Angela Detwiler

Williamsburg came up just short in its quest to win a PIAA Class 1A girls basketball championship last month, but Tuesday coach Angela Detwiler was honored for leading the Lady Blue Pirates to the state championship game despite entering the state playoffs as the fourth-seeded team out of District 6 when she was voted the Pennsylvania Sports Writers All-State Girls Basketball Team’s Class 1A Coach of the Year.

“I’m very surprised and humbled to be named the 1A Coach of the Year,” Detwiler said. “I am extremely blessed to be coaching at Williamsburg. The administration, school board members and entire community have supported our team every step of the way. When you coach in a small town, it takes all of us to make it to a state championship.”

Detwiler also credited assistant coach Mandi Prough, who she said has been with her every step of the way coaching together the past seven years — five in junior high and two at the varsity level.

Joining Detwiler on the Class 1A team were a pair of her own players — junior Levada Gorsuch, who landed on the first team, and senior LeeAnna Royer, who was on the second team.

“Levada and LeeAnna have been planning together since they were little and they read each other so well on the floor,” Detwiler said. “They are a dynamic duo.”

Another local player — Bishop Guilfoyle Academy’s Morgan Ruggery — joined Gorsuch on the first team, and Ruggery’s teammate Anberlyn Petrecca was picked to the third team in 1A.

“I’m incredibly proud of (Morgan),” Bishop Guilfoyle coach Kristi Kaack said. “She puts the work in during the offseason, every single day during the season. I don’t think anyone works harder than her. She completely deserves this recognition.”

Ruggery was third team as a freshman and second team along with Petrecca last year when BG won its second state title in a row.

“(Anberlyn is) a kid that gives everything she has every day in practice,” Kaack said. “She finished the year with a pretty bad ankle injury. She played the last month hurt, but that’s just what Anberlyn does. She does whatever the team needs, and we’re thankful for that.”

Gorsuch, who was third-team all-state last year, and Ruggery also both landed on the Altoona Mirror’s first team all-star squad.

“It is hard to measure how much Levada brings to our team. She scores, rebounds, blocks shots and runs the floor well,” Detwiler said. “Levada scored her 1,000th point this season and has been playing at a high level this entire season. Being able to do that night after night is an indication of the caliber of basketball player she is for our team.”

Royer was second-team all-state for the third year in a row.

“A true point guard can never be defined by their statistics. Although LeeAnna is a 1,000 point scorer and our leader in assists this year she brought so much more to our team,” Detwiler said. “She’d take on the task of guarding the opposing team’s best player each game while getting us into our offensive sets. She has never seen a press she wasn’t excited to break. When your point guard steps onto the floor with that kind of confidence, it transcends to your entire team. I’m really going to miss coaching LeeAnna next year, but I’m excited to see what she accomplishes at the next level.”

Saint Joseph Academy senior Naomi Crispin was picked as the Class 1A Player of the Year, and her teammate Aubrey Yartz was on the third team.

In Class 2A, Bellwood-Antis senior Lilly Gerwert moved up from third-team recognition as a junior to the second team in her senior season.

“She’s very deserving,” Bellwood-Antis coach Jim Swaney said. “She’s just a kid who really took on a leadership role for us this year when it was needed. She put the team on her back and carried us the rest of the season. She’s improved her basketball skills immensely, and I can’t say enough about the kid. She’s a great player and an even better person.”

Two other players from the Mirror’s core coverage area — Altoona senior Zaelinh Nguyen-Moore, who was the Mirror’s Player of the Year, and Central Cambria’s Katie George achieved third-team all-state honors in Class 6A and 3A, respectively.

“I’m proud of her and all her hard work,” Altoona coach Chris Fleegle said. “I’m glad that it finally started to show and people realized her senior year what she could do and what she was capable of. It’s thanks to all the effort she puts in both in and out of season to improve on her craft.”

George helped Central Cambria win back-to-back District 6 titles and win two state playoff games in each of the past two years.

“Katie has worked extremely hard to grow in all aspects of her game,” Central Cambria coach Brittany Bracken said. “Receiving state recognition is a well-deserved and well-earned honor. She has certainly made an impact on Central Cambria basketball, and it is nice to see her hard work paying off.”

Also in Class 2A, Berlin Brothersvalley coach Rachel Prosser was selected as the Coach of the Year for the second year in a row, and her daughters Coral (first team) and Bryn (second team) were also recognized as were Bishop McCort’s Zoey Ferguson and Windber’s Kaylie Gaye (both third team).

A trio of regional players were also picked in Class 4A with Clearfield’s Sonny Diehl landing on the first team and teammate Eve Helsel making the third team. Somerset’s Eve Housley was voted to the second team.