Monday basketball rundown: Aquinas Academy, North Hills earn overtime wins; Collins' big night lifts Mt. Lebanon over Bethel Park; Wade drives Clairton to win

Class 1A Aquinas Academy dropped its first game of the season Saturday, a 26-point loss to Class 5A Montour.

But apparently that loss paid dividends two nights later.

“Getting smacked by Montour probably helped us out,” Aquinas Academy coach Chris Lebakken said.

Aquinas Academy showed a lot of fight Monday, rallying from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to capture a 66-62 overtime win against visiting St. Joseph in non-section action.

In what was a showdown of top WPIAL Class 1A teams — Aquinas Academy was the WPIAL runner-up the past two seasons and St. Joseph reached the semifinals a season ago — Aquinas Academy used a rally late in regulation to tie the score at 57 and force overtime.

Ellie Junker’s 17 points led a quartet of Aquinas Academy players scoring in double figures. Junker connected on four 3-pointers. Emily Fisher added 13 points, Victoria Taylor 12 and Tess Duer 11.

“I think that we have a lot to learn still, but I think this team is resilient and the effort has taken us where we’ve needed to go,” said Lebakken, whose team also has strong non-section wins against Class 3A foes Mohawk and Seton LaSalle, Class 2A Rochester and Class 1A Riverview.

Julie Spinelli knocked down five 3-pointers and poured in 36 points for St. Joseph. Emma Swierczewski added 10.

Other girls games

• Payton Collins’ monster performance helped Mt. Lebanon (3-3, 1-1) snap a three-game losing streak courtesy of a 61-56 home win against Bethel Park (2-4, 0-1) in Class 6A Section 2. Collins made five 3-pointers, went 9 of 10 from the line, and finished with a game-high 28 points. Becky Gillenberger and Sadie Orie each scored 15 points for Bethel Park.

• Gemma Walker scored 23 points and Natalie Wetzel had 18 in leading unbeaten Peters Township (6-0, 2-0) to a 65-39 victory against Baldwin (2-3, 0-2) in Class 6A Section 2. Katie Lucarelli paced Baldwin with 13 points.

• Bayleigh Perez scored 15 points, including the winning 3-pointer with nine seconds left, to give Shaler (3-4) a 43-42 non-section win at Butler (2-4). Butler, which trailed by 11 points at the half, had taken a 42-40 lead on Cameryn Booher’s 3-pointer with 24 seconds left. Booher and Malina McElroy led Butler with nine points apiece.

• North Hills (5-3, 2-0) rallied from seven points down in the fourth quarter to force overtime and went on to hand Armstrong (3-3, 0-2) its third consecutive loss, 73-69, in Class 5A Section 2. Gia Minton led North Hills with 17 points and Emma Paul scored 23 points for Armstrong.

• McKeesport (5-0, 1-0) raced to a 10-point first-quarter lead and never looked back on its way to a 71-45 win against visiting Latrobe (2-4, 0-2) in Class 5A Section 3. Kaylee Charles added 15 points for the Tigers, while Elle Snyder scored a team-best 12 points for Latrobe.

• Addie Lonergan connected on five 3-pointers and scored 19 points to push host Seton LaSalle (3-2) to a 54-46 non-section win against Montour (4-3). Mallory Daly scored a game-high 23 points for the Rebels, while Jordyn Wolfe led Montour with 16.

• North Catholic (3-2, 2-0) remained unbeaten in Class 4A Section 1 following a 75-35 win against visiting Freeport (2-5, 1-1). North Catholic outscored Freeport, 25-4, in the first quarter. Ava Walker (17 points) paced a group of four North Catholic players scoring in double figures.

• Burrell (5-0) kept its perfect record intact by defeating visiting Obama Academy (1-3), 55-41, in a non-section game. Jules Fisher netted 20 points and Casey Brancato 16 for the Bucs. Taylor Phillips led Obama with 17 points.

• Shaye Bailey tallied 18 of her game-high 32 points in the second half to lead Freedom (3-3, 2-0) to a 58-40 win at Shenango (1-4, 0-2) in Class 2A Section 1. Amara DeFrank led Shenango with 19 points.

• Kamryn Newman’s 17 points helped Rochester (4-2, 2-0) roll to a 65-28 win at Sewickley Academy (3-2, 0-1) in Class 2A Section 1. Tia Yellock and Avah Williams chipped in 10 points apiece for the Rams, who outscored Sewickley Academy, 20-2, in the first quarter.

• Kylie Frueshtorfer scored 20 points and Kelly Cleaver added 15 points and 12 rebounds to vault host Union (4-3) to a 52-27 non-section win against Mohawk (5-2). The Scotties outscored Mohawk, 15-0, in the fourth quarter. Erynne Capalbo led Mohawk with 14 points.

• Playing in her first high school game, Navarah Smith scored a game-high 13 points to lead Jeannette (2-2) to a 38-24 non-section win at Carlynton (3-4). Adriana Allison added nine points and Mary Jones eight for the Jayhawks, who won despite dressing only six players.

Jeannette’s Navarah Smith scored a game-high 13 points in her team’s 38-24 win at Carlynton. (Emily Matthews/Pittsburgh Union Progress)

Boys games

• Lincoln Park (5-0) rolled into the semifinals of the Capitol City Classic in Oregon after topping West Albany, Ore. (5-1), 80-63 in the quarterfinals. Rhaki Lum led Lincoln Park with 18 points, while Brandin Cummings tacked on 17 and Meleek Thomas and Dontay Green 14 apiece. The Leopards will face California power St. Joseph in Tuesday’s semifinals. St. Joseph features 6-foot-6 Tounde Yessoufou, ranked by Rivals as the No. 10 junior in the country. Thomas is ranked No. 7.

• In a game that saw 14 lead changes, Penn Hills (3-1) edged host Penn-Trafford (4-3), 57-55, in non-section play. Khalil Wall finished with 23 points and eight rebounds for Penn Hills, which held a 30-25 scoring edge in the second half. Tyler Freas paced the Warriors with 15 points.

• Springdale (5-1) continued its strong start by winning at California (0-5), 82-45, in non-section play. Jackson Pribanic led the Dynamos with 24 points and John Hughes scored 13.

• Courtney Wallace poured in a game-high 32 points and Kedron Gilmore added five 3-pointers and 22 points in leading Neighborhood Academy (5-1) a 74-65 non-section win at Clairton (3-4). Dashawn Hines scored 22 points for Clairton, which trailed by 14 points at the half.

Three stars

*** — Iyanna Wade, Clairton. Wade poured in 34 points to help Clairton (6-0, 1-0) remain unbeaten following a 57-26 win at Ellis School (3-5, 0-2) in Class 2A Section 3.

** — Megan Marston, Plum. Marston’s game-high 24 points propelled undefeated Plum (6-0, 2-0) to a 58-42 win against visiting Franklin Regional (1-5, 1-1) in Class 5A Section 1.

* — Lane Allison, West Greene. Allison’s 30 points helped host West Greene (3-2) cruise to a 78-37 non-section win against Hundred, W.Va. (0-4).

Hot from deep

Players with 3 or more 3-pointers: Kedron Gilmore, Neighborhood Academy, 5; Julie Spinelli, St. Joseph, 5; Addie Lonergan, Seton LaSalle, 5; Ellie Junker, Aquinas Academy, 4; Chloe Fadden, Mohawk, 4; Khalil Wall, Penn Hills, 4; Maddy Hertzler, McKeesport, 3; Bri Morreale, Peters Township, 3; Ella Ferrell, Shenango, 3.

Boys scores

Lincoln Park 80, West Albany, Ore. 63

Neighborhood Academy 74, Clairton 65

Penn Hills 57, Penn-Trafford 55

Springdale 82, California 45

Thomas Jefferson 62, Norwin 33

West Greene 38, Hundred, W.Va. 37

Girls scores

Aquinas Academy 66, St. Joseph 62 (OT)

Avonworth 53, Quaker Valley 25

Burrell 55, Obama Academy 41

California 53, Mapletown 36