WPIAL girls basketball quarterfinals: Rylee Kalocay sends Upper St. Clair to Class 6A semis with 33-point outburst against Pine-Richland; Mt. Lebanon slips past Seneca Valley in OT

After missing the second half of her junior season with a torn ACL, some might have wondered if Upper St. Clair star Rylee Kalocay’s game would ever be the same.

If the answer wasn’t already clear, Kalocay’s 33-point performance Friday night to send the Panthers to the WPIAL Class 6A semifinals should tell you everything you need to know.

A Kent State recruit who earned PUP first-team all-star honors as a sophomore, Kalocay finished third in the WPIAL in scoring in the regular season with an average of 23.9 points per game in her return from a devastating injury. She went above and beyond her usual standards to ensure a victory Friday night for No. 2-seeded Upper St. Clair, leading the Panthers to a comfortable 43-22 win against No. 7 Pine-Richland (7-16) in front of their home fans.

“Rylee is probably the most competitive player I’ve ever coached,” said longtime Upper St. Clair coach Pete Serio. “She has her goals in her mind. She knows what she wants, and she’s going to do whatever she can to achieve those goals. … It says a lot about her work ethic, but again, it comes back to her competitiveness. She wanted to get back, and she was going to do whatever she had to do to get back.

“At the end of the day, I’m always glad she’s on my team.”

In each of her first two high school seasons, Kalocay played an integral role in helping the Panthers advance to the WPIAL championship, only to go home with a silver medal on both occasions. Now, in her final chance to bring home a gold before graduating, Serio said Kalocay is embracing the moment and making sure she does whatever it takes to lead her team to victory.

“When Rylee has been healthy, we’ve made it to ‘The Pete’ every year,” Serio said. “I know that’s our goal again.”

While Upper St. Clair had to scramble to overcome Kalocay’s absence after her injury a season ago, the Panthers (17-6) are trying to fill another void left by injured point guard Ryan Prunzik this postseason. In her place, Kalocay has shifted from shooting guard back to the point, where she played earlier in her career.

Serio isn’t sure whether Prunzik will be able to suit up again this season, but he said he’ll leave the light on for her just in case.

“It’s day by day at this point,” Serio said. “We’re going to keep doing what we’re doing, and if she plays, that would be great.”

Elsewhere, other players such as Meredith Huzjak and Liv Terlecki have picked up the slack while providing some much-needed secondary scoring, and Serio pointed to Terlecki as the team’s “unsung hero” for her ability to shut down the opposing team’s best player night in and night out on the defensive end.

“Liv Terlecki always ends up guarding the other team’s best player. She did again tonight,” Serio said. “She guarded [Cate] Gentile, who averages [18.9 points] a game, and she held her to 9. That’s just what Liv does. She plays fabulous defense. I think she would score more if she wasn’t so concerned about playing defense.”

After a 12-2 start, Upper St. Clair stumbled down the stretch to a 4-4 finish to close out the regular season, but the Panthers seem to have rediscovered their winning ways at just the right time. Now, with a high-stakes showdown looming against archrival Mt. Lebanon and a spot in the WPIAL championship on the line, Serio said the only thing his team is thinking about is the next game in front of them.

“We did stumble a little bit, but it doesn’t matter anymore,” Serio said. “We are where we are right now, and that’s where we wanted to be. We have what we have in front of us, and we have to seize the opportunity we have.

“As long as Rylee is out on the court with us, I think I’ll take my chances.”

Upper St. Clair coach Pete Serio has the Panthers one win away from their fourth trip to the WPIAL Class 6A championship in the past five seasons. (Emily Matthews/Pittsburgh Union Progress)

Other Class 6A quarterfinals

• In a wild, back-and-forth affair, No. 6 Mt. Lebanon outlasted No. 3 Seneca Valley in overtime for a 47-45 road win to set up a clash of heated rivals against Upper St. Clair in the semifinals. The Blue Devils (14-9) took an 11-point lead into the fourth quarter before a furious rally by the Raiders sent the game to overtime. Cali Green led all scorers with 19 points in the win to go with 12 from Payton Collins. Gracie Cato scored a team-high 16 points for Seneca Valley (15-7) along with 13 from Natalie Hambly.

• In a rematch of the 2024 WPIAL championship, reigning champion Norwin (14-7) sent No. 8 North Allegheny home in a 52-30 triumph. Bella Furno led the No. 1 Knights with a game-high 18 points to go with 15 from Kendall Berger. Leah Skweres finished with a team-leading 10 points for the visiting Tigers (9-14).

Norwin’s Bella Furno scored a game-high 18 points in a 52-30 win over North Allegheny Friday night in the WPIAL Class 6A quarterfinals. (Emily Matthews/Pittsburgh Union Progress)

Class 2A quarterfinals

• In a matchup of Lawrence County rivals, No. 1 Neshannock surged for 37 points in the first quarter before cruising the rest of the way for a 66-40 win against No. 8 Laurel (10-14). Junior forward Payton Newman turned in arguably the finest performance of her career, racking up 28 points with 12 rebounds and 6 steals for the Lancers (22-2).

• Freshman forward Ariel Poelcher led all scorers with 14 points to go with 11 apiece from Ashtyn Michael and Bailey Strnisa, helping No. 4 South Side (19-5) claim a 45-32 home win in the rubber match against section rival Fort Cherry (19-4). Gianna Bianchini and Allison Litman each finished with 8 points to lead the No. 5 Rangers.