It was anyone’s game in the final minute of Saturday’s WPIAL Class 4A championship.
Heck, even the score — 50-50 — in more ways than one was indicative of how much of a toss-up things were.
But after a controversial foul on a bang-bang play that easily could have gone the other way, Alayla Bivins played the hero role, giving Oakland Catholic its first WPIAL title in 19 years.
Bivins scored on a drive to the basket with six seconds left to lead No. 2 Oakland Catholic to a 52-50 win against No. 1 Blackhawk at Petersen Events Center.
It was the 11th win in a row for Oakland Catholic (23-4), which won its first title since 2006, back when the Eagles were a perennial power that captured six titles in eight years. Meanwhile, Blackhawk (23-3) lost in the final for the third year in a row — both of the previous losses were to North Catholic — as the Cougars saw their 16-game win streak come to an end.
The game’s final outcome was oh-so-close to going the other way. Blackhawk, which fell behind by as many as nine points in the game, trailed, 50-46, before Alivia Rabick knocked down a 3-pointer and Mia Sheesley hit 1-of-2 free throws to pull the Cougars even, 50-50, with 1:32 left. Following an Oakland Catholic missed shot, Blackhawk standout Aubree Hupp took a pass from Sheesley at the free-throw line, drove to the basket and appeared to score to put the Cougars ahead with 16 seconds left. However, Hupp made contact with Oakland Catholic defender Madi Pullen on the play. It didn’t appear as if Pullen’s feet were set, but Hupp was whistled for the charge, her fifth foul of the game, which waived off the basket.
After the game, Blackhawk coach Greg Huston made it clear as to his opinion of the call.
“That was an awful call,” Huston said. “It wasn’t a charge, and there’s no way you can make that call in that situation. I’m pretty upset about it. Coach speak would say, well, don’t put yourself in the position to have the referees decide the game. But at the end of the day, that’s two really good teams going at it, and it’s a shame when the refs have to decide it at the end. It’s pretty frustrating. It is what it is. That’s life. But it was the wrong call.”
“I’m not one to argue about refs calls, but I don’t know, it was disappointing. That’s for sure,” added Hupp, a tough junior forward who had game highs of 20 points and 8 rebounds.
As you might expect, Oakland Catholic coach Henry Schechter had a much different take on things.
“It looked like a charge from where I was standing,” said Schechter, the team’s first-year coach.
Alayla Bivins with the driving layup to give Oakland Catholic a 52-50 lead with 6 seconds left
— Brad Everett (@BREAL412) March 1, 2025pic.twitter.com/LhpvxrBsyE
Following a timeout, Oakland Catholic got the ball to Bivins, a senior guard who zoomed down the right side for a layup that put the Eagles ahead, 52-50, with six seconds to go.
“I work really hard. It’s a pressure to be trusted to take the last shot, but I got that,” a confident Bivins said afterward.
Blackhawk had one final shot, but Andrea Kinger’s heave from the “P” in the Pitt logo was well off just before the buzzer sounded, allowing Oakland Catholic to escape with its first title since Aysha Jones and Erica Prosser helped the Eagles soar past Mt. Lebanon for the title in 2006.
“They made history today,” Schechter said. “The last time Oakland won a WPIAL championship was ’06. I get the most joy when I see them jumping up and down smiling, having a great time, celebrating each other.”
London Creach led Oakland Catholic with 12 points, while Pullen chipped in 11 and Bivins 10. The Eagles shot 39% from the field (18 of 46).
The title added another chapter to what has been an impressive comeback story for both Creach and Oakland Catholic. The Eagles were undefeated and a heavy favorite to win the WPIAL Class 5A championship last season before Creach, a Robert Morris recruit, went down with a torn ACL in the quarterfinals. The Eagles would see their title dreams end in the semifinals. The offseason then brought plenty of change, with then-coach Eddie Benton leaving to take an assistant job at Robert Morris and two starters transferring to other schools.
“It’s a good comeback for sure,” Creach said before adding, “I feel like last year we were guaranteed to win, so this is a good comeback to show everybody that we can still do it with everybody we lost and a new staff and everything.”
Kinger (10 points) joined Hupp as the only players scoring in double figures for Blackhawk, which shot 51% from the field (19 of 37). The Cougars trailed by seven at the half and by nine in the third quarter before using an 11-0 run capped by Kinger’s driving layup with 7:32 remaining in the fourth that gave them a 41-39 lead.
While it was a disappointing end once again for Blackhawk, the Cougars can take solace in the fact that after falling in last year’s championship, they regrouped and went on to win a PIAA title.
“I’m really proud of this group,” Huston said. “There were several moments where the game could have gotten away from us, and every time that happened we stepped up and hit big shots and got stops. I’m really proud of the way they handled themselves in tough situations. We certainly gave ourselves an opportunity to win the game, but unfortunately it didn’t go our way in the end there.”
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.