Four WPIAL teams bring home gold from PIAA state basketball championships
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Four local high school basketball teams have been crowned the top of their class throughout the state of Pennsylvania.
The 2024 PIAA state championship tournaments wrapped up over the weekend in Hershey and four of the five WPIAL schools competing for state titles came home with gold medals.
Blackhawk was the lone girls team from the WPIAL to win gold this year while Imani Christian, Aliquippa, and Lincoln Park all won titles on the boys side. Franklin Regional came up short in their title quest.
Imani Christian goes back to back
The Saints are back-to-back champions in 1A.
Imani ran away from Berlin Brothersvalley, winning the title game 79-52, and taking home the school's second state title in as many years.
With the win, they became just the ninth WPIAL team to win back-to-back state championships.
Next year, Imani Christian will play in 6A, the state's largest classification, saying that they want to compete at the highest level.
Aliquippa gets over the hump
It took three straight trips to the PIAA State Championship, but Aliquippa has now gotten to the top of the mountain.
While better known for their success on the football field, Aliquippa has been a force to reckon with over the past few seasons, making it to the 2A title game three years in a row.
This year, Aliquippa got the job done and came home champions, beating Holy Cross by a score of 74-52.
Josh Pratt scored 36 points for the Quips in the title game win.
Lincoln Park goes back to back
Earlier in the week, Imani became the ninth WPIAL team to go back-to-back in the PIAA state basketball title game.
It didn't take long for Lincoln Park to change that number and become the 10th.
Brandin Cummings, a Pitt recruit, dropped 37 points in the 80-50 title game win over Archbishop Carroll.
Cummings had seven 3-pointers in the game and only missed four shots.
Blackhawk gets redemption
On the girls side, it was a story of redemption for Blackhawk.
Last year, Blackhawk came up one game short, losing to Lansdale Catholic in the 4A title game.
Blackhawk wouldn't be denied this year, however, as they beat Scranton Prep 56-44 to win the first state title since 2015.
Aubree Hupp scored 21 points and Alena Fusetti added 18 of her own.
