CORAOPOLIS — Two first-round byes and a first-round meeting between good friends.

Those were the highlights of the annual WPIAL basketball playoff meeting Tuesday night at the Embassy Suites in Coraopolis.

On the girls side, Butler and Mars received byes in their respective divisions. The Golden Tornado (19-2, 12-0), the highest scoring team in all of girls Quad-A, play the winner of the Gateway-Penn-Trafford game either Tuesday or Wednesday of next week.

Gateway plays Penn-Trafford at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Baldwin High School.

"We've scouted both teams, but it's certainly an advantage being able to scout their first playoff game in person,"Butler coach Dorothea Epps said. "Film lies sometimes.

"Quickness doesn't always show up and maybe you don't see everything a team can do. We're going to get a close look."

One of 14 teams in the tournament to go perfect in section play, Butler received the No. 2 seed in Quad-A, behind unbeaten Mount Lebanon.

"That's what we expected,"Epps said. "I feel like we earned that spot. But now everyone's even. It's one and done. We have to be ready to play"

Only the top five Quad-A teams, boys and girls, move on to the PIAATournament.

The top eight teams advance in Class AA, the top six in Class AAAand the top five in Class A.

The Mars girls squad (17-5, 10-2) finished one game behind Hampton in Section 1-AAA and is one of six triple-A girls teams to draw a bye.

"I'm still fairly new at this,"second-year Mars coach Tony Howard said. "I figured we'd fall somewhere between eighth and 11th."

The Planets play the winner of the Ambridge-Uniontown game, which is slated for 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Chartiers Valley.

"We need to be patient, work the ball and get our shots, inside and outside,"Howard said. "Teams are going to try to take away Lily (Grenci) and we have to be smart about what we're doing no matter who we play."

Seneca Valley's boys (14-7, 9-3), coming off the program's first section title, hit the court at 8 p.m. Friday against Fox Chapel (14-8), the fourth-place team, out of Section 2-AAAA.

Raiders coach Vic Giannotta and Fox Chapel mentor Ben O'Connor are good friends.

"We've been friends for years,"Giannotta said. "Ben's a great coach and they'll be ready. We're going to give it a shot.

"Our goal all year has been about doing better in postseason. Now it's here."

Fox Chapel has two big post players — 6-foot-6 senior David Martin and 6-2 senior Harrison Smith — who combine to average 32 points per game.

"It's tough having to go up against a good friend in the first round,"O'Connor said. "We'll play hard for 32 minutes and probably laugh about it afterward."

Mars boys (15-7, 7-5), fourth in Section 1-AAA, take on another fourth-place team, Elizabeth Forward (8-13, 6-6), out of Section 5-AAA. They meet at 3 p.m. Saturday at Valley High School.

In front of that game Saturday at Valley is the Knoch girls (14-8, 7-5), third in Section 1-AAA, against Laurel Highlands (14-8, 6-6), third in Section 3-AAA.

Neither Mars coach Rob Carmody nor Knoch coach Curt Vasas did any advance scouting of their opponents.

"We didn't try to figure it out,"Carmody said. "You never know who you're going to get matched up with. We'll view the tapes tonight and get to work tomorrow."

Freeport's girls (9-12, 7-7), fourth in Section 1-AA and the only team in the Class AAgirls field with a losing record, plays Greensburg Central Catholic (16-4, 12-2), co-champion of Section 4-AA, at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Hampton.

Notes: Of the 266 WPIALschools, 150 are represented in the tournament. ... Only two teams — Mount Lebanon's girls and Chartiers Valley's boys, are undefeated. ... There are 108 teams returning to the tournament from last year, 42 newcomers and 20 teams with sub-.500 records.

WPIAL Tournament First Round

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Class AAAA BoysSeneca Valley vs. Fox Chapel, Friday, 8 p.m., at North Hills

Class AAA BoysMars vs. Elizabeth Forward, Saturday, 3 p.m., at Valley

Class AAAA GirlsButler, first-round bye, vs. Gateway-Penn Trafford winner, Feb. 17 or 18, site and time TBA

Class AAA GirlsMars, first-round bye, vs. Ambridge-Uniontown winner, Feb. 17 or 18, site and time TBALaurel Highlands vs. Knoch, Saturday, 1:30 p.m., at Valley

Class AA GirlsGreensburg Central Catholic vs. Freeport, Friday, 6:30 p.m., at HamptonCounty site (Knoch High School)

Class AA BoysFord City vs. Avonworth, Friday, 8 p.m.

Class AA GirlsAvonworth vs. Mohawk, Friday, 6:30 p.m.