Three Tigers named Big 56 All-Section; Balouris tabbed first team
Three North Allegheny girls basketball players were named to the Big 56 6A Section 1 All-Section team in a release put out by the Big 56 Conference on Wednesday morning. Vange Balouris was tabbed first team while Rosalia Varlotta and Rae Shanahan were voted to the second team.
Balouris was consistently the team’s top offensive option all season long. Balouris drew a lot of attention from defenses playing against box-and-ones and face guards the majority of the year. Balouris had a career-high 33 points in a 65-47 win over West Allegheny on December 29, 2025 at the NA/Wright Automotive Holiday Tournament.
Varlotta was the Tigers’ top rebounder and second leading scorer before an injury cut her season short. Varlotta had numerous double-doubles throughout the season with one of her top games being a 22-point outing in a win against Butler on January 12. That game was crucial to North Allegheny getting into the playoffs.
After Varlotta got injured, Shanahan did a great job stepping up and becoming the No. 2 scorer for NA. The 6’1″ senior performed well down the stretch and had one of her best games in a playoff-clinching win over North Hills, where she led the team scoring 14 points.
For a complete list of the 6A Girls Basketball All-Section teams, click here.
The Tigers will be back in action on Friday when they travel to Upper St. Clair to take on the Panthers in the WPIAL Quarterfinals at 7 p.m. This game will be broadcast live on the North Allegheny Sports Network.
