Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) established its brackets for the WPIAL/UPMC Sports Medicine Girls’ Basketball Championships presented by Piada Italian Street Food on Monday, with 83 teams qualifying across the six classifications. The brackets were announced exclusively on the WPIAL/KDKA Radio Selection Monday show presented by Dave & Buster’s beginning at 2:00 p.m. on Monday afternoon.
 
Teams competed in two sections in Class 1A and Class 6A, three different sections in Class 3A and Class 4A, and four different sections in Class 2A and Class 5A. Teams qualified for the postseason by finishing in the top four of sections with seven teams or fewer, or in the top five in eight-team sections, including ties that can’t be broken.
 
In last season’s WPIAL Girls’ Basketball Championships, three schools repeated at their classifications with South Fayette completing a three-peat in Class 5A against Armstrong (70-63), North Catholic topping Blackhawk in Class 4A (40-37, OT), and Union defending its Class 1A title versus Saint Joseph (50-43, OT). In Class 6A, Norwin was victorious over North Allegheny (56-41), Shady Side Academy bested Avonworth in Class 3A (52-45), and Greensburg Central Catholic earned the Class 2A title over Serra Catholic (62-41).
 
The WPIAL/UPMC Sports Medicine Girls’ Basketball Championships presented by Piada Italian Street Food begin on Thursday, Feb. 13 with preliminary round games in Class 2A and Class 4A. Championship games will be held at the Petersen Events Center on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh on Feb. 27-March 1. The WPIAL champion and additional teams in each classification will qualify for the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) Girls’ Basketball Championships, which begin with first round games on March 7-8 and conclude on March 27-29 with the championship games at the GIANT Center in Hershey.
 
CLASS 6A CHAMPIONSHIP CAPSULE
Start Date: Friday, Feb. 21
Championship Info: Saturday, March 1 at Petersen Events Center (University of Pittsburgh) – 5:00 PM
Number of Qualifiers: 8
Top Four Seeds: #1 Norwin (13-7, 9-1), #2 Upper St. Clair (15-6, 8-2), #3 Seneca Valley (15-6, 10-0), #4 Canon-McMillan (12-8, 6-4)
Qualifying Teams: Butler, Canon-McMillan, Mt. Lebanon, North Allegheny, Norwin, Pine-Richland, Seneca Valley, Upper St. Clair
2024 Final: Norwin 56, North Allegheny 41
 
CLASS 5A CHAMPIONSHIP CAPSULE
Start Date: Friday, Feb. 14
Championship Info: Friday, Feb. 28 at Petersen Events Center (University of Pittsburgh) – 7:00 PM
Number of Qualifiers: 16
Top Four Seeds: #1 South Fayette (21-1, 12-0), #2 Peters Township (19-2, 12-0), #3 Penn-Trafford (22-0, 12-0), #4 Shaler (20-2, 11-1)
Qualifying Teams: Baldwin, Bethel Park, Chartiers Valley, Fox Chapel, Franklin Regional, Greater Latrobe, Greensburg Salem, Indiana, Mars, Moon, Penn-Trafford, Peters Township, Plum, Shaler, South Fayette, Thomas Jefferson
2024 Final: South Fayette 70, Armstrong 63

CLASS 4A CHAMPIONSHIP CAPSULE
Start Date: Monday, Feb. 17
- One preliminary round game to take place on Thursday, Feb. 13
Championship Info: Saturday, March 1 at Petersen Events Center (University of Pittsburgh) – 3:00 PM
Number of Qualifiers: 17
Top Four Seeds: #1 Blackhawk (19-2, 12-0), #2 Oakland Catholic (18-3, 13-1), #3 North Catholic (19-3, 13-1), #4 Elizabeth Forward (17-4, 13-1)
Qualifying Teams: Beaver, Belle Vernon, Blackhawk, Burrell, Central Valley, Elizabeth Forward, Freeport, Hampton, Highlands, Hopewell, Knoch, Laurel Highlands, Mt. Pleasant, North Catholic, Oakland Catholic, South Park, Yough
2024 Final: North Catholic 40, Blackhawk 37 (OT)
 
CLASS 3A CHAMPIONSHIP CAPSULE
Start Date: Friday, Feb. 14
Championship Info: Thursday, Feb. 27 at Petersen Events Center (University of Pittsburgh) – 7:00 PM
Number of Qualifiers: 15
Top Four Seeds: #1 Shady Side Academy (21-0, 14-0), #2 Greensburg Central Catholic (17-4, 12-2), #3 Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (19-2, 14-0), #4 Keystone Oaks (18-1, 11-1)
Qualifying Teams: Avonworth, Beaver Falls, Brownsville, Deer Lakes, Ellwood City, Greensburg Central Catholic, Keystone Oaks, Ligonier Valley, McGuffey, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Quaker Valley, Riverside, Seton LaSalle, Shady Side Academy, South Allegheny
2024 Final: Shady Side Academy 52, Avonworth 45
 
CLASS 2A CHAMPIONSHIP CAPSULE
Start Date: Tuesday, Feb. 18
- One preliminary round game to take place on Thursday, Feb. 13
Championship Info: Friday, Feb. 28 at Petersen Events Center (University of Pittsburgh) – 5:00 PM
Number of Qualifiers: 17
Top Four Seeds: #1 Neshannock (20-2, 9-1), #2 Aliquippa (15-4, 9-1), #3 Winchester Thurston (18-3, 10-0), #4 South Side (16-5, 9-1)
Qualifying Teams: Aliquippa, Apollo-Ridge, Bentworth, Bethlehem-Center, Brentwood, Burgettstown, California, Carmichaels, Chartiers-Houston, The Ellis School, Fort Cherry, Laurel, Neshannock, Riverview, Rochester, South Side, Winchester Thurston
2024 Final: Greensburg Central Catholic 62, Serra Catholic 41
 
CLASS 1A CHAMPIONSHIP CAPSULE
Start Date: Wednesday, Feb. 19
Championship Info: Friday, Feb. 28 at Petersen Events Center (University of Pittsburgh) – 3:00 PM
Number of Qualifiers: 10
Top Four Seeds: #1 Union (22-0, 14-0), #2 Geibel Catholic (21-1, 13-1), #3 Clairton (16-4, 12-2), #4 Serra Catholic (12-9, 10-4)
Qualifying Teams: Aquinas Academy, Bishop Canevin, Clairton, Eden Christian Academy, Geibel Catholic, Saint Joseph, Serra Catholic, Sewickley Academy, Springdale, West Greene
2024 Final: Union 50, Saint Joseph 43 (OT)

BY THE NUMBERS

• 64: The number of schools who have boasted at least one WPIAL girls’ basketball champion.
• 63: The number of teams in the 2025 fields that qualified for the WPIAL Girls’ Basketball Championships last season.
• 54: The number of seasons the WPIAL has crowned a girls’ basketball champion. Montour was the first in 1971.
• 23: The number of WPIAL girls’ basketball championships won by North Catholic, which is the league record by 12. The Trojanettes were victorious in 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, and 2024.
• 7: The longest streak of consecutive WPIAL girls’ basketball championships, accomplished by Penn Hills. The Indians won their first seven titles consecutively, doing so from 1986 to 1992, with their most recent championship coming in 1995.
• 3: The number of teams that repeated as WPIAL girls’ basketball champions in 2024. South Fayette completed a three-peat at Class 5A, North Catholic won Class 4A for the second straight year and its third title in a row, and Union followed its first Class 1A with a second.
• 1: The number of WPIAL girls’ basketball first-time champions crowned last season. Shady Side Academy became the 64th different school to capture gold in the sport, defeating Avonworth in the Class 3A championship game, 52-45.

CLASS 6A SECTION CHAMPIONS
Section I: Seneca Valley (15-6, 10-0)
Section II: Norwin (13-7, 9-1)
 
CLASS 5A SECTION CHAMPIONS
Section I: Franklin Regional (15-6, 11-1); Shaler (20-2, 11-1)
Section II: Penn-Trafford (22-0, 12-0)
Section III: South Fayette (21-1, 12-0)
Section IV: Peters Township (19-2, 12-0)

CLASS 4A SECTION CHAMPIONS
Section I: North Catholic (19-3, 13-1); Oakland Catholic (18-3, 13-1)
Section II: Blackhawk (19-2, 12-0)
Section III: Elizabeth Forward (17-4, 13-1)
 
CLASS 3A SECTION CHAMPIONS
Section I: Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (19-2, 14-0)
Section II: Shady Side Academy (21-0, 14-0)
Section III: Keystone Oaks (18-1, 11-1); Seton LaSalle (15-5, 11-1)
 
CLASS 2A SECTION CHAMPIONS
Section I: Aliquippa (15-4, 9-1); Neshannock (20-2, 9-1)
Section II: Fort Cherry (17-3, 9-1); South Side (16-5, 9-1)
Section III: Chartiers-Houston (18-4, 10-0)
Section IV: Winchester Thurston (18-3, 10-0)
 
CLASS 1A SECTION CHAMPIONS
Section I: Union (22-0, 14-0)
Section II: Geibel Catholic (21-1, 13-1)
 
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