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Moschella watches in different role
HERSHEY -- Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic's girls basketball team played beyond their years this season, but for as focused as the Lady Marauders were throughout the year, there was at least one "fan" feeling the pressure Friday at Hershey's Giant Center.
"I can really feel it right now, the nerves," said retired Bishop Guilfoyle coach Mark Moschella about a half hour before the game started from his seat in the stands. "You just want them to play their best. If their best isn't good enough, then so be it, but you certainly don't want to see them come out and play flat at this point in time. That's where the nerves come in."
Moschella, who has more victories than any basketball coach in Blair County history, has been attending BG's games throughout the season supporting his granddaughter, Maurie Querry.
Despite coaching in nine state finals and winning four, when Moschella reflects on it, he thinks of his family.
"The memories that hit me are having my daughter (Nikki) on the floor for three consecutive years (1993-1995)," Moschella said. "Her having that opportunity to be there was special for me as a coach and also as a parent. Now, to sit here and watch my granddaughter play, it doesn't get more special than this."
Querry, who scored seven points in BG's 35-17 win on Friday, is only a freshman and is hoping the Lady Marauders have three more trips to Hershey ahead of them with her on the floor, but Moschella said it's important to appreciate every trip.
"It's just amazing, because every time you walk out of this, at the end of the day you wonder if you will ever be back," Moschella said. "It's such a long road. You have to be good, and you have to have some luck along the way. There is probably no team that got down here that didn't win a game in the last minute of the game or on a buzzer beater. There are also a lot of teams that were favored and never had the opportunity to get here."
Family connections
Querry isn't the only BG player that has family ties to former BG championship teams.
Stacey Lepore was a junior on the 1993 Lady Marauder team that won a state title, and her daughter, Gia Adams, is a sophomore starting guard for BG.
"She brought it up a few times and what her experience was like," Adams said. "She gave me advice to go for it and enjoy the moment. She told me to soak it up, because it's just one day. She wanted me to take it all in and really enjoy the experience."
Hannah Homan, a reserve freshman for BG, saw her sister, Leah, win a state title with the Lady Marauders in 2021, and Lisa (Lightner) Georgiana, who was on the 1984 championship team, has a niece, sophomore Alana Lightner, who is a starting forward.
Tying history
Bishop Guilfoyle tied the mark for the most girls basketball championships in the history of the PIAA tournament with their eighth state title.
North Catholic and Archbishop Wood also have eight titles, and Archbishop Wood has a chance to get to nine on Saturday in the Class 5A title game against Cathedral Prep.
Allentown Central Catholic has won seven, and Neumann Goretti, Downingtown and Nativity BVM have won five.
Tickets purchased
Bishop Guilfoyle sophomore Stella Yeskey expressed plenty of excitement over winning the District 6 championship, in part because the title and partly because she had made a bet with her parents to get tickets to see Drake perform if the Lady Marauders won.
"We are, in fact, going to see Drake," said Yeskey after winning the state title. "We didn't make a bet on the state championship, but I think I'm going to get my nails done when I get home."
Top of the Mountain
Despite losing in its first PIAA championship game, Mountain View enjoyed its best season in school history.
The District 2 champions finished 24-5 and won a PIAA semifinal game the year after losing by a point to Lourdes Regional.
"It was amazing," Lady Eagles coach Bill Simons said. "We have played in an arena before, so it wasn't a shock to us, but this was a bigger stage obviously with a state championship on the line."
Addison Kilmer, who came into the game averaging 17.2 points per game for Mountain View, was held to eight points. The sophomore forward left the game with 3:08 left in the third quarter after taking a blow to the head and was evaluated for a concussion. She returned with 5:58 to play in the game.
"The most important thing is that she's OK," Simons said. "The game is secondary as long as she's OK. She seemed to be. She came back. It was a scary moment there, but I'm glad she's OK."
Mountain View graduates three seniors including starters Claire Getz and Lily Sedlak.
"We played 29 games," Simons said. "Not too many teams can say they made it to the state championship game. The journey here was incredible. We got to play the most games we could possibly play this year. I'm so proud of the girls and how well they played all year long."
(Compiled by Michael Boytim)