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Trek for Hershey to begin

Leah Homan is one of BG's go-to players on offense this year. Mirror file photo

Since the PIAA expanded to six classifications in high school basketball in 2017, the Mirror’s coverage area has had at least one team reach Hershey’s Giant Center for a state championship game every year.

The Bellwood-Antis girls enter this year’s tournament as District 6’s third seed in Class 2A but the Lady Blue Devils are also the two-time defending PIAA champions.

The Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic boys are also hoping to return to Hershey to avenge a two-point loss in last year’s 2A final.

It’s time to take a look and see if these two teams — or any of the 16 other area squads that qualified for this year’s state playoffs — has a shot at winning it all.

Class 1A girls

Just two teams from the Mirror’s coverage area are in this bracket, and they are on opposite sides. But both have an opportunity to make a good run.

A year ago, District 5’s Berlin Brothersvalley won the state title and defeated District 5 runner-up Shanksville-Stonycreek in the semifinals. Tussey Mountain will be hoping to match that run and perhaps surpass it as this year’s runner-up.

The Lady Titans have solid senior leadership from 1,000-point scorers Lexi Weimert and Sophie Brumbaugh and should be able to win their opening game against Elk County Catholic.

Next up will likely be WPIAL champion Rochester, which will be a much stronger test than Tussey would face in the next round. Rochester has played up and beaten a lot of good teams this year, including last year’s Class 2A runner-up West Middlesex.

District 6 champion Bishop Carroll probably doesn’t have as strong of an overall defense this season but has a more reliable scoring option in Madison Ostinowsky. That should be enough to lead the Lady Huskies past Lebanon Catholic in the first round.

BC’s run last year ended in the second round, and it will likely see Northumberland Christian there this season. The teams have one common opponent in Saint Joseph’s Academy. Bishop Carroll just defeated the Lady Wolves by 24 in the district final, and Northumberland Christian beat them by 14 in January.

A matchup with either District 1 or District 2’s runner-up would likely follow with a trip to the semifinals on the line. That’s where undefeated Jenkintown, which defeated Juniata Valley in the state final in 2018, would likely be waiting.

SUBHED: Class 2A girls

Bellwood-Antis won its first state championship as the third seed from District 6 in 2018, so there’s no reason it should be counted out in its quest for a three-peat.

But there’s also no reason to ignore the other two area teams in this bracket, Everett (a semifinalist last year) and Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic (the District 6 champion).

Bishop Guilfoyle is on the opposite side of the bracket and will be trying to follow the path Bellwood did a year ago. Windber’s size may give the Lady Marauders a challenge in the first round, but that will help prepare them for a huge test in the second round.

Mount Carmel came within a missed layup of knocking off Bellwood-Antis in the second round last year and returns Dani Rae Renno, an impressive junior forward who has already scored 1,000 career points. If BG survives that, Old Forge and Mahanoy Area may be waiting in the next two rounds.

How far Everett makes it will likely be determined by how teams handle 2,000-point scorer Kaitlyn Maxwell, who is close to breaking the all-time scoring record in Bedford County. Maxwell led the Lady Warriors to the semifinals last year with a slightly stronger supporting cast. Everett can certainly win its first two games before a possible rematch with Bishop Canevin, which Everett defeated a year ago.

Bellwood-Antis will play Laurel in the first round and has to travel to New Castle. Laurel nearly knocked off Juniata Valley last season in Altoona, but this is almost an entirely different team.

A second-round game against Redbank Valley or Cochranton would seem to be less challenging than the Laurel game combined with the long travel.

West Middlesex, the team B-A defeated in last year’s state final, would likely be looming in the quarterfinals along with UMass signee Makennah White. If Bellwood makes it through that, it’s on to the semifinals against Bishop Canevin, Everett or a couple other strong teams, including Bishop McCort, which could test Canevin in the first round.

SUBHED: 3A girls

A year ago, Central Cambria went all the way to the semifinals in this bracket from the District 6 third-seeded slot, and Penn Cambria will be trying to match that this season.

The Lady Panthers have an excellent shot to win a first-round game for the second straight year with a game against Brookville. From there, it will get a bit tougher, but it’s always a question of how teams will deal with Penn Cambria’s full-court defense.

District 6 champion Cambria Heights has the senior leadership to avoid a letdown against East Allegheny in the first round, but Trinity could provide a challenge in the second round as it has traditionally done well in the state playoffs and made it to the 3A semifinals last year.

The Tyrone girls should win their second state playoff game in school history against Avonworth, but District 10 champion Mercyhurst Prep is a tough draw for a second-round opponent.

SUBHED: 4A girls

Huntingdon actually has a richer history in the state playoffs than first-round opponent Southmoreland. The Scotties have never won a state playoff game, but they appear to be in position to get one here against the senior-driven Lady Bearcats.

SUBHED: 5A girls

Portage and Hollidaysburg both have tough first-round draws.

The Lady Mustangs must play Thomas Jefferson, which was a disputed basket away from ending Chartiers Valley’s 55-game winning streak. Still, Portage has pulled off state playoff heroics before and will be playing much closer to home in the gym it won the program’s first-ever district title.

Hollidaysburg’s draw seems to be a better matchup as Slippery Rock didn’t overwhelm Obama Academy in this game last season. If the Lady Tigers win, their prize is Chartiers Valley, which will be coming into the game on a 56-game winning streak.

SUBHED: 6A girls

Altoona will play its season-opening opponent in the first round of the state playoffs for the second year in a row.

It didn’t go well for the Lady Lions against Norwin last year, but redemption against Mount Lebanon after a 53-50 loss in December certainly isn’t out of the question. Altoona played its best game of the season in the district final, and if it can ride the momentum of that win past Mount Lebanon, a second-round victory also seems attainable against likely Nazareth.

From there, it would probably be another rematch against a very tough North Allegheny squad in the quarterfinals.

SUBHED: 1A boys

A year ago, Bishop Carroll lost to Monessen by a single point in the second round. The year before that, the Huskies made it all the way to the PIAA semifinals.

There’s no reason to believe Bishop Carroll can’t make another run this year with a talented point guard like Tristan McDannell and a dominate post player in Nolan Burk. The Huskies are also deep and long defensively.

The Huskies have had success against first-round opponent Clarion-Limestone and possible second-round opponent Shade in past state playoff appearances. Elk County Catholic could be waiting in the quarterfinal round, and those teams are certainly no strangers to each other as they’ve played classics won by both sides over the years.

Williamsburg should have a chance in its first-round game after showing it could hang with Bishop Carroll in the district final. That game will come down to how the Blue Pirates’ youth handles a stage it has never been on before.

SUBHED: Class 2A boys

Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic’s run to return to Hershey should be relatively smooth through the first two rounds as long as Jessiah Witherspoon stays on the court.

The Marauders may have caught a minor break in the District 10 championship game when Lakeview upset Farrell on a goaltend call in overtime. Lakeview is a very good team and will likely meet the Marauders in the quarterfinals, but not having to play both Farrell and Our Lady of Sacred Heart like BG did a year ago could be important.

If Bishop Guilfoyle returns to the semifinals, either Farrell or OLSH will likely be waiting. Both games against those teams were thrillers last year and would likely be again.

On the other side of the bracket, Math, Civics & Sciences and Constitution, the top two seeds from District 12, are the favorites to battle it out in the semifinals again.

SUBHED: Class 4A boys

Nick Gearhart’s late 3-pointer to lift Huntingdon to the District 6 title over Tyrone put the Bearcats into the state tournament, but once again they’ll be facing a bulldozer in the second round.

Senior leadership like Gearhart, Jackson Ritchey and Andrew Miller should lead Huntingdon to a win over Blackhawk in the first round, but District 10 champion Hickory is an extremely tough test in the second round. The Hornets won by 15 last year and may be even more talented this season.

Bedford also has a rematch, though this one is in the first round. The Bisons gave Grove City everything it could handle before fading in the fourth quarter last year, but Bedford has been inconsistent at times this season and will have to play one of its best games to advance only to have to play WPIAL champion Highlands in the next round.

SUBHED: Class 3A, 5A, 6A boys

No teams from the Mirror’s coverage area qualified for either the 3A, 5A or 6A PIAA bracket this year.

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