Mandi Prough, who was a player on the 1997 PIAA Class 1A championship team, was back on the sidelines in Hershey as an assistant coach.

So what does Coach Prough remember from playing in a state championship 29 years later?

“It was absolutely exactly like this,” she said as she looked toward Williamsburg fans. “We can always count on the town of Williamsburg to support us, no matter what. It was no different then than it is today.”

Assistant coaches always have a stake in the game, but it’s even a little tougher when her daughter, Regan, was out on the floor.

03/19/26 Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski / Williamsburg's Bella Royer looks to take a shot over Delco Christian's Anna Latchford.

If you ask Mandi what’s tougher between playing and coaching in a state championship, the answer was pretty easy.

“Being a coach is way more difficult,” she said. “Not only a coach, but a parent as well. When you’re playing out there as an athlete, you just go and do it. You feel a lot more responsibility as a coach.”

Mandi Prough and head coach Angela Detwiler also noted there were other Lady Pirates from the state championship team in attendance on Friday.

“It wasn’t the outcome we hoped for today, but we know our town was behind us,” Mandi said.

Prough re-enters game

Regan Prough seemed to have sustained an ankle injury with 2:29 to play in the third quarter.

Usually injuries have to be pretty severe for players to hold out of a state championship game. Prough limped off the court, and immediately had the Williamsburg athletic trainer tape the ankle.

She returned to the game early in the fourth quarter.

“I said I was going back in as soon as I taped it,” Regan Prough said.

Williamsburg’s day off

The community of Williamsburg may have been close to a ghost town during the game on Friday as seemingly everyone in the community was in attendance at the Giant Center.

School was closed on Friday at Williamsburg after the Lady Pirates defeated St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy on Tuesday.

“We came out today and decided this game was dedicated to our community,” Williamsburg coach Angela Detwiler said. “They’ve been with us, win or lose. We lose a game, and they’re still showing up. They didn’t show up now that we’re in the state championship. They’ve been with us since seventh grade.”

Iuzzolino wins state title

Altoona native Mike Iuzzolino, the head coach for the Sewickley Academy boys team, led the Panthers to a 52-36 win over Old Forge in the 2A boys title game on Friday afternoon.

Sewickley Academy fell to Linville Hill, 55-54, in last year’s 2A title game.

Iuzzolino, who played basketball at both Penn State and Saint Francis, was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks in 1991.

After his playing career, he also coached at Duquesne, George Mason, Saint Vincent, Canisius and Robert Morris before going to the high school ranks.

Local official works game

District 5 official and Moshannon Valley graduate Sarah Fye worked the scorer’s table for the 1A girls championship game.

Fye, who works as an official in local college basketball games, is a staple in three districts in Pennsylvania.

She is assigned as a District 5 official, lives in a District 6 area and works in a District 9 school as a teacher in the Clearfield Area School District.