The No. 6 Penn-Trafford girls basketball team, led by senior twins Olivia and Hanna Weishaar, who had 11 and 10 points respectively, won the first round of the 5A WPIAL playoffs with a dominating 47-22 win over No. 11 Franklin Regional.

     The game, which took place at P-T last Friday, started off slowly for both teams as players struggled to find the hoop; this was most likely due to the anticipation of playoffs. This slow start led the game to be just 12-6 for P-T after the first quarter.

     The second quarter continued with the same struggle as both teams continually missed. In an attempt to kickstart what is usually a killer offense, P-T head coach Chuck Fontana started to pull from his bench as he subbed in seniors Annabelle Aquino and Arabelle Nichols. 

     This change, while bringing some fresh legs onto the court, did not really change the feel of the game as the second quarter ended 18-9 for P-T.

     Clearly not happy with the way that the game was going so far, P-T came out of the locker room for the second half with a new, fresh energy. Starting out the second half with their original lineup: seniors Torrie DeStefano, the Weishaars, junior Izzie Fontana and sophomore Raya Johnson, P-T took quick, dominating control of the second half. 

     P-T just looked smoother, making a lot of the shots they missed in the first half and working well as a team. Franklin, on the other hand, continued to struggle, missing a lot of shots and starting to show visible frustration.

     Now in complete control, P-T continued to build on their lead, ending the third quarter in their favor, 33-18.

     Heading into the final quarter, all the momentum was fully behind P-T. They dominated the fourth quarter, allowing them to sub in Taylor Gladkowski, Ava Jenesky, Brooke Boss, Aquino and Nichols to end the game. The game ended with a final score of 47-22 for P-T.

     P-T will play section foe and No. 3 Indiana next Wednesday at Norwin High School at 7:00 p.m.

By Mia Williams, Editor in Chief