Thursday basketball rundown: Shady Side Academy blows past Greensburg Central Catholic to remain unbeaten; Juju Leroux returns to lineup, leads South Fayette past Chartiers Valley

Shady Side Academy girls coach Jonna Burke said her team in no way was trying to make a statement when it hosted Greensburg Central Catholic on Thursday.

“All we were thinking about was trying to get a section win at home,” Burke said.

But when you go out and beat a reigning WPIAL champion in mercy-rule fashion, well, it’s hard not to call it a statement win.

Karis Thomas scored 24 points and Cassie Sauer added 20 to lead unbeaten Shady Side Academy to a 62-33 blowout of Greensburg Central Catholic in a key Class 3A Section 2 game.

In what was a showdown of teams that won WPIAL titles last season (Shady Side Academy in 3A and Greensburg Central Catholic in 2A), the Bulldogs (13-0, 6-0) captured a surprisingly lopsided win to remain one of three unbeaten teams in the WPIAL. Class 5A Penn-Trafford and Class 1A Union are the others. Greensburg Central Catholic (7-3, 3-1) had its five-game win streak snapped.

Burke downplayed the victory, calling it just “one game.” But not even Burke could have predicted that her team would win in such a resounding way. The mercy rule went into effect when the Bulldogs went up by 30 points with a few minutes left to play.

“Certainly not. The kids executed what we wanted to do,” Burke said of her team, which also owns a win against defending PIAA Class 4A champion Blackhawk.

Shady Side Academy controlled the action throughout. The Bulldogs took their first double-digit lead midway through the second quarter and led by 15 points at the half before blowing the game open in the second half.

Sauer was the starter and Thomas the closer. Shady Side Academy had a size advantage with Sauer, a 6-foot-2 forward who scored time and time again from point-blank range in the first half. Sauer scored eight points in the first quarter and had 14 in the opening half.

“She was really good,” Burke said of Sauer, who added 10 rebounds. “It was sort of what we thought we might be able to do. We’re so blessed to have her at her height. A lot of teams have a hard time matching up.”

Opposing teams also have a hard time defending Thomas, a 5-7 point guard who scored 16 of her points in the second half. Thomas was also active defensively, making several steals that led to uncontested layups on the other end.

“She’s improved defensively. It’s something she takes pride in,” Burke said.

Leah Buford (11 points) also finished in double-figures for the Bulldogs.

Jayla Peterson led Greensburg Central Catholic with 18 points. Richmond recruit Erica Gribble was held to nine points, a season low.

Other girls games

• Reese Smetanka scored 22 points and Shaler (11-1, 4-0) extended its win streak to six courtesy of a 62-45 home win against Fox Chapel (8-5, 3-2) in Class 5A Section 1. Bayleigh Perez added 15 points for the Titans, who led, 28-18, at the half. Natalia Schaffer paced Fox Chapel with 16 points.

• South Fayette (13-1, 6-0) strengthened its grip on the lead in Class 5A Section 3 following a 72-41 win against visiting Chartiers Valley (8-5, 4-1). Haylie Lamonde led the Lions with 16 points and Juju Leroux added 13. Leroux returned to the lineup after missing seven games with an ankle injury. Emma Reynolds paced Chartiers Valley with 12 points.

• Jaedin Griggs pumped in a game-high 26 points to help Moon (7-4, 3-2) rally for a 53-48 win at West Allegheny (8-4, 1-4) in Class 5A Section 3. Moon trailed by a point after three quarters before outscoring West Allegheny, 20-14, in the fourth. 

• Brady Wehner’s game-high 19 points helped North Catholic (11-2, 6-0) claim its 11th consecutive win, 65-22, at Knoch (4-8, 3-2) in Class 4A Section 1. Sam Weir added 14 points for the Trojanettes, who held a 37-11 lead at the half.

• Aubree Hupp scored 18 points and Andrea Kinger added 12 to help host Blackhawk (11-2, 5-0) to its four straight win, 62-22, against Hampton (8-4, 3-2) in Class 4A Section 2. The Cougars led, 34-13, at the half.

• Michelle Jellison scored 14 points and Kaelynn Settles added 13 to lead Elizabeth Forward (8-3, 5-0) to its seventh win in a row, 57-21, at Yough (8-4, 3-2) in Class 4A Section 3. Elizabeth Forward outscored Yough, 23-2, in the first quarter and led, 42-8, at halftime.

• Ainsley Allison (25 points, 12 rebounds) and Payton Newman (20 points, 10 rebounds) both had double-doubles in leading Neshannock (11-2, 3-1) to a 69-30 win at Rochester (7-6, 3-1) in Class 2A Section 1. Neshannock led by two points at the half before outscoring Rochester, 25-5, in the third quarter. Tia Yellock led Rochester with 16 points.

• Iyanna Wade poured in 49 points to vault Clairton (8-2, 6-0) to a 72-34 win at Mapletown (2-11, 0-5) in Class 1A Section 2. Wade upped her career point total to 2,578. She’s averaging 42.9 points on the season. 

Boys game

• RJ Sledge scored 33 points, including the 1,000th of his career, to help Imani Christian (7-4, 5-1) bounce back from its first section loss with a 79-65 win against visiting Mt. Lebanon (7-5, 3-3) in Class 6A Section 2. Imani Christian led by three points after three quarters before outscoring Mt. Lebanon, 23-12, in the fourth. Liam Sheely led Mt. Lebanon with 21 points.

Three stars

*** — Laney Wagner, Keystone Oaks. Wagner connected on five 3-pointers and scored a game-high 24 points to propel Keystone Oaks (9-1, 3-1) to a 48-33 win at Waynesburg (6-5, 2-3) in Class 3A Section 3.

**— Taylor Schumacher, McGuffey. Schumacher scored 31 points and added seven rebounds to lead McGuffey (9-4, 4-1) to a 57-50 win at Washington (4-8, 1-4) in Class 3A Section 3.

* — Emma Larkin, Geibel Catholic. Larkin, the second-leading scorer in the WPIAL (24.6 ppg), scored 26 points to lead Geibel (11-1, 4-1) to a 50-25 win at Monessen (3-7, 1-5) in Class 1A Section 2.

Hot from deep

Players with 3 or more 3-pointers: Laney Wagner, Keystone Oaks, 5; Gia Richter, St. Joseph, 5; Greta O’Brien, Avonworth, 4; Mads Pevarnik, Hempfield, 4; RJ Sledge, Imani Christian, 4; Liam Sheely, Mt. Lebanon, 4; Sam Weir, North Catholic, 4; Emily Scheller-Gallagher, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, 4; Mackenzie James, North Catholic, 3; Brady Wehner, North Catholic, 3; Addie Nogay, Union, 3.

Scoreboard

Boys scores

WPIAL Class 6A

Section 2

Imani Christian 79, Mt. Lebanon 65

WPIAL Class 5A

Section 2

Indiana 77, Shaler 69

WPIAL Class 2A

Section 3

Chartiers-Houston 61, Beth-Center 45

Girls scores

WPIAL Class 6A

Section 1

Seneca Valley 48, Woodland Hills 21

Section 2

Upper St. Clair 75, Hempfield 55

WPIAL Class 5A

Section 1

Franklin Regional 63, Armstrong 36

Plum 46, Gateway 13

Shaler 62, Fox Chapel 45

Section 2

Indiana 48, West Mifflin 27

Latrobe 54, Greensburg Salem 46

Penn-Trafford 55, Kiski Area 22

Section 3

Mars 62, New Castle 31

Moon 53, West Allegheny 48

South Fayette 72, Chartiers Valley 41

Section 4

Peters Township 62, Uniontown 21

Trinity 48, Albert Gallatin 43

WPIAL Class 4A

Section 1

Burrell 54, Valley 36

Highlands 63, Freeport 53

North Catholic 65, Knoch 22

Oakland Catholic 46, Derry 19

Section 2

Beaver 49, Lincoln Park 31

Blackhawk 62, Hampton 22

Central Valley 52, Ambridge 7

Section 3

Belle Vernon 41, Mount Pleasant 18

Elizabeth Forward 57, Yough 21

Laurel Highlands 72, Ringgold 13

South Park 66, Southmoreland 16

WPIAL Class 3A

Section 1

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart 71, New Brighton 12

Quaker Valley 51, Mohawk 6

Riverside 55, Sto-Rox 27

Section 2

Avonworth 54, South Allegheny 4

Deer Lakes 52, Steel Valley 15

Ligonier Valley 51, East Allegheny 17

Shady Side Academy 62, Greensburg Central Catholic 33

Section 3

Brownsville 56, Charleroi 24

Keystone Oaks 48, Waynesburg 33

McGuffey 57, Washington 50

WPIAL Class 2A

Section 1

Aliquippa 67, Freedom 28

Laurel 54, Shenango 30

Neshannock 69, Rochester 30

Section 2

Brentwood 45, Burgettstown 39

Fort Cherry 68, Northgate 3

South Side 74, Carlynton 28

Section 3

Bentworth at Beth-Center 49, Bentworth 35

California 55, Jefferson-Morgan 37

Chartiers-Houston 58, Carmichaels 17

Section 4

Apollo-Ridge 59. Frazier 30

Winchester Thurston 62, Jeannette 20

WPIAL Class 1A

Section 1

Aquinas Academy 63, Eden Christian 28

St. Joseph 59, Sewickley Academy 31

Springdale 42, Western Beaver 31

Union 66, Leechburg 15

Section 2

Bishop Canevin 54, Avella 27

Clairton 72, Mapletown 34

Geibel Catholic 50, Monessen 25