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Mar. 14—The Wyoming Valley Conference fared much better in the second round of the PIAA state basketball tournament than in the first round.
All three teams — the Crestwood girls and the Hazleton Area girls and boys — all made it to this weekend's quarterfinals. The opening round saw four WVC teams eliminated.
Quarterfinal winners will have an entire week off before playing in the semifinals instead of Friday's winners playing Tuesday and Saturday's winners playing Wednesday.
And then semifinal winners will have another week off until the championship games, which will be held March 27-29 at Giant Center in Hershey.
The reason is because the PIAA wants the championships to be at Giant Center, but they can't be March 20-23 because the arena is booked.
Tickets for all games are $8 — plus that omnipresent processing fee — and are available at piaa.org through the link on the state brackets.
The Lackawanna League advanced seven teams to the quarterfinals. The Northwest boys, a former WVC and District 2 member, is also in the quarterfinals with a long bus ride ahead.
Hazleton Area (28-0) vs. Perkiomen Valley (27-3)
Class 6A Girls Quarterfinals
6 p.m. Friday, Bethlehem Liberty H.S.
District 2 champion Hazleton Area saw a 17-point lead at halftime dwindle to two in the third quarter in a 62-48 win over District 11 third seed Bethlehem Liberty in the second round.
It's doubtful the Cougars will build such a large advantage against District 1 champion Perkiomen Valley, which presents their biggest challenge since an 81-74 overtime win against St. Joseph's By the Sea on Dec. 14.
Perkiomen Valley has size, shooting and a veteran lineup headed by a pair of Division I recruits. Grace Galbavy, a 6-foot senior, is headed to Wake Forest. She averages 15.8 points and has hit 50 3-pointers. Quinn Boettinger, a 6-3 senior, averages 15.3 points and is headed to the Naval Academy. She can also pop 3-pointers.
Then there is 5-7 senior Bella Becani, who averages 11.5 points, has 53 3-pointers and will play at Division II Thomas Jefferson. Grace Miley and Lena Stein, a pair of 5-9 seniors, add size and some scoring punch. Freshman Hannah Evans can hit 3-pointers.
The Vikings' three losses were to teams a combined 67-11, including two out-of-state opponents. They manhandled District 3 third seed Central York 67-37 and District 3 third seed Lebanon 73-32 in the state tournament. They've been eliminated in the state playoffs the past three seasons by the eventual state champion.
Hazleton Area has adequate size across the board as starters Sophia Benyo, Kayla Lagowy and Sophia Shults are all 5-9 and Alexis Reimold is 5-8. Kaitlyn Bindas is the shortest at 5-4, but the most dangerous with the ball in her hands. She helped her team distance itself from Liberty.
The Cougars did have issues with Liberty's 6-3 center Shawna Beatty, who had seven blocked shots and 14 rebounds.
The winner plays Friday, March 21, in the semifinals against either District 3 fourth seed Central Dauphin (18-8) or District 12 champion Archbishop Carrol (19-9).
Crestwood (23-4) vs. Strath Haven (15-13)
Class 5A Girls Quarterfinals
1 p.m. Saturday, Easton M.S.
District 2 champion Crestwood has never reached the state quarterfinals. The Comets are here after state wins of 51-39 against District 3 fourth seed Manheim Central and 52-45 against District 12 runner-up Freire Charter.
An underlining issue in both games was the third quarter. Crestwood saw an 11-point lead against Manheim Central drop to one point. The Comets were outscored 11-6 by Freire in the third after building a 16-point halftime lead.
Crestwood has size with Jackie Gallagher, Kate Gallagher and Charlie Hiller all 6-foot. However, the group was challenged strongly by Freire and especially by a pair of extremely athletic 6-foot wings in Anesah Cruz and Aliyah Cruz. Jackie Gallagher carried the offense with 19 points.
District 1 fifth seed Strath Haven doesn't have that kind of size. Senior Olivia Voshell, a four-year starter, is the tallest Panther at 5-9. Strath Haven has a pair of small but energetic guards in freshmen sisters Maddie Fanning and Kenzie Fanning.
Maddie Fanning had 22 points in a 53-44 overtime victory over District 1 champion Radnor in the second round. Voshell had 16 and senior Maryella Gill had 11. The victory was the Panthers' first in four tries against Radnor.
Strath Haven's record is a bit deceiving. The Panthers started out of the gates slowly, going 2-5. They've lost five games by five points or less, so just comparing records and rubber-stamping a Crestwood win wouldn't be wise.
The winner plays Saturday, March 22, in the semifinals against either District 1 champion Bethlehem Catholic (19-10) or District 12 champion Archbishop Wood (20-7), which has won four consecutive state championships.
Hazleton Area (14-12) vs. Father Judge (21-7)
Class 6A Boys Quarterfinals
2:30 p.m. Saturday, Easton M.S.
District 2 runner-up Hazleton Area gave up 41 points in the second half to District 1 champion Conestoga, yet won 60-54 in the second round. Yohansel Moran, who has played very well in the postseason, led the way with 19 points followed by Luis Guzman with 18 and Dylan Stish with 13.
The Cougars have appeared to fixed their offensive problems after a season-worst performances in a 44-35 loss to Scranton for the D2-6A title.
Moran and Guzman are very good jumpers, but will be going up against perhaps the biggest opponent this season in Father Judge 6-foot-10 senior Everett Barnes. Barnes isn't a big contributor in the scoring column, but the Loyola (Md.) recruit is a handful under the boards.
District 12 runner-up Father Judge has a couple others who are the main scorers. Kevair Kennedy, a 6-foot guard heading to Division I Merrimack, has scored over 1,000 points. Kennedy's style is reminiscent of former Holy Redeemer and current Siena College standout Justice Shoats in that he can slash-and-dash to the hoop. Both will be in the same conference next season.
Derrick Morton-Rivera, a 6-4 junior, is also a Division I recruit who is close to 1,000 career points. Junior Rocco Westfeld and sophomore Nazir Tyler are also part of a deep and talented backcourt.
Father Judge won the championship in the tough Philadelphia Catholic League by defeating Roman Catholic 41-34. Roman Catholic is also playing in the Class 6A state playoffs as the District 12 third seed. It was the Crusaders' first PCL title in 27 years.
The winner plays in the semifinals on Saturday, March 22, against either District 12 champion Imhotep Charter (25-5) or District 11 champion Parkland (19-9).
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All three teams — the Crestwood girls and the Hazleton Area girls and boys — all made it to this weekend's quarterfinals. The opening round saw four WVC teams eliminated.
Quarterfinal winners will have an entire week off before playing in the semifinals instead of Friday's winners playing Tuesday and Saturday's winners playing Wednesday.
And then semifinal winners will have another week off until the championship games, which will be held March 27-29 at Giant Center in Hershey.
The reason is because the PIAA wants the championships to be at Giant Center, but they can't be March 20-23 because the arena is booked.
Tickets for all games are $8 — plus that omnipresent processing fee — and are available at piaa.org through the link on the state brackets.
The Lackawanna League advanced seven teams to the quarterfinals. The Northwest boys, a former WVC and District 2 member, is also in the quarterfinals with a long bus ride ahead.
Hazleton Area (28-0) vs. Perkiomen Valley (27-3)
Class 6A Girls Quarterfinals
6 p.m. Friday, Bethlehem Liberty H.S.
District 2 champion Hazleton Area saw a 17-point lead at halftime dwindle to two in the third quarter in a 62-48 win over District 11 third seed Bethlehem Liberty in the second round.
It's doubtful the Cougars will build such a large advantage against District 1 champion Perkiomen Valley, which presents their biggest challenge since an 81-74 overtime win against St. Joseph's By the Sea on Dec. 14.
Perkiomen Valley has size, shooting and a veteran lineup headed by a pair of Division I recruits. Grace Galbavy, a 6-foot senior, is headed to Wake Forest. She averages 15.8 points and has hit 50 3-pointers. Quinn Boettinger, a 6-3 senior, averages 15.3 points and is headed to the Naval Academy. She can also pop 3-pointers.
Then there is 5-7 senior Bella Becani, who averages 11.5 points, has 53 3-pointers and will play at Division II Thomas Jefferson. Grace Miley and Lena Stein, a pair of 5-9 seniors, add size and some scoring punch. Freshman Hannah Evans can hit 3-pointers.
The Vikings' three losses were to teams a combined 67-11, including two out-of-state opponents. They manhandled District 3 third seed Central York 67-37 and District 3 third seed Lebanon 73-32 in the state tournament. They've been eliminated in the state playoffs the past three seasons by the eventual state champion.
Hazleton Area has adequate size across the board as starters Sophia Benyo, Kayla Lagowy and Sophia Shults are all 5-9 and Alexis Reimold is 5-8. Kaitlyn Bindas is the shortest at 5-4, but the most dangerous with the ball in her hands. She helped her team distance itself from Liberty.
The Cougars did have issues with Liberty's 6-3 center Shawna Beatty, who had seven blocked shots and 14 rebounds.
The winner plays Friday, March 21, in the semifinals against either District 3 fourth seed Central Dauphin (18-8) or District 12 champion Archbishop Carrol (19-9).
Crestwood (23-4) vs. Strath Haven (15-13)
Class 5A Girls Quarterfinals
1 p.m. Saturday, Easton M.S.
District 2 champion Crestwood has never reached the state quarterfinals. The Comets are here after state wins of 51-39 against District 3 fourth seed Manheim Central and 52-45 against District 12 runner-up Freire Charter.
An underlining issue in both games was the third quarter. Crestwood saw an 11-point lead against Manheim Central drop to one point. The Comets were outscored 11-6 by Freire in the third after building a 16-point halftime lead.
Crestwood has size with Jackie Gallagher, Kate Gallagher and Charlie Hiller all 6-foot. However, the group was challenged strongly by Freire and especially by a pair of extremely athletic 6-foot wings in Anesah Cruz and Aliyah Cruz. Jackie Gallagher carried the offense with 19 points.
District 1 fifth seed Strath Haven doesn't have that kind of size. Senior Olivia Voshell, a four-year starter, is the tallest Panther at 5-9. Strath Haven has a pair of small but energetic guards in freshmen sisters Maddie Fanning and Kenzie Fanning.
Maddie Fanning had 22 points in a 53-44 overtime victory over District 1 champion Radnor in the second round. Voshell had 16 and senior Maryella Gill had 11. The victory was the Panthers' first in four tries against Radnor.
Strath Haven's record is a bit deceiving. The Panthers started out of the gates slowly, going 2-5. They've lost five games by five points or less, so just comparing records and rubber-stamping a Crestwood win wouldn't be wise.
The winner plays Saturday, March 22, in the semifinals against either District 1 champion Bethlehem Catholic (19-10) or District 12 champion Archbishop Wood (20-7), which has won four consecutive state championships.
Hazleton Area (14-12) vs. Father Judge (21-7)
Class 6A Boys Quarterfinals
2:30 p.m. Saturday, Easton M.S.
District 2 runner-up Hazleton Area gave up 41 points in the second half to District 1 champion Conestoga, yet won 60-54 in the second round. Yohansel Moran, who has played very well in the postseason, led the way with 19 points followed by Luis Guzman with 18 and Dylan Stish with 13.
The Cougars have appeared to fixed their offensive problems after a season-worst performances in a 44-35 loss to Scranton for the D2-6A title.
Moran and Guzman are very good jumpers, but will be going up against perhaps the biggest opponent this season in Father Judge 6-foot-10 senior Everett Barnes. Barnes isn't a big contributor in the scoring column, but the Loyola (Md.) recruit is a handful under the boards.
District 12 runner-up Father Judge has a couple others who are the main scorers. Kevair Kennedy, a 6-foot guard heading to Division I Merrimack, has scored over 1,000 points. Kennedy's style is reminiscent of former Holy Redeemer and current Siena College standout Justice Shoats in that he can slash-and-dash to the hoop. Both will be in the same conference next season.
Derrick Morton-Rivera, a 6-4 junior, is also a Division I recruit who is close to 1,000 career points. Junior Rocco Westfeld and sophomore Nazir Tyler are also part of a deep and talented backcourt.
Father Judge won the championship in the tough Philadelphia Catholic League by defeating Roman Catholic 41-34. Roman Catholic is also playing in the Class 6A state playoffs as the District 12 third seed. It was the Crusaders' first PCL title in 27 years.
The winner plays in the semifinals on Saturday, March 22, against either District 12 champion Imhotep Charter (25-5) or District 11 champion Parkland (19-9).
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