Having rolled to the WPIAL Class AAA title, many believed New Castle would also make a strong bid for the PIAA crown.

Instead, a poor performance from the free-throw line brought the Red Hurricane's season to an abrupt end yesterday.

Saddie Gravatt scored 18 points to lead District 10 third-place finisher Franklin (22-5) to a 52-46 victory against New Castle (24-3) at North Allegheny.

The Red Hurricane held a two-point advantage at halftime, but missed free throws throughout -- New Castle made just 17 of 35 -- proved costly.

Sophomore LaShauna Brothers was the only New Castle player in double figures, scoring 14 points. The loss ended the Red Hurricane's 13-game winning streak.

• Indiana 57, Westinghouse 55: Kristin Brice's 3-pointer at the buzzer gave the Indians (22-4) the dramatic win against City League champion Westinghouse (21-5) at Peabody. Leslie Stapleton came off the bench and scored 14 of her 19 points in the fourth quarter for Indiana. Shalonda Winton had a game-high 28 points for the Bulldogs.

• West Mifflin 63, Lewistown 50: The Titans (20-7) bounced back from their loss in the WPIAL championship game by beating the Panthers (17-9) at Gateway. Jessica Pitts scored 20 points for West Mifflin, which led by 24 points after three quarters.

• Mercyhurst Prep 58, South Park 49: A PIAA finalist a season ago, the Lakers (20-6) got 28 points from Miami of Ohio-bound Kirsten Olowinski in the win against the Eagles (18-8) at North Allegheny. Nicole Doria scored 16 points for South Park.

• Mount Pleasant 67, St. Marys 57: Nicole Malara's 17 points and 15 rebounds helped the Vikings (19-6) earn their first PIAA playoff win in school history against St. Marys (20-3) at Clarion. Shelby Way added 16 points for the Vikings, who raced to a 13-point lead after the first quarter. St. Marys sophomore standout Kayla Hoohuli scored 34 points.

• Ferndale 51, Mount Alvernia 47: Leading 47-46, WPIAL runner-up and defending PIAA finalist Mount Alvernia (17-10) saw Ferndale (20-7) make 5 of 6 free throws in the final 5.2 seconds at Chartiers Valley High School. After Brittany Eisenhuth put Ferndale ahead, 48-47, the Lions received a technical foul after calling for a timeout when they had none left. Eisenhuth made 1 of 2 free throws, and the Yellow Jackets added two more in the final second. Kat Owunna led Mount Alvernia with 14 points.

• North Catholic 61, Austin 20: A stifling defense lifted the WPIAL-champion Trojanettes (22-5) to their 14th consecutive win, a blowout against Austin (22-5) at Gateway High School. North Catholic limited Austin to 8 of 36 shooting and forced 30 turnovers. Lauren Savulchak's 19 points and nine rebounds paced the Trojanettes.

• Vincentian 49, Berlin Brothersvalley 46: With the score tied after three quarters, the Royals (17-9) used a fourth-quarter surge to sneak past the Mountaineers (18-9) at Pitt-Johnstown. Gabby Baldasare scored a game-high 20 points for Vincentian.

• Tussey Mountain 53, Quigley 45: The Spartans (20-4) let a seven-point, first-quarter lead go to waste in the loss to District 5 champion Tussey Mountain (22-5) at Pitt-Johnstown. Quigley was led by Kayla Taormina's 14 points.

• Elk County Catholic 47, Rochester 36: District 9 champion Elk County Catholic (27-1) updended Rochester (17-8) at Clarion. Sam Robson and Hayden Kimbrough each scored 11 points for the Rams.