Norwin's girls basketball team is playing for more than their third straight WPIAL championship this season.
The Knights are showing sympathy and solidarity for 5-year-old Andrew O'Neil, who died Monday after a long battle with neuroblastoma.
On Sunday, when Norwin played Villa Maria at North Allegheny, players from both teams gathered in a circle to pray for O'Neil.
Norwin players wrote “AA” on their wrists, which stands for “Andrew's Avengers,” the name of the charity that helped pay for the family's medical expenses.
O'Neil, who recently got to meet his hero, Pitt running back James Conner, is the son of Hillcrest Intermediate principal Brian O'Neil.
“He's so young, and it made us realize that we can't take anything we have for granted,” Norwin senior guard Danielle McMaster said. “So we decided to put ‘AA' on our arms in honor of him to remind us to play for the people who can't, and to cherish every moment we have.”
Record weekend
Latrobe saw its girls and boys basketball single-game scoring records fall on consecutive nights over the weekend, with Laura Graytok scoring 40 points Friday and Austin Butler netting 48 Saturday.
Butler also broke the boys 3-point record for one game, making 10 of 17 attempts. Mike Yandrick had the old mark of nine makes.
Butler made 18 of 28 from the field in a 93-86 win over Canon-McMillan. The previous boys scoring record was 44 points by Steve Scheeren in 1969.
Butler, who also grabbed 10 rebounds in the win, is not losing sight of the significant weekend.
“It's cool for me and (Graytok) to do it back-to-back in the same year cause you don't see that from the same school at the same time,” Butler said. “But my teammates kept feeding me the ball, and I was feeling it so I thank them for giving me the ball when I was open.
“Laura's a great player and has a bright future.”
Butler also is nearing the Latrobe career scoring record held by Jeff Yunetz (1,526 points). He needs less than 300 points.
Derry's streak over
Derry's boys basketball team opened the season with a pain-relieving win in its tip-off tournament. The Trojans downed Frazier, 72-61, to break a 27-game losing streak that stretched back two seasons.
Derry went 0-22 last season after a slew of injuries blindsided the Trojans. Their last win before Friday was Jan. 22, 2015, against Southmoreland.
“I honestly didn't even think of the streak,” coach Damon Rause said. “Last year was such a weird mess. This whole offseason and preseason has had such a different feel. The kids are ready to compete, so we'll see how it turns out.”
Derry lost to Ligonier Valley in the championship game, 58-40.
Game change
The Penn Hills at Greensburg Central Catholic girls basketball game scheduled for Tuesday night was postponed and moved to a tournament in February at Penn Hills, GCC athletic director Dan Mahoney said.
Golf change
Girls golf teams from the WPIAL and around the state can win a PIAA team title next fall with one fewer player.
The PIAA board of directors voted to switch the format for the girls team championship from five- to four-player teams. In seasons past, state-qualifying schools started five golfers and counted the four best scores. Schools now will start four and count three.
The slimmed-down format takes effect next season, PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi said. The PIAA golf steering committee endorsed the change with the belief that a lower roster threshold would increase team participation.
The move affects only the state championship, Lombardi said. The WPIAL can maintain five-player teams for the regular season and the WPIAL postseason.
WPIAL representatives voted against the format switch, said WPIAL president Scott Seltzer, assistant superintendent at Chartiers Valley. Their concern was that the move would limit playing opportunities for the fifth girl on established teams.
Recruiting
Hempfield senior football player John Ryan will continue his playing career at St. Vincent. Ryan is a 6-foot-2, 215-pound defensive lineman.
Chris Harlan contributed. Bill Beckner Jr. is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at bbeckner@tribweb.com.
