Hollidaysburg girls will be challenged in Class 5A

PLAYOFF PARADE: DISTRICT 6 CLASS 5A GIRLS PREVIEW

THE SCOOP: Hollidaysburg is seeking its sixth straight district championship and will have to win just one game to do so after Bellefonte and Central Mountain declined to enter the postseason after difficult years.

DEFENDING CHAMPION: Hollidaysburg

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Hollidaysburg sr. Clare Padamonsky; Hollidaysburg sr. Makenna Weimert; Hollidaysburg sr. Alana Lightner; Shikellamy sr. Lily Fatool; Shikellamy jr. Kelsey Deitrich; Johnstown sr. Zayona Thomas; Johnstown sr. NaLonai Tisinger

MOST INTRIGUING POSSIBLE MATCHUP: Shikellamy vs. Hollidaysburg

SLEEPER: Shikellamy

MIRROR'S TEAM TO BEAT: Hollidaysburg

NUMBER OF TEAMS ADVANCING: One

WHO THEY'LL PLAY IN INTERDISTRICTS: 6-1 vs. 7-7

ANALYSIS: Hollidaysburg sputtered down the final stretch of the season, but Lady Tigers coach Deanna Jubeck said the team battled both lingering injuries and sickness. When this team is at 100 percent, it has the talent to play with anyone and is by far the best team in this bracket.

In a rematch of last year's championship game, Hollidaysburg crushed Johnstown, 52-34, in Johnstown's gymnasium in January. Makenna Weimert, who recently went over 1,000 points for her career, had 23 points.

It's no guarantee that the Lady Trojans will get a rematch against Hollidaysburg, however. Shikellamy won a lot of games this season, albeit against a schedule of far less difficulty than a Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference slate, but senior captain Lily Fatool is the real deal. She averages 20 points per game despite being the concentration of every team's game plan, and her shooting nearly helped Shikellamy shock Hollidaysburg in the title game when she was a freshman. It will be interesting to see if Johnstown's physical style is enough to overcome a Shikellamy team that probably hasn't seen much of that type of play this season.

Regardless of whether it's Johnstown or Shikellamy facing Hollidaysburg in the final, the Lady Tigers will be favored as no one in this bracket can make the skills inside of Alana Lightner and Clare Padamonsky, and there isn't a better overall player on any team in this bracket than Weimert.