It’s been 29 years since the Williamsburg girls’ last trip to the big game, with players saying it is a dream come true.

Senior LeeAnna Royer said she and her sister, Bella, are following in their mother’s footsteps as mom Carrie Royer was a member of the 1997 team, the last time the Lady Pirates made the trek to Hershey.

The Royer siblings and their teammates were excited by the going-away celebration and anxious to get on the road.

“It’s been a dream my whole life,” LeeAnna said. “Ever since I was little, mom was telling me about how they made it this far.”

Player LeeAnna Royer waves as she and other players board the bus on Thursday. Mirror photo by Colette Costlow

Carrie Royer said watching her daughters make the state playoffs was incredible and hard to describe.

“Feeling that as a player and now again as a parent, it’s surreal, deja vu, mixed memories,” she said while sporting her Hershey Kiss hat and sweatshirt purchased during her team’s trip in 1997.

Watching her daughters play for the state championship is better than winning the championship herself all those years ago, she said.

The Royers are only one of the families that have both 1997 and 2026 state championship players, Lady Pirate basketball coach Angela Detwiler said, adding that the assistant coach and her daughter are also carrying on the tradition.

Detwiler, who wore handmade Lady Pirate denim jeans on Thursday morning, said that pattern is “very legendary.”

Elementary students fill the bleachers and hold up their handmade signs to wish the Williamsburg Community varsity girls basketball team good luck on Thursday. Mirror photo by Colette Costlow

“I think it’s bringing back a lot of memories for the moms in the community,” she said.

“A lot of our fathers, their grandfathers, went to the state championship, these great teams that came through,” Royer said. “They taught us how to play basketball, and we kept on that tradition and brought it to our girls.”

Since 1997, girls have put in the work and dedication to make another state championship. While they’ve come close to it in the past, Detwiler said it’s “really nice to get a chance to be back there.”

During the morning celebrations, which included a pep rally inside the gymnasium and a fan-filled escort to the bus, it’s easy to see how special the accomplishment is for the community, she said.

Tracy Colbert was in the crowd, wishing good luck to her twin daughters, Grace and Anna. Colbert said, based on the turnout, that people took off work to wish the Lady Pirates the best.

Basketball player LeeAnna Royer hugs her mother, Carrie Royer, who played in the 1997 PIAA State Championship game. Mirror photo by Colette Costlow

“We’re a basketball town,” she said.

Basketball is Williamsburg’s tradition, Royer said, stating that the district can compete in the sport because of its small numbers. And even though they don’t have enough players to form a football team, basketball has remained a community staple.

“You want to be present because this is history in the making for our little town,” Colbert said.

Mirror Staff Writer Colette Costlow is at 814-946-7414.