Girls' Basketball Game Summaries

North Allegheny entered the WPIAL 6A Girls Basketball playoffs as the No. 8 seed. They traveled to top-seeded Norwin on Friday night to take on the Knights in the WPIAL Quarterfinals. The Tigers got off to a good start but a huge defensive effort from Norwin in the second and third quarter ultimately led to NA falling by a score of 52-30.

Both teams were coming off of a long layoff and it showed in the first quarter as the Knights and Tigers committed numerous turnovers in the first four minutes of the quarter. Things calmed down the final four minutes of the frame. Norwin took an 11-10 lead late in the opening quarter but Leah Skweres banked in a three-pointer at the buzzer to give NA a 13-11 lead after one. In the second quarter, Norwin clamped down defensively, outscoring North Allegheny 17-4 in the period and took a 28-17 lead into halftime.

Coming out of the locker room, the Knights defense remained suffocating, outscoring NA 11-3 in the third quarter and expanding the lead to 39-20 going into the final frame. From there Norwin would coast and the Tigers fell 52-30.

Skweres finished with 10 points. For her efforts, Skweres was named the Wright Automotive Player of the Game. Vange Balouris added eight points.

North Allegheny finishes the season with a 9-14 record.

ICYMI: Highlights from @na_girlsbb WPIAL Quarterfinals game against Norwin! pic.twitter.com/mXLaf9Xjhh

— NATigers (@NATigerAthletic) February 24, 2025

Girls Basketball Summary at Norwin, 2-21-25

By: Jared Barton

North Allegheny girls basketball had one more regular season game ahead of the playoff matchup against Norwin that was announced Monday afternoon. The road test did not go the Tigers’ way, falling to Blackhawk Monday 64-48.

The Cougars had the offensive pedal to the floor in the first quarter, outscoring the Tigers 24-11 in the frame. North Allegheny found some life courtesy of the deep ball. Seniors Leah Skweres and Natalie Kinross both hit triples, while junior Maddie Williams cashed in on two three-pointers in the second quarter, but Blackhawk still led 43-26 at the half.

The Tigers found 13 more points in the third stanza, highlighted by three-pointers from Williams and junior Cate Pingpank. 

Williams paced NA with 14 points, while sophomore Rosalia Varlotta also scored 10 in the contest. Blackhawk was paced by junior Aubree Hupp who dropped 26 points in the win. Fellow junior Mia Sheesley was also in double figures with 12.

North Allegheny now has some time to prepare for the WPIAL Quarterfinals matchup at Norwin on Friday, February 21st. The tipoff time for that contest is still to be determined. Free and live audio coverage of the matchup will be provided by the North Allegheny Sports Network.

Girls Basketball Summary vs. Blackhawk 2/10/25

North Allegheny hosted the Cathedral Prep Ramblers on Saturday afternoon at UPMC Court in the Battle at North Allegheny showcase in a playoff tune-up. The Tigers led going into the fourth quarter but fell to the Ramblers, 46-42.

It was a defensive opening quarter as neither team got to double digits. NA got the better of play and led 8-6 after a quarter of play. The second quarter was just as tight with neither team getting bigger than a five-point lead and North Allegheny led 18-13 at halftime.

The Tigers got the lead to double figures in the third quarter with their biggest lead being 32-19 and was heading into the fourth quarter with a 32-21 lead. The Ramblers would make their run in the fourth quarter, scoring the first 14 points of the period and taking a 35-32 lead. NA got the deficit to one point multiple times, and had an opportunity to tie or take the lead late, but ultimately fell 46-42.

Vange Balouris led North Allegheny in scoring with 16 points. For her efforts, Balouris was named the Wright Automotive Player of the Game. Rosalia Varlotta added 13 points.

North Allegheny falls to 9-12 overall. Cathedral Prep improves to 13-6. The Tigers will finish regular season play on Monday when they travel to Blackhawk for their final playoff tune-up at 7:30 p.m. The WPIAL Girls Basketball brackets will be released at 2 p.m. on Monday as well.

Girls Basketball Summary vs. Cathedral Prep, 2-8-25

North Allegheny traveled to Butler High School on Thursday night to take on the Golden Tornado in a battle for third place in the section. The Tigers got off to a great start but ultimately fell in the matchup by a score of 50-41.

NA scored the first eight points of the game to jump out to the early lead. Butler scored the next six points and the game was even for the remainder of the quarter with North Allegheny leading 15-13. The Golden Tornado had a big second quarter outscoring the Tigers 18-8. NA got a little bit of momentum going into the locker room as trailing 31-20, Natalie Kinross hit a buzzer-beater three to trim the deficit to 31-23 at halftime.

Although North Allegheny gained some momentum going into the locker room, Butler had the big third quarter as well, outscoring NA 16-6 and leading 47-29 going into the final period. The Tigers didn’t quit as they played great defense in the fourth quarter and got the game into single digits multiple times, but could never catch the Tornado, ultimately falling 50-41.

Leah Skweres and Rosalia Varlotta each had 10 points for North Allegheny. Kinross added nine points.

North Allegheny falls to 9-11 overall and finishes section play with a 5-5 record. Butler improves to 11-9 overall and finishes section play at 6-4. The Tigers return to action on Saturday when they host Cathedral Prep at UPMC Court at noon in a playoff tune-up. This game will be broadcast on the North Allegheny Sports Network.

Girls Basketball Summary vs. Butler, 2-6-25

North Allegheny hosted the North Hills Indians on Tuesday night at UPMC Court in a Section 1-6A showdown. The Tigers have already clinched a playoff berth but the Indians needed a win to keep their playoff hopes alive. NA dashed any hopes of North Hills making the playoffs defeating the Indians 58-48. Tuesday night was also Senior Night for North Allegheny as Leah Skweres, Nat Kinross and Isabella Williamson were honored before the game.

The Tigers got off to a great start jumping out to an 8-0 lead. North Hills would respond scoring the next six points before NA went on another run and led 15-7 after a quarter of play. Things got much tighter in the second quarter as the Indians would outscore North Allegheny 9-4 but the Tigers still held a 19-16 lead at halftime.

The third quarter was where NA really separated themselves scoring 24 points in the frame and getting the lead up to 13 points, leading 43-30 after three quarters of play. North Hills played desperate in the fourth quarter but the Tigers did a great job keeping the Indians at arm’s length and came away with the 58-48 victory.

Skweres, Kinross and Williamson were named the Wright Automotive Players of the Game. Vange Balouris led North Allegheny with 15 points while Rosalia Varlotta added 13 points.

North Allegheny improves to 9-10 overall and 5-4 in section play. North Hills drops to 6-14 overall and 2-7 in the section. The Tigers return to action on Thursday when they travel to Butler for their section finale at 7:30 p.m.

Before looking ahead to tonight's final playoff tune-up. Let's take a look back at @na_girlsbb win over North Hills last Tuesday! pic.twitter.com/9TloMpMqTb

— NATigers (@NATigerAthletic) February 10, 2025

Girls Basketball Summary vs. North Hills, 2-4-25