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Photo Courtesy of Jeff Gleason

NA FALLS TO BETHEL PARK IN OPENING ROUND OF WPIAL PLAYOFFS

(2/21/12) By dominating the boards and using 67-percent shooting in the second half, the Bethel Park Blackhawks advanced past the North Allegheny Tigers, 54-36, in the opening round of the WPIAL playoffs.  Bethel Park outrebounded the Tigers 35-20 and used second chance opportunities to post a 21-16 halftime lead despite shooting just 28-percent from the field.  With continued success on the glass and lights out shooting in the second half, the Blackhawks pulled away for the victory.

In the first half, the defenses dominated the action as neither team's shooters could find a groove as the score was locked at 2-2 midway through the first quarter.  At 3:40 of the quarter, Mariah Penascino gave Bethel Park a 4-2 lead before the Tigers went on the first run of the night.  Jessica Mancosh started a quick 5-0 spurt for the Tigers with a three-pointer and Alexis Aiken added a pair of free-throws to put NA in front, 7-4.  Bethel Park responded with a 12-3 run to take a 16-10 lead early in the second quarter.  That set the stage for the Tigers' next run as a pair of determined lay-ins by Aiken and a two-point jump shot by Sam Blue tied the game at 16-16 with 1:54 remaining in the second quarter.  Before the first half was through, there was still one more run remaining and it was hand delivered by Bethel Park forward Megan Marecic who poured in a trey and a pull-up two-point jumper to give the Blackhawks a 21-16 lead at halftime.

The Tigers opened the second half by finding Aiken on the low blocks for a lay-in to draw NA to within 21-18.  As it turned out, that was as close as North Allegheny would come for the remainder of the game.  Bethel Park grabbed the upper hand with a 12-4 run for a 33-22 lead.  While the Tigers fought hard, North Allegheny could not overcome the height and momentum of the Blackhawks in the remaining minutes.  Bethel Park held the Tigers to 16-percent shooting in the second half and only 24-percent shooting for the game on their way to the 54-36 victory.     

BP sophomore Megan Marecic looked impressive in her continued recovery from an ACL injury as she posted 19 points and pulled down seven rebounds.  Fellow sophomore Sami Simpson notched 10 points and seven rebounds while senior Justine Carroll finished with 16 points and seven boards.  North Allegheny was paced by Alexis Aiken, who did her best to keep the Tigers in the game, as the senior scored 15 points.  For her efforts, Aiken was named the Wright Automotive Player of the Game.   Taylor Brennan added seven points for the Tigers.  Maddie Nellis and Jess Mancosh scored six points apiece.

North Allegheny’s season ends with a 17-6 mark.  Bethel Park improves to 15-8 and advances to face top-seed Oakland Catholic in the quarterfinals on Friday night.  For the WPIAL Girls bracket, click the Quad-A link. 

GAME SUMMARY
BETHEL PARK - 54     NORTH ALLEGHENY - 36

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WPIAL GIRLS' BASKETBALL - 2011-12

The Lady Tigers will compete again in the WPIAL in Class AAAA along with 27 other teams.  The top four teams in each section will enter the WPIAL Basketball Tournament scheduled to begin on February 17, 2012.  All playoff entries will be determined by section record only and will be determined by the best section won-loss record.  Teams that tie for first place will not have the tie broken and ALL tied teams will be declared section champions, will receive a section winner's plaque, and will be entered into the WPIAL tournament.  If four or more teams tie for first place, only those teams will qualify for post-season play.

In the event of a multiple tie (tow or more teams) for a playoff position, head-to-head competition will be the first determinant.  If head-to-head does not break the tie, the following tie-breaking system will be used.  If three or more teams are tied for third place and the tie-breaking system identifies one team as the third place team, the remaining teams will then be tied for fourth place and the process begins all over with head-to-head competition being the first determinant for establishing the fourth place team.  If a tie cannot be broken, all tied teams will enter the playoffs.

TIE-BREAKER SYSTEM

1.  Section won-loss records of the tied teams will be compiled.
2.  The team(s) with the best numerical head-to-head section record among the tied teams will enter post-season play.
3.  If the tie cannot be broken, all tied teams will enter post-season play.

WPIAL GIRLS' BASKETBALL ALIGNMENT
CLASS AAAA - 28 TEAMS

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Any questions or comments should be directed to Athletic Director
Bob Bozzuto at:  bbozzuto@northallegheny.org