Penn-Trafford coach John Giannikas was a one-armed man Thursday.
Giannikas coached with a sling on his right arm after undergoing triceps surgery a day earlier.
“I tripped on some ice going into work,” Giannikas said.
No worries.
Giannikas was unable to do it, so his team flexed their muscles for him as they earned an outright section title and remained unbeaten.
Lauren Marton scored 16 points to help host Penn-Trafford roll to a 63-34 win against Indiana in a big Class 5A Section 2 game.
The win gave Penn-Trafford (21-0, 12-0) the outright section title. It’s the team’s first section title since 2015. Indiana (16-5, 10-2) could have shared the title with a win, but instead fell to the Warriors for the second time this season. Penn-Trafford won at Indiana, 50-37, on Jan. 13.
“It’s big for the kids,” said Giannikas, who is in his 19th season. “They put in a lot of time in the offseason, starting in April. We had a little run where we had four (section titles) in five years, but we haven’t won any in 10. It was nice to get that for those kids.”
Penn-Trafford, one of three unbeaten WPIAL teams (Class 3A Shady Side Academy and Class 1A Union are the others), held a 20-15 lead in the second quarter when it went on an 11-0 run that broke the game open and gave the Warriors a 31-15 halftime advantage.
“That was big because it had been back and forth for a while,” Giannikas said.
The run ended in the third quarter, but Penn-Trafford’s strong play did not, as the Warriors grew their lead to as many as 20 points heading into the final frame.
Torrie DeStefano added 14 points for Penn-Trafford, while Emily Betsinger paced Indiana with 15 points.
Other girls games
• Seneca Valley (15-5, 10-0), section champion for the first time since 1977, finished with a perfect record in Class 6A Section 1 following a 51-45 win against visiting Pine-Richland (7-14, 6-4). Gracie Cato scored 15 of her 27 points in the first half for Seneca Valley, which won its fifth consecutive game. Cate Gentile led Pine-Richland with 18 points.
• Kendall Berger scored 25 points and Norwin (13-7, 9-1) wrapped up the outright Class 6A Section 2 title courtesy of a 54-43 win against visiting Hempfield (10-11, 2-8). It was the eighth section win in a row for Norwin, which outscored Hempfield, 14-3, in the second quarter. Allie Cervola and Ava Shipman scored 10 points apiece to lead Hempfield.
• Rylee Kalocay scored 24 points and Upper St. Clair (15-5, 8-2) rolled to a 65-35 win against visiting Mt. Lebanon (12-9, 5-5) in Class 6A Section 2. Ryan Prunzik added 12 points for the Panthers, who held a 31-15 lead at the half. Cali Green paced Mt. Lebanon with 9 points and Payton Collins tacked on 8.
• Jules Ott knocked down a 3-pointer with four seconds left to lift Baldwin (13-8, 8-4) to a 62-59 win at Thomas Jefferson (17-4, 9-3) in Class 5A Section 4. Ott finished with 17 points and Lynsey Bernotas scored a team-best 23 for Baldwin, which claimed its fifth win in a row. Maggie Spell finished with 26 points for Thomas Jefferson, which won at Baldwin, 65-60, last month.
• South Park (15-5, 12-2) stormed back from a 14-point halftime deficit to hand Elizabeth Forward (17-4, 13-1) its first loss in Class 4A Section 3, 47-37. In what was a tale of two halves, Elizabeth Forward outscored South Park, 27-13, in the first half before South Park held a 34-10 advantage in the second half. Nika Contakos led South Park with 16 points, while Michelle Jellison paced Elizabeth Forward with 10.
• Aubree Hupp scored 17 points, including the 1,000th of her career, to power host Blackhawk (19-2) to a 72-56 non-section win against Latrobe (10-10). Hupp also grabbed 12 rebounds, while Ava Pagani scored a team-best 20 points for the Cougars, who have won 12 games in a row. Carley Berk’s 21 points paced Latrobe.
• Mimi Thiero pumped in a career-high 38 points, including 20 of her team’s 24 points in the first half, to lead host Quaker Valley (13-8, 10-4) to its fifth consecutive win, 67-53, against Ellwood City (13-8, 8-6) in Class 3A Section 1. Thiero made three 3-pointers and was 7 of 9 from the free-throw line. Kayla Jones paced Ellwood City with 18 points.
• South Side (16-5, 9-1) rallied from six points down after three quarters to earn a share of the Class 2A Section 2 title via a 45-44 win against visiting Fort Cherry (17-3, 9-1). Freshman Ashtyn Michael scored 19 points for South Side, which outscored Fort Cherry, 16-9, in the fourth quarter. Brooke Cornali scored 20 points for Fort Cherry, which had won 15 games in a row.
• Sky Still scored 21 points and Jasmine Hollins chipped in 17 to help Winchester Thurston (18-2, 10-0) finish unbeaten in Class 2A Section 4 courtesy of a 60-39 win against visiting Riverview (13-4, 8-2). It was the 15th win in a row for Winchester Thurston, which led, 32-23, at the half. Isabel Chaparro paced Riverview with 14 points.
• Iyanna Wade continued her pursuit of 3,000 career points by totaling a game-high 44 to lead Clairton (16-4, 12-2) to a 72-48 win at Monessen (5-14, 2-12) in Class 1A Section 2. Wade pushed her career total to 2,989, putting her 11 points away from becoming the fourth player in WPIAL history to reach 3,000. Madison Johnson scored 31 points to lead Monessen.
• Emma Larkin’s 33 points helped Geibel Catholic (21-1, 13-1) claim the outright Class 1A Section 2 title following a 67-53 win at Serra Catholic (12-9, 10-4). Geibel led by just one at the half before outscoring Serra, 43-30, in the second half. Abby Genes scored 30 points for Serra and Bella Dumbroski added 13.
Boys game
• RJ Sledge scored 29 points, including the winning 3-pointer with three seconds left in overtime, to vault host Imani Christian (13-7, 11-3) to a 76-74 win against Central Catholic (13-7, 10-4) in Class 6A Section 2. Enzo Khalil scored a career-high 37 points for Central Catholic, including two free throws in the final seconds of regulation to force overtime. Central Catholic trailed, 42-32, at the half before storming back.
Three stars
*** — Kendra Tharp, West Greene. Tharp scored 6 of her team-high 26 points in overtime to lift West Greene (15-7, 8-6) to a 55-52 win at Avella (9-13, 4-10) in Class 1A Section 2.
**— Allie Monack, Frazier. Monack scored 14 points and pulled down 20 rebounds to help Frazier (6-16, 2-8) snap an eight-game losing skid with a 50-42 home win against Jeannette (4-15, 0-10) in Class 2A Section 4.
* — Alayla Bivins, Oakland Catholic. Bivins scored a game-high 22 points to propel Oakland Catholic (18-3, 13-1) to its sixth consecutive win, 54-31, at Burrell (13-9, 8-6) in Class 4A Section 1.
Hot from deep
Players with 3 or more 3-pointers: Ava Pagani, Blackhawk, 4; Sam Miller, Canon-McMillan, 4; Eden Smith, Charleroi, 4; Kayla Jones, Ellwood City, 4; Addie Zanotto, Leechburg, 4; Gracie Cato, Seneca Valley, 4; Makiyah Mitchell, Shady Side Academy, 4; Leila Marchinsky, West Allegheny, 4; Emma Obersteiner, Avonworth, 3; Greta O’Brien, Avonworth, 3; Nyah Hayes, Central Valley, 3; Caylee Sundy, Hopewell, 3; Mimi Thiero, Quaker Valley, 3; Kimari Behrens, Trinity, 3; Kylie Fruehstorfer, Union, 3; Maddie Settle, Union, 3; Rylee Kalocay, Upper St. Clair, 3.
Scoreboard
Boys scores
WPIAL Class 6A
Section 2
Imani Christian 76, Central Catholic 74 (OT)
WPIAL Class 2A
Section 2
Northgate 76, Brentwood 54
Section 4
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart 54, South Side 26
Girls scores
WPIAL Class 6A
Section 1
Butler 50, North Allegheny 41
North Hills 65, Woodland Hills 40
Seneca Valley 51, Pine-Richland 45
Section 2
Canon-McMillan 62, Connellsville 32
Norwin 54, Hempfield 43
Upper St. Clair 65, Mt. Lebanon 35
WPIAL Class 5A
Section 1
Plum 46, Fox Chapel 37
Section 2
Greensburg Salem 41, West Mifflin 39
McKeesport 56, Kiski Area 48
Penn-Trafford 63, Indiana 34
Section 3
Moon 58, Montour 45
West Allegheny 54, New Castle 19
Section 4
Baldwin 62, Thomas Jefferson 59
Trinity 51, Uniontown 21
WPIAL Class 4A
Section 1
Highlands 69, Valley 46
Knoch 44, Freeport 13
North Catholic 75, Derry 23
Oakland Catholic 54, Burrell 31
Section 2
Beaver 61, Hampton 36
Central Valley 53, Hopewell 47
Section 3
Belle Vernon 52, Southmoreland 21
Laurel Highlands 53, Yough 18
Mount Pleasant 35, Ringgold 29
South Park 47, Elizabeth Forward 37
WPIAL Class 3A
Section 1
Beaver Falls 85, Sto-Rox 30
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart 69, Mohawk 12
Quaker Valley 67, Ellwood City 53
Riverside 60, New Brighton 7
Section 2
Avonworth 69, Steel Valley 14
Greensburg Central Catholic 61, Deer Lakes 21
Ligonier Valley 59, South Allegheny 51
Shady Side Academy 55, East Allegheny 14
Section 3
Keystone Oaks 44, Washington 29
Seton LaSalle 60, McGuffey 28
Waynesburg 44, Charleroi 26
WPIAL Class 2A
Section 1
Aliquippa 57, Rochester 34
Laurel 52, Freedom 38
Neshannock 75, Shenango 17
Section 2
Brentwood 44, Northgate 12
Burgettstown 54, Carlynton 18
South Side 45, Fort Cherry 44
Section 3
California 56, Beth-Center 47
Carmichaels 34, Jefferson-Morgan 33
Section 4
Frazier 50, Jeannette 42
Winchester Thurston 60, Riverview 39
WPIAL Class 1A
Section 1
Aquinas Academy 52, Western Beaver 26
St. Joseph 46, Springdale 21
Sewickley Academy 36, Leechburg 35
Union 79, Eden Christian 12
Section 2
Bishop Canevin 57, Mapletown 20
Clairton 72, Monessen 48
Geibel Catholic 67, Serra Catholic 53
West Greene 55, Avella 52 (OT)
Non-section
Blackhawk 72, Latrobe 56
West Shamokin 53, Armstrong 45
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.