WPIAL girls basketball quarterfinals: Elizabeth Forward outlasts Beaver in Class 4A; Canon-McMillan battles back to beat Butler in Class 6A

On any given night, any given player can take center stage for Elizabeth Forward — it just so happened that Thursday night was Mia Sostaric’s time to shine.

A 5-5 junior guard, Sostaric scored a game-high 20 points to spark the Warriors (19-5) to a 63-52 win against Beaver (17-6) in a WPIAL Class 4A quarterfinal at Montour. Senior point guard Chloe Zombek chipped in with 13 points, followed by 11 from Michelle Jellison. Ava Wright led the Bobcats with 19 points to go with 17 from Annsley Baker.

“[Being balanced] a big deal to us. It makes us hard to guard,” Elizabeth Forward coach Noah Yartin said. “We had a lot of balance all year. I think we had four players averaging double digits, or very close to it. That really makes it hard for teams to key in on us defensively. We were just able to share the ball, and when we’re playing together, that’s when we’re at our best. We played together and played for each other.”

The Warriors built a seven-point lead in the first quarter, but they struggled to create much separation. Elizabeth Forward led by five before outscoring the Bobcats, 23-17, in the final quarter.

“They were a gritty team,” Yartin said. “We expected a physical game. We knew they would keep punching back. We had to just deal with the punches and figure it out. We really had a lot of good defensive ball pressure early that got us our lead, and we really locked it down defensively [late].”

After stumbling to a 1-3 start, the Warriors won their next 16 games before dropping back-to-back contests to close out the regular season. Yartin said much of the team was sick with the flu, but the losses served as a wake-up call to remind his players to bring a heightened sense of urgency into the postseason.

Now back in the WPIAL semifinals for the second year in a row, it sure seems like the message has been delivered.

“I’m sure it bothered them a little bit losing those two games,” Yartin said. “We got hit with the flu and lost that South Park game. We went into the locker room up by 14, and they just had nothing left. Then we got outscored by 24 in the second half.

“We’ve just been working on getting healthy and getting back and keeping our confidence up.”

Elizabeth Forward’s Kaelynn Settles and Beaver’s Ava Wright battle for the ball on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025, at Montour High School. Elizabeth Forward won, 63-52. (Emily Matthews/Pittsburgh Union Progress)

Other Class 4A quarterfinals

• Brady Wehner led all scorers with 18 points to help three-time defending WPIAL champion North Catholic pull away in the second half for a 41-25 win against No. 6 South Park at Moon. After taking a two-point lead into halftime, the No. 3 Trojanettes (21-3) erupted for a 22-3 run in the third quarter. Bella Stromberg finished with a team-high 9 points for the Eagles (16-6).

• Aubree Hupp led three players in double figures for reigning PIAA champion Blackhawk with 27 points in a 59-32 rout against No. 8 Laurel Highlands (17-6) at Peters Township. Andrea Kinger followed with 13 points for the No. 1 Cougars (22-2) to go with 12 from Mia Sheesley.

• Josie Fontana scored a team-high 16 points to power No. 2 Oakland Catholic to a 66-29 blowout win against No. 7 Central Valley (15-8) at Moon. Zephaniah Troxler-Scott tacked on 12 points for the Eagles (21-3) to go along with 10 from Robert Morris recruit London Creach.

Elizabeth Forward’s Chloe Zombek goes for a basket against Beaver on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025, at Montour High School. Elizabeth Forward won, 63-52. (Emily Matthews/Pittsburgh Union Progress)

Class 1A quarterfinals

• Three-time WPIAL scoring champion Iyanna Wade led No. 3 Clairton to a 71-44 home win against No. 6 St. Joseph (16-8), pouring in a game-high 30 points to raise her career total to 3,051. Karma Fuqua chipped in 18 points for the Bears (18-4), while Gia Richter collected a team-leading 17 points for the Spartans. Wade is now only five points away from surpassing East Allegheny grad Brooke Stewart for third place on the WPIAL career scoring list.

• Miera Gunn scored a game-high 12 points for two-time defending WPIAL champion Union in a 38-16 home win against No. 8 Bishop Canevin (12-10). Kylie Fruehstorfer finished with 8 points and 5 assists for the No. 1 Scotties (23-0), while Kya Cooley led the Crusaders with 8 points.

• Tess Duer propeled No. 5 Aquinas Academy (15-7) to a 64-45 win at No. 4 Serra Catholic (12-11) with a game-high 27 points, followed by 15 from Eliot Keverline and 12 from Rebecca Guillen. Bella Dumbroski finished with a team-leading 20 points for the Eagles along with 10 from Abby Genes.

Class 6A quarterfinal

• No. 4 Canon-McMillan trailed by five after the first quarter on its home court, but the Big Macs (14-8) came roaring back for a 58-41 victory against No. 5 Butler (11-11) to move on to the WPIAL semifinals. Madison Clair tallied a game-high 16 points, and Sam Miller added 13 while knocking down four 3-pointers. Cameryn Booher led Butler with 12 points along with 10 apiece from Avery Maier and Amelia McMichael.