Saturday postseason basketball rundown: Seton LaSalle rallies to upset No. 6 Waynesburg; OLSH closes strong to top Ellwood City

For the second year in a row, the Seton LaSalle girls opened the WPIAL playoffs with a Saturday game and noon tip-off at a higher-seeded Waynesburg team.

And just like last year, Seton LaSalle started slow and dug itself an early hole.

Only this time around the Rebels rallied for the win, making the hour bus ride back to school much more enjoyable.

Addie Lonergan knocked down six 3-pointers and scored a game-high 27 points as No. 11 Seton LaSalle used a dominant second half to upset No. 6 Waynesburg, 57-36, in a Class 3A first-round game.

After falling behind, 18-11, after the first quarter and 25-21 at the half, Seton LaSalle (14-8) outscored Waynesburg (20-3), 36-11, in the second half. Waynesburg, co-champion of Section 4, had won 12 of its previous 13 games.

“I just think our defense really stepped up in the second half, especially our help defense. The girls stepped up and were rotating over and guarding well. I think they were more mentally focused,” said Seton LaSalle coach Jordan Giles, whose team finished in a three-way tie for second place in Section 2.

A year earlier, Waynesburg, as the No. 8 seed, jumped to a 19-10 first-quarter lead before going on to beat No. 9 Seton LaSalle, 64-55.

But the rematch played out differently, with Lonergan playing a feature role by scoring 17 of her points and connecting on five of her 3-pointers in the second half.

“She was huge today,” Giles said of Lonergan, a sophomore and one of the WPIAL’s top perimeter shooters. “You could definitely tell she was comfortable today and was ready to go. We say that the 3 is actually her layup.”

Lonergan, Mallory Daly (14 points) and Tiara Curry (14 points) combined to score all but two of Seton LaSalle’s points.

Seton LaSalle also did an excellent job against Waynesburg’s Kaley Rohanna, the team’s leading scorer. Rohanna led the Raiders with 13 points but had only four in the second half. She poured in 31 in last year’s meeting.

Next up for Seton LaSalle is a matchup against No. 3 Beaver Falls in Wednesday’s quarterfinals.

Claire Noble and her teammates were trying to help Ellwood City win its first playoff game since 1995 on Saturday, but the Wolverines came up short in a 46-41 loss to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart at Avonworth. (Matt Freed/Pittsburgh Union Progress)

Other Class 3A girls

• Morgan O’Brien scored the final five points of the game, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:16 left, to lift No. 7 Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (16-7) to a 46-41 win against No. 10 Ellwood City (15-8) at Avonworth. O’Brien scored a team-high 14 points for OLSH, which also got 12 points from Claudia Ierullo. The Chargers will play in the quarterfinals for the 12th year in a row. Kayla Jones led Ellwood City with 17 points and Delaney Sturgeon had 13. The Wolverines were seeking their first playoff win since 1995.

• Neshannock (16-7), the No. 4 seed, advanced to the quarterfinals for the fourth year in a row by defeating visiting No. 13 Brownsville (12-10), 63-34. Brownsville outscored Neshannock, 13-10, in the first quarter, but the Lancers held a 53-21 scoring edge the rest of the game. Kaitlyn Fries led Neshannock with 17 points and Payton Newman added 13. Skyler Gates and Zhariah Reed scored 12 points apiece for Brownsville.

• No. 5 South Park (16-7) held visiting No. 12 Mount Pleasant (14-8) without a field goal over the final 13 minutes of the game on its way to a 37-21 win. South Park led, 14-13, at the half before outscoring Mount Pleasant, 23-8, in the second half. Brooke Paylo led South Park with 10 points. The Eagles have won six of their past seven games. Morgan Gesinski paced Mount Pleasant with 11 points.

• Avina Norman poured in 24 points and Taylor Pullen chipped in 21 to lead No. 3 Beaver Falls (15-6) to the quarterfinals following a 68-38 home win against No. 14 McGuffey (14-8). The Tigers led by 12 points at the half before outscoring McGuffey, 26-13, in the third quarter. Madison Gaso led the Highlanders with 14 points and Taylor Schumacher had 11.

• Maggie Spell scored a game-high 23 points, including the 1,000th of her career, in leading No. 2 Shady Side Academy (21-2) to a 53-42 win against No. 15 Mohawk (13-10) at Avonworth. Fellow sophomore Karis Thomas added 14 points for the Bulldogs, who increased their win streak to 14 games. Erynne Capalbo paced Mohawk with 18 points and Aricka Young had 11.

• No. 1 and defending champion Avonworth (20-1) upped its win streak to 14 courtesy of a 64-13 win against visiting No. 16 Apollo-Ridge (8-14). Rebecca Goetz scored 21 points, Greta O’Brien added 16 and Emma Obersteiner 14 for the Antelopes, who led, 42-5, at the half and 61-7 after three quarters. Sophia Yard, Jaden Mull and Mya McClain scored four points apiece to lead Apollo-Ridge.

• Laney Wagner scored 15 points and Bailey Rieg added 12 to propel host No. 8 Keystone Oaks (16-6) to a 49-34 win against No. 9 Burrell (16-5). Wagner scored all of her points over the first three quarters for the Golden Eagles, who held a 26-13 halftime advantage. McKenna Miller (13 points) was the only Burrell player to score in double figures.