 2A title last season, [VIEW BRACKET]

For the boys, Ellwood City enters its Class 3A Playoffs as a 10-seed and will travel to South Park next Tuesday, February 18th for an opening round contest against #7 South Park.

The basketball game comes as somewhat of a rematch between the schools as South Park knocked the Wolverines football team out of the WPIAL Class 2A Playoffs in November.

The Wolverines (13-9 Overall, 8-4 Section 1-3A) suffered all four of its section losses at the hands of Class 3A 1-seed Aliquippa and 3-seed Mohawk. The Quips and Warriors combined for a 34-9 regular season record with Aliquippa going unbeaten in section play (12-0). Aliquippa seeks their third consecutive WPIAL title, and first in Class 3A after claiming Class 2A titles the previous two seasons. Aliquippa has won 14 titles all time.

#2 South Allegheny, #4 Bishop Canevin, and #6 Southmoreland all joined Aliquippa in finishing unbeaten in their respective sections.

With a win next Tuesday, Ellwood City could face Cameron Epps and South Allegheny in the semifinals. Cameron, is the younger brother of Antonio Epps who was the leading scorer on the Gladiators team that Ellwood City knocked off in the 2021 WPIAL Championship. [VIEW BRACKET]

Championship games will be held at the Petersen Events Center on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh on Feb. 27-March 1. The WPIAL champion and additional teams in each classification will qualify for the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) Boys’ Basketball Championships, which begin with first round games on March 7-8 and conclude on March 27-29 with the championship games at the GIANT Center in Hershey.

TICKETS AVAILABLE at https://gofan.co/wpial?school=PA6449 – $5.00 student and $7.00 Adult. No student tickets will be sold at the gate. All tickets at gate will be 7.00 (No Student Tickets Sold at the Gate)