WPIAL girls basketball championships 2025 brackets released: Seneca Valley gets 3 seed, Butler is No. 5
Tears welled in Erica Rebovich and Ella Omasits’ eyes the night of Feb. 4 as they had to watch their Seneca Valley girls basketball teammates practice. Those two and Taylor Dixon were feeling under the weather, keeping them from taking part.
“She wanted to practice, and she was really upset,” Raiders coach Dorothea Epps said of Rebovich. “And I looked over, and she’s crying because she can’t play, she can’t practice. That’s what you want. Not that we want them to cry, but you want them to want it. You want them to want to be out there with their teammates.
“That is one of the things that I think has really driven this team to be that team of determination.”
The dedicated mindset propelled Seneca Valley to a WPIAL Section 1-6A title. The Raiders went a perfect 10-0 in that grouping and 15-6 overall. Before their penultimate contest, a 50-45 win over Pine Richland last Thursday, Epps erred on the side of caution, wanting the girls to recover and be fully ready for the bracket ahead.
Seneca Valley earned the No. 3 seed in the WPIAL Class 6A tournament and will host No. 6 Mt. Lebanon in the first round Friday.
Rebovich said she could hardly go up and down stairs without coughing. She also dealt with a fever. Omasits’ “head was really hurting ... I was a little achy.”
The coach has taken notice of that sort of toughness from many of her players. They play physical, a style more out of necessity because it’s “just a shorter team,” Omasits said. “We don’t have a lot of tall girls, so you need to be tough. ... I think that’s what helps win games.”
“The girls want to be out there, and that’s a huge difference,“ Epps said.
“They want to go to war with their teammates, and you can build and build with that, that kind of mental toughness and also, you know, they put it out there on the floor with their physicality.“
Junior Brooke Dufford had around 15 rebounds during Seneca Valley’s hard-fought road win over Butler on Jan. 31.
“We are a little bit on the smaller side,” Dufford said. “We’re very short. I think, to make up for that, we really have to be tough, box people out and just go ahead and get the boards.”
Epps listed senior reserves Lilly Sperry and Lilli Hudac as team leaders alongside classmate Gracie Cato and junior Natalie Hambly. The rest follow in line, including Rebovich and Omasits, who stressed they give their all when on the court.
“The girls buy into it because they feel like are a part of something special,” Epps said.
2025 WPIAL Girls Basketball Tournament
Class 6A
Quarterfinals
No. 8 North Allegheny at No. 1 Norwin, TBD Feb. 21
No. 5 Butler at No. 4 Canon-McMillan, 6 p.m. Feb. 20
No. 7 Pine-Richland at No. 2 Upper St. Clair, TBD Feb. 21
No. 6 Mt. Lebanon at No. 3 Seneca Valley, TBD Feb. 21
Semifinals, Tuesday, Feb. 25
TBD
Final
Saturday, March 1 at Petersen Events Center
TBD, 5 p.m.
——
Class 5A
First Round, Friday, Feb. 14
No. 16 Greensburg Salem at No. 1 South Fayette, 7 p.m.
No. 9 Baldwin at No. 8 Chartiers Valley, 8 p.m.
No. 13 Mars at No. 4 Shaler, 7 p.m.
No. 12 Bethel Park at No. 5 Franklin Regional, 7 p.m.
No. 15 Fox Chapel at No. 2 Peters Township, 7 p.m.
No. 10 Moon at No. 7 Indiana, 7 p.m.
No. 14 Plum at No. 3 Penn-Trafford, 7 p.m.
No. 11 Greater Latrobe at No. 6 Thomas Jefferson, 7 p.m.
Quarterfinals, Wednesday, Feb. 19
TBD
Semifinals, Saturday, Feb. 22
TBD
Final
Friday, Feb. 28 at Petersen Events Center
TBD, 7 p.m.
——
Class 4A
Play-in Round, Thursday, Feb. 13
No. 17 Highlands at No. 16 Yough, 7 p.m.
First Round, Monday, Feb. 17
Highlands/Yough at No. 1 Blackhawk, 7 p.m.
No. 9 Knoch at No. 8 Laurel Highlands, 7 p.m.
No. 13 Hopewell at No. 4 Elizabeth Forward, 7 p.m.
No. 12 Freeport at No. 5 Beaver, 7 p.m.
No. 15 Hampton at No. 2 Oakland Catholic, 7 p.m.
No. 10 Belle Vernon at No. 7 Central Valley, 7 p.m.
No. 14 Mt. Pleasant at No. 3 North Catholic, 7 p.m.
No. 11 Burrell at No. 6 South Park, 7 p.m.
Quarterfinals, Thursday, Feb. 20
TBD
Semifinals, Monday, Feb. 24
TBD
Final
Saturday, March 1 at Petersen Events Center
TBD, 3 p.m.
——
Class 3A
First Round, Friday, Feb. 14
No. 9 Deer Lakes at No. 8 Riverside, 7 p.m.
No. 13 Ligonier Valley at No. 4 Keystone Oaks, 6 p.m.
No. 12 Ellwood City at No. 5 Seton LaSalle, 6 p.m.
No. 15 Brownsville at No. 2 Greensburg Central Catholic, 7 p.m.
No. 10 McGuffey at No. 7 Quaker Valley, 7 p.m.
No. 14 South Allegheny at No. 3 OLSH, 7 p.m.
No. 11 Beaver Falls at No. 6 Avonworth, 7 p.m.
Quarterfinals, Wednesday, Feb. 19
Deer Lakes/Riverside at No. 1 Shady Side Academy
Semifinal, Saturday, Feb. 22
TBD
Final
Thursday, Feb. 27 at Petersen Events Center
TBD, 7 p.m.
——
Class 2A
Play-in Round, Thursday, Feb. 13
No. 17 Bentworth at No. 16 Apollo-Ridge, 7 p.m.
First Round, Tuesday, Feb. 18
Bentworth/Apollo Ridge at No. 1 Neshannock, 7 p.m.
No. 9 Bethlehem Center at No. 8 Laurel, 7 p.m.
No. 13 The Ellis School at No. 4 South Side, 7 p.m.
No. 12 California at No. 5 Fort Cherry, 7 p.m.
No. 15 Carmichaels at No. 2 Alliquippa, 6 p.m.
No. 10 Rochester at No. 7 Riverview, 7 p.m.
No. 14 Burgettstown at No. 3 Winchester Thurston, 6 p.m.
No. 11 Brentwood at No. 6 Chartiers-Houston, 7 p.m.
Quarterfinals, Friday, Feb. 21
TBD
Semifinal, Tuesday, Feb. 25
TBD
Final
Saturday, March 1 at Petersen Events Center
TBD, 11 a.m.
——
Class 1A
Play-in Round, Monday, Feb. 17
No. 9 Bishop Canevin at No. 8 Springdale, 7 p.m.
No. 10 Eden Christian Academy at No. 7 West Greene, 7 p.m.
No. 11 Sewickley Academy at No. 6 St. Joseph’s Prep, 7 p.m.
Quarterfinals, Thursday, Feb. 20
Bishop Canevin/Springdale No. 1 Union, TBD
No. 5 Aquinas Academy at No. 4 Serra Catholic, TBD
Eden Christian Academy/West Greene at No. 2 Geibel Catholic, TBD
Sewickley Academy/St. Joseph’s Prep at No. 3 Clairton, TBD
Semifinal, Monday, Feb. 24
TBD
Final
Friday, Feb. 28 at Petersen Events Center
TBD, 3 p.m.
