A girls' high school basketball game between Penn Hills and Gateway ended in chaos on February 5. In fact, the matchup was called off in the fourth quarter and has even sparked a WPIAL investigation.

The crowd at Furrie Sports Complex sat for a Section 2-5A girls' basketball game. However, they never thought a simple foul would escalate into a full-scale altercation.

The brawl sparked an investigation from the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL). The executive director, Vince Sortin, did not pass any direct comment, but has asked both schools to submit their side of the reports.

“The schools have until Monday to send me their reports of the incident,” Sortino said. “Typical PIAA rules apply to the ejections that were administered at the game.”

The foul in question came early in the 4th quarter when Gateway lost possession to Penn Hill. A Gateway player immediately fouled the Penn Hill player who received the ball, and the situation escalated.

The officials eventually managed to calm things down. The Penn Hills were leading 32-14 when the match was called off.

After the Match, the Coaches Spoke on the Incident

Penn Hill’s head coach, Robert Cash, could spot the game’s higher physicality right after the tip-off. It increased as the game progressed. Cash made his disappointment clear after the game as he welcomed any action from the WPIAL.

“As a program, we are not happy with what happened,” Cash said. “That is not what we do, and it’s not who we are. That is not how we play the game. We are very disappointed in what happened. We just have to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” he added.

Gateway’s HC Sam Saligh also echoed the same concerns. She tried her best to keep her players on the bench and stop them from joining the brawl. But it did not work.

“I kept the rest of the girls on the bench as long as I could. It became one of those situations, and once we left the bench, unfortunately, in the back of my mind, I figured some kids might face suspension,” she said.

It’s unclear what the WPIAL's verdict will be once they're done investigating. We'll have to wait and see.

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Written by

Deblina Roy

Edited by

Sagnik Bagchi