Page C6 I Sunday, February 15, 2015
Altoona Mirror I Page C7
HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
*Records through Saturday.
AAA and AAAA brackets based
on projections, not official.
PLAYOFF PARADE
The Mirror’s Philip Cmor presents his annual District 6 basketball tournament preview and analysis
AAAA BOYS
2 Altoona (8-12)
AAA BOYS
State College (12-10)
1 Somerset (19-3)
Hollidaysburg (15-7)
5 Huntingdon (13-9)
Johnstown (17-5)
1
3 Central Mountain (5-15)
AAAA GIRLS
2
3 Hollidaysburg (12-6)
3
2 Altoona (10-11)
AAA GIRLS
State College (15-7)
1
1 Forest Hills (19-2)
Juniata (21-3)
2
4 Johnstown (10-12)
Huntingdon (10-12)
3
4 Bellefonte (8-12)
Altoona needs two wins to repeat
Lions, Tigers and Lions ... oh my!
Tigers hoping smaller is better
THE SCOOP: In 2014, Altoona took advantage
of size, length and inside power to win its first
District 6 boys basketball title in seven years
over an admittedly not very strong field.
This season, the Mountain Lions aren't the favorite they were last year, but they are banking
on the similarities to last year to do the same.
Altoona's been more down than up this season, but the Mountain Lions still have the ingredients to emerge with the district crown.
Playing to their advantage is that, with Hollidaysburg now in Class AAA, only three teams
are entering the playoffs (Central Mountain at
least was leaning that way at press deadline),
so Altoona just needs to win two games to secure its first back-to-back titles since 1988.
Has it really been that long?
DEFENDING CHAMPION: Altoona
PLAYERS TO WATCH: State College fr. G Drew
Friberg; State College sr. F Alex McCann; Altoona jr. F Jacob Port; Altoona jr. G Bobby
Corl; Central Mountain sr. G Wes Jolly
6-5 frosh Jayvion Queen and 6-6 Jermaine
Samuel, few opponents can match the Lions'
inside potential. Matching that potential themselves has been one of the problems, but they
only have to do this for a game or two. Samuel
was a big part of last year's championship
playoff run, and, while he isn't much of an inside scorer, he's a rare defender because of
his long arms and quick feet and he can handle the ball, too.
Altoona's fate probably rests in the hands of
its guards. It might not be so much being able
to score in bunches as it will be to keep opposing teams honest defensively by hitting a couple of perimeter shots and not turning the ball
over.
The Lions shouldn't have much trouble if they
meet Central Mountain in the semifinals —
they've already clobbered them once by 31
points, and the Wildcats are a young team
mainly entering the playoffs with an eye toward
the future.
State College, the team Altoona
beat last year, is the Mountain Lions' big obstacle. The
Little Lions are responsible for two of Altoona's
losses by a combined
43 points. However,
the most recent
meeting in Altoona
was only a 12point Little Lion
win.
MOST INTRIGUING POSSIBLE
MATCHUPS: Altoona vs. State College in
the championship
SLEEPERS: Altoona
MIRROR'S TEAM TO BEAT: State College
NUMBER OF TEAMS
ADVANCING: One
State is very balanced, with five
players between
7.7 and 11.4
points, and the
Little Lions have
the height to
match Altoona.
The key might be
how standout freshman Friberg performs on the big
stage. If he's up to it,
State should prevail. If
not, Altoona could
steal the trophy.
WHO THEY'LL PLAY IN INTERDISTRICTS: 6-1 vs. 3-5
ANALYSIS: Further stoking the fires
that Altoona could pull this off, in addition to a late-season surge that included a one-point win against
Williamsport, is that this is a fairly young
team and one that always seemed to be
missing a player or two for the first half of
the season. Now things seem to be coming
together as those players mature both individually and as a unit.
What makes Altoona particularly dangerous is its
size. With Port, 6-foot-3
bruiser Isaiah Wansley,
Jermaine Samuel
Altoona
THE SCOOP: For the last couple of decades,
the Hollidaysburg boys basketball program has
been a staple of the District 6 Class AAAA playoff scene.
The Golden Tigers have been good. However,
they haven't had a lot to show for it, with just
four district trophies as larger schools like Altoona and State College most often divided the
spoils.
That might benefit the Tigers now. The last enrollment numbers dropped them to Class AAA,
right at the time they had an excellent team to
put on the floor.
Don't just hand Hollidaysburg the trophy,
though: This is a very deep five-team field.
DEFENDING CHAMPION: Somerset
PLAYERS TO WATCH: Somerset jr. G Dylan
Barnes; Somerset jr. G Jake Heiple; Johnstown sr. F Shaquan Reid; Johnstown sr. G
Willie Robinson; Hollidaysburg jr. G Nick
Consiglio; Hollidaysburg sr. C Jesse Ottaway; Huntingdon sr. F Nate Gearhart;
Huntingdon sr. C Kobren Frederick; Bellefonte sr. G Trent Fortney
MOST INTRIGUING POSSIBLE
MATCHUPS: Bellefonte vs. Huntingdon in
the quarterfinals; Huntingdon vs. Somerset, and Johnstown vs. Hollidaysburg in
the semifinals; Johnstown or Hollidaysburg vs. Somerset in the championship
SLEEPERS: Johnstown, Huntingdon
MIRROR'S TEAM TO BEAT: Hollidaysburg
NUMBER OF TEAMS ADVANCING: One
WHO THEY'LL PLAY IN INTERDISTRICTS:
6-1 vs. 7-5
Huntingdon hasn't played quite up to expectations, but this still is a team that returns three
starters — including one of the program's alltime leading scorers in Gearhart — from a tall,
lengthy squad that nearly won it all last season. In a short tournament, all the Bearcats
have to do is put it all together for a week.
Of course, the field's top three teams have put
it together for an entire season. Hollidaysburg will likely be the second
seed despite having played the
toughest schedule of the five
teams, and the Tigers have
looked formidable in doing so.
The Tigers crushed Johnstown
and Huntingdon in earlier head-tohead meetings, although a rematch
with the Trojans presumably would be
much closer. They've also got two impressive wins over Altoona and one over
Latrobe, which produced one of the best
records in the WPIAL this season.
Hollidaysburg has everything one would
want in a district favorite. The Tigers
have several very capable guards
who can dictate tempo and
don't turn the ball over.
They also have a solid
three-man rotation in
the paint. Finally, they
are proven, because
they faced the most
ambitious schedule
of the field.
Somerset's guard
play would make a
meeting with Hollidaysburg interesting, but the rest of
Kobren Frederick
the Tigers’ cache
Huntingdon
still would seem to
make them hard to
beat.
ANALYSIS: Just to illustrate how good
a group of teams is competing for the
6-AAA title and lone entry spot into
the PIAA playoffs this year, consider that, heading into last
week, the top three seeds
had 12 losses between
them. Somerset is the
defending champion
AA BOYS
and returns many of the key faces from that
team as well as athletes that were good
enough to take the Golden Eagles to the PIAA
Class AAA semifinals in football. Johnstown is
very balanced and only lost two games to Somerset by a total of four points while besting
Class AAAA Altoona twice along with AAAA
Shaler.
THE SCOOP: Although there aren't many
teams, District 6 Class AAAA historically
has produced some of the best-played and
most-competitive basketball both in this region and throughout the state. One can run
through the list of Division I college players
that have come out of the classification or
its lofty record in the state tournament.
Few seasons, though, might match this one
when it comes to just how close Altoona,
Hollidaysburg and State College are.
Hollidaysburg has two come-from-behind
wins by a combined five points against Altoona, which, in turn, won at State College
during a great late-season run. State rebounded from that to smoke Hollidaysburg
in Blair County a couple of days later.
Bellwood-Antis (17-6)
6
16 Cambria Heights (9-12)
Penn Cambria (11-11)
11
8 Westmont Hilltop (11-10)
Penns Valley (17-4)
3
PLAYERS TO WATCH: State College jr. C
Kyla Irwin; State College sr. F Ali Treglia;
Hollidaysburg sr. G Ashley McLain; Hollidaysburg sr. F Sierra Kirsch; Altoona
sr. F Rachel Dibert; Altoona jr. G
Sarah Donley
Hollidaysburg, though, also is good at the
pace game and has the added
ability of having a defense and
perimeter shooting to rally —
which played out in both wins
over Altoona.
MOST INTRIGUING POSSIBLE
MATCHUPS: Altoona vs. Hollidaysburg or State College in the semifinals; Altoona or Hollidaysburg vs.
State College in the championship.
MIRROR'S TEAM TO
BEAT: State College
NUMBER OF TEAMS
ADVANCING: One
WHO THEY'LL PLAY IN
INTERDISTRICTS: 6-1
vs. 7-4
ANALYSIS: When this was
published, there still appeared to be a chance Hol-
1 Bishop Carroll (21-1)
Homer-Center (20-2)
2
1 Bishop McCort (19-3)
8 Williamsburg (10-12)
Glendale (12-10)
7
8 Ligonier Valley (11-11)
9 Central Cambria (10-12)
7
4 Ferndale (13-8)
Portage (17-5)
3
4 Central (16-5)
Ligonier Valley (13-8)
10
5 Saltsburg (11-10)
Moshannon Valley (11-11)
6
5 Westmont Hilltop (15-7)
5 Mount Union (18-4)
West Branch (18-3)
2
12 Central (10-9)
Bald Eagle Area (8-14)
15
4 Blairsville (18-4)
Juniata (17-7)
13 Southern Huntingdon (10-12)
Expect the unexpected with AA boys
THE SCOOP: Sixteen-team district playoff
fields are rare, but this year is ideal for it.
TERDISTRICTS: 7-1 vs. 6-4, 6-2 vs. 10-3, 91 vs. 6-3, 6-1 vs. 7-6
With seven leagues represented, there's a
large cross-section of squads that haven't
faced each other, and quality of competition
could be a factor. For those teams that do
have history, they've basically taken turns
knocking each other off all season.
ANALYSIS: There's a lot of uncertainty just
in the early rounds. In addition to the Tyrone-Westmont Hilltop-Central Cambria triangle, the Eagles, who rely on team play,
don't figure to have a cakewalk against
Cambria Heights in the first round; the Highlanders played a rugged schedule, beat defending 6-AAA champ Somerset, have both
size and guard play and have looked good
later in the season.
Just in top seed Tyrone's pod alone, the
Golden Eagles could meet one of the teams
it's lost against, Westmont Hilltop, in the
quarterfinals. Westmont, though, lost to
first-round opponent Central Cambria in the
regular season.
DEFENDING CHAMPION: Richland
PLAYERS TO WATCH: Tyrone jr. F Anthony
Politza; Tyrone sr. G Nathaniel Soellner;
West Branch jr. F Kody Trude; West Branch
jr. G Austin Krise; Penns Valley jr. C Zach
Engle; Penns Valley sr. F Sean Beamesderfer; Blairsville sr. F Troy Williams; Blairsville
sr. G Cameron Livingston; Mount Union sr.
F Trevon Walker; Bellwood-Antis jr. G Nathan
Davis; Juniata jr. G Justin Mingle; Westmont
Hilltop sr. G Conor Mendelson; Central
Cambria fr. C Matt Holsinger; Ligonier Valley
sr. C Jordan Jones; Penn Cambria sr. G
Mark Mardula; Central sr. G Alex Lafferty;
Southern Huntingdon sr. Drew Bender;
Bishop McCort jr. F Alex Conahan; Bald
Eagle Area sr. G Brandon Gettig; Cambria
Heights sr. F Andrew Ford
MOST INTRIGUING POSSIBLE MATCHUPS:
Cambria Heights vs. Tyrone, Central Cambria vs. Westmont Hilltop, Central vs.
Mount Union, Bishop McCort vs. Penns Valley, Penn Cambria vs. Bellwood-Antis, Ligonier Valley vs. Juniata, and Bald Eagle Area
vs. West Branch in the first round;
Westmont Hilltop or Central
Cambria vs. Tyrone, Mount
Union vs. Blairsville, Penn
Cambria or Bellwood-Antis vs.
Penns Valley or Bishop McCort, and West Branch vs. Juniata in the quarterfinals;
Blairsville vs. Tyrone, and Penn
Cambria or Penns Valley vs.
West Branch in the semifinals;
Blairsville or Tyrone vs. Penns
Valley in the championship
SLEEPERS: Central Cambria, Bishop McCort, Penn
Cambria, Bald Eagle Area
MIRROR'S TEAM TO
BEAT: Blairsville
NUMBER OF TEAMS ADVANCING: Four
WHO THEY'LL PLAY IN IN-
Sixth-seed Bellwood-Antis opens with 11thseed Penn Cambria, which beat the Blue
Devils by 15 in December. Blairsville is an
extremely impressive fourth seed and
promises for a great game with Tyrone if
both run the gauntlet to the semifinals, but
a postgame altercation after the Bobcats'
second loss of the year against Homer-Center leaves questions about whether the
team will be mentally ready or even face
any suspensions; Blairsville is legit, though,
having handed Bishop Carroll and Southern
Fulton their only losses before this week
and almost beat Class AAA Hollidaysburg
and Somerset.
There also are a couple of first-rounders
that might not be as big of mismatches as
they appear on paper. Twelth-seeded Central has played very well outside of the
Mountain League, while fifth-ranked Mount
Union has been inconsistent against an
easier schedule. The 15-vs.-2 game between BEA and West Branch also could be
closer than expected for similar reasons;
BEA's strength of schedule is much superior, and the Eagles have beaten Class AAA
Huntingdon twice while taking Tyrone and
Penns Valley to the wire.
Speaking of Penns Valley, its discipline against Penn Cambria's
athleticism could make for an
entertaining quarterfinal. However, keep in mind the Rams
lost by 20 to lower-seeded
Bellwood this year if those
teams both advance for a
rematch.
Bellwood-Antis (22-1)
2
Southern Huntingdon (12-10) 7
Purchase Line (8-13)
Carroll is the No. 1 seed and the team to
beat again in 2015, led by two-time allstate selection Brandon Martinazzi and a
crippling press defense. This, though, isn't
a sure thing by any stretch of the imagination. Carroll faces a difficult path for it to
repeat as champion.
In fact, even advancing to the state playoffs
again is dicey.
DEFENDING CHAMPION: Bishop Carroll
PLAYERS TO WATCH: Bishop Carroll sr. G
Brandon Martinazzi; Bishop Carroll sr.
Scott Lucas; Homer-Center jr. C Ben Wolford; Homer-Center jr. G John Capitosti;
Portage sr. F Michael Bryja; Ferndale jr. F
Rakwon Hinton; Saltsburg so. G Nick
Porter; Moshannon Valley so. G Curtis Neff;
Glendale sr. F Shea O'Donnell; Williamsburg sr. F Bryce Young; Bishop Guilfoyle sr.
G Sam McCloskey; Bishop Guilfoyle sr. F
Brandon Chadbourn; St. Joseph's sr. F
Mike Jabco
MOST INTRIGUING POSSIBLE MATCHUPS:
Bishop Guilfoyle vs. Williamsburg, and St.
Joseph's vs. Glendale in the first round;
Bishop Guilfoyle vs. Bishop Carroll, Saltsburg vs. Ferndale, St. Joseph's vs. HomerCenter, and Moshannon Valley vs. Portage
in the quarterfinals; Ferndale
vs. Bishop Carroll or
Bishop Guilfoyle, and
Portage vs. Homer-Center in the semifinals;
Ferndale vs. Portage in
the consolation game;
Homer-Center vs.
Bishop Carroll or Bishop
Guilfoyle in the championship
SLEEPERS: Bishop Guilfoyle, St. Joseph's
MIRROR'S TEAM TO BEAT:
Bishop Carroll
WHO THEY'LL PLAY IN INTERDISTRICTS: 6-2 vs. 5-3,
9-2 vs. 6-3, 6-1 vs. 9-3
ANALYSIS: The big hurdles
standing in Bishop Carroll's endeavors to win another title reside
in the quarterfinals and the championship game. The quarterfinal game
is the biggest because whoever
loses there is out of the playoffs
Also, three of the four teams comprising the
field are under new coaches. The one constant is Forest Hills, and the Lady Rangers
look like the team to beat.
DEFENDING CHAMPION: Huntingdon
PLAYERS TO WATCH: Forest Hills jr. G Jill
Scott; Forest Hills so. G Courtney Cecere; Juniata sr. G
Victoria Varner; Juniata
jr. G Julie Swartz; Huntingdon sr. F Bri Rivello; Johnstown sr. F
Tashayla Smith
MOST INTRIGUING
POSSIBLE
MATCHUPS: Johnstown or Huntingdon
vs. Forest Hills, and
Huntingdon or Johnstown vs. Juniata in the
semifinals; Juniata vs. Forest Hills in the championship
while the winner plays at least two more
games.
And it's looking like it will be a rematch of
the last two title contests between Carroll
and archrival Bishop Guilfoyle. The Marauders have had a disappointing season, an
apparent hangover after winning the state
football championship, but they've come
around lately. BG was squashed by the
Huskies in their first meeting this season
but took BC down to the wire a couple of
weeks ago. Guilfoyle is athletic enough and
has enough ability in the paint to create
matchup issues for Carroll — the Marauders, who've played a grueling schedule,
should get by higher-seeded Williamsburg in
the first round.
If Carroll passes that test and presumably
beats Ferndale, which should slip by Saltsburg, in the semifinals, the Huskies will
draw a familiar foe in the championship in
Homer-Center. The teams have met in the
finals in the not-too-distant past, and
Homer has shown it has the goods to win
there.
Homer-Center is young but very strong inside. The Wildcats also have a pair of wins
over Blairsville, one of the 6-AA favorites
and the only team to beat Carroll this season.
Homer will play either Glendale or St.
Joseph's early on. The Vikings and Wolves
look to match up fairly evenly and both are
led by outstanding forwards; the Vikings
are more proven, but St. Joe's has faced a
more demanding schedule.
The other quarterfinal in the bottom half
of the bracket is tough to call, too.
Portage has played well all year
but lost a head-scratcher to
Conemaugh Valley in the last
week that could have put
it in the WestPAC finals.
Mo Valley is young and
doesn't have much
playoff experience.
The winner will
have an uphill
fight against
Homer-Center.
Nik Suckinos
Bishop Carroll
THE SCOOP: Bellwood-Antis has produced
some exceptional girls basketball in its history, even playing in a state championship
game.
The one thing the Lady Devils have never
done, though, is win consecutive District 6 titles.
In fact, last year only was the program's
third. Bellwood won in Class A in 1990 and in
Class AA in 1999.
The Lady Devils have rolled through this season. A possible championship game battle
with Bishop McCort seems to be the one
thing that could derail them.
DEFENDING CHAMPION: Bellwood-Antis
PLAYERS TO WATCH: Bishop McCort so. G
Haley Thomas; Bishop McCort jr. F Morgan Instone; Bellwood-Antis sr. G Ana Hollen; Bellwood-Antis so. G Karson Swogger; Tyrone jr.
G Kasey Engle; Tyrone jr. G Finnley Christine;
Central sr. F Mikaela McGraw; Westmont Hilltop jr. F Katie Flick; Penns Valley so. F Maci
Ilgen; Southern Huntingdon so. G Larissa
Leonard; Ligonier Valley so. G Olivia Miller;
Central Cambria jr. G Taylor Boring; Purchase
Line jr. F Jaycelyn Fleming; Philipsburg-Osceola sr. G Abby Showers
MOST INTRIGUING POSSIBLE MATCHUPS:
Central Cambria vs. Ligonier Valley, Purchase
Line vs. Southern Huntingdon, and Philipsburg-Osceola vs. Penns Valley in the first
round, Westmont Hilltop vs. Central, and
Philipsburg-Osceola or Penns Valley vs. Tyrone in the quarter finals; Westmont Hilltop or
Central vs. Bishop McCort, and Tyrone vs.
Bellwood-Antis in the semifinals; Westmont
Hilltop or Central vs. Tyrone in the consolation; Bellwood-Antis vs. Bishop McCort in the
championship
NUMBER OF TEAMS ADVANCING: Three
WHO THEY'LL PLAY IN INTERDISTRICTS:
7-1 vs. 6-3, 5-1 or 8-1 vs. 6-2, 6-1 vs.
7-5
ANALYSIS: Although seeded second
to McCort, Bellwood-Antis appears
to have gotten the much more favorable draw. The Lady Devils have
beaten the next-highest seed on their
side of the draw, Tyrone, by 18 earlier
this season and another potential
semifinal foe, Penns Valley, by 36.
Bellwood's only loss this year was to
Blairsville in the second game of the season, and Blairsville, which has had great
district playoff games with the Lady Devils
Forest Hills did beat Johnstown easily in a regular-season meeting, though.
Huntingdon is another team that's been hard
to figure out. The Lady Bearcats had a coaching change just before the season but still returned some key performers from a team that
almost won in the PIAA first round. Still, they've
not been able to put it together this year.
Juniata has been as dominant a team as
there is in the bracket, but that has
to be measured against the
fact that the Lady Indians
also played the weakest
competition. In the couple of
games they faced Mountain
League opponents, their results weren't all that different
than Huntingdon's, meaning
that semifinal meeting probably will be a more evenlymatched contest than the
records would indicate.
SLEEPERS: Huntingdon, Johnstown
MIRROR'S TEAM TO BEAT:
Forest Hills
NUMBER OF TEAMS ADVANCING: One
Forest Hills seems to have
the best combination of factors in its favor, because it
has talent and experience
and has faced top opposition. However, one letdown
is all it takes to open the
door for someone else.
WHO THEY'LL PLAY IN INTERDISTRICTS: 6-1 vs. 3-4
ANALYSIS: This is a bracket that
could play out a
number of ways,
Victoria Varner
especially considerJuniata
ing that it looks like
1 Blairsville (20-2)
8 Claysburg-Kimmel (13-9)
Bishop Carroll (16-5)
2
Saltsburg (13-8)
7
Williamsburg (11-9)
10
9 Conemaugh Valley (11-11)
Tyrone (18-4)
3
4 Portage (20-2)
Bishop Guilfoyle (18-4)
3
Penns Valley (12-9)
6
5 Juniata Valley (19-3)
Homer-Center (16-6)
6
Phillipsburg-Osceola (7-14)
11
Penns Manor (8-14)
11
in seasons past, is not in Class AA this year.
Bellwood has outscored the opposition nearly
2-to-1 this year and, while the schedule wasn't the most daunting, it included wins at Hollidaysburg and Bishop Guilfoyle in addition to
home victories against Tyrone, Everett and
Westmont Hilltop.
The Lady Devils figure to have little problem
in the quarter finals with the Southern Huntingdon/Purchase Line winner — Southern
has had several close losses to good teams
but lacks a signature win, while Purchase
Line is fairly young. Tyrone, which is 4-for-4
against potential quarter finalists Penns Valley and Philipsburg-Osceola, this season,
looks like Bellwood's semifinal opponent.
The Lady Eagles can fill it up from the perimeter, but Bellwood can do that and has many
other weapons in its arsenal.
The top half of the bracket is more interesting. McCort has size and a couple of dynamic
underclassmen, but if Thomas isn't scoring,
the Lady Crushers are vulnerable. McCort
shouldn't have a problem with Central Cambria or Ligonier in the quarters, although CC
has been coming on.
In the other quarter final, Central and Westmont Hilltop might provide the most interesting matchup next to Bellwood/McCort. The
Lady Hilltoppers are very tough defensively.
and Central plays hard and physical. Whoever
wins that is capable of upsetting McCort if
the stars align.
Bellwood and McCort in the finals would be a
blockbuster. If it stays injury-free and out of
foul trouble, McCort has been great this year,
beating Blairsville and Bishop Guilfoyle. However, the Lady Devils have more margin for
error than do the Lady Crushers.
SLEEPERS: Westmont Hilltop, Penns Valley,
Philipsburg-Osceola
MIRROR'S TEAM TO BEAT: Bellwood-Antis
Forest Hills is better than it was last year. The
Lady Rangers' nucleus returned, a year older
and a year wiser, and they have a Division I
college recruit in Scott, so they have talent in
addition to experience. However, they've lost
twice to Bishop Guilfoyle — once convincingly
—- and had enough close calls that it wouldn't
be a shock to see them pushed or upset.
Keep in mind, Forest Hills’ best players still
are underclassmen.
10
B-A primed to go back-to-back
THE SCOOP: Bishop Carroll has been the
class of District 6 Class A boys basketball
for most of the last decade. The Huskies
have been to six district championships
over the last seven years, winning three
and advancing at least to the PIAA quarterfinals the past two seasons.
This year, the bracket has quite a different feel.
The District 8 teams that were part of last
year's field are out. Juniata, which lost in the 6AA championship game to Bellwood-Antis, is in.
the third seed is going to have to be determined by a tiebreaker between Johnstown and
Huntingdon. Johnstown has been mired
around .500 all season, but the Lady Trojans
are very athletic and have the experience and,
one would assume, the confidence of knowing
they can put a run together in the postseason,
having beaten potential semifinal opponent
Forest Hills in last year’s first round.
A GIRLS
Dangerous road looms for Huskies
NUMBER OF TEAMS ADVANCING: Three
Nathaniel Soellner
Tyrone
Alex Scheel
Hollidaysburg
State also has decent length
at guard. In a field where
any team could succeed, the
Lady Little Lions are the
most likely to do so.
THE SCOOP: Last year was a postseason full
of unpredictability in District 6 Class AAA girls.
Johnstown upended two higher seeded teams
and then almost took down top-seeded Huntingdon in the finals — had the Lady Trojans
pulled it off, they'd have beaten the top three
seeds.
AA GIRLS
10
14
The reasons State is the favorite are two-fold. First, the
Lady Little Lions have the
most-dominating player in
the field in UConn recruit
Irwin. Second, led by
Irwin, State College has
the ability to generate
easy buckets inside,
where Altoona and Hollidaysburg largely rely on
the 3-point shot or transition for scoring.
SLEEPERS: Altoona
St Joseph’s (8-14)
Bishop McCort (9-12)
That second one is a real key for Altoona.
The Lady Lions routinely alternate as many
as a dozen players. That can cause a problem with players settling into the flow, but it
also allows the Lady Lions to wear down opponents, find a hot hand from time to time
and not have to worry about someone getting into foul trouble. That played out in Altoona's win at State last week.
DEFENDING CHAMPION: State College
9 Bishop Guilfoyle (9-13)
9 Central Cambria (12-10)
However the actual pairings play out, two
things will determine which two of the three
teams is left standing when the dust settles. First, matchups. Second, who just happens to be feeling it on a given day.
Altoona began the season 0-6 but still managed to get close to .500. If the Lady Lions
can get a lead, they can impose tempo,
which makes them tough when ahead in
the second half.
Any of these teams could win it and advance to interdistricts, because the thread
dividing them is so thin.
A BOYS
1 Tyrone (18-3)
Juniata adds to tourney mix
lidaysburg could catch State College for the
No. 1 seed, which won't be officially announced until midweek.
Kelly Leamer
Bellwood-Antis
Guilfoyle team to beat again
THE SCOOP: Of the smaller classifications,
no school has had a better run than Bishop
Guilfoyle Catholic girls recently.
When Macy Adams hit her improbable 3pointer to lift the Lady Marauders over
Portage in last year's final, it was Guilfoyle's unprecedented eighth District 6
Class A championship in a row.
This season has had a few bumps for the
Lady Marauders, but they still look like a
better bet to hold the trophy than anyone
else. Bishop Carroll and Blairsville could
make an argument against that. Blairsville,
in fact, might be the toughest competition
BG has faced in the finals in this recent
run, but the Lady Bobcats will have to
prove it on the court.
DEFENDING CHAMPION: Bishop Guilfoyle
PLAYERS TO WATCH: Blairsville sr. F
Chelsey Koren; Blairsville sr. G Laurel
O'Barto; Bishop Carroll jr. G Lea Sammarco; Bishop Carroll fr. G Alyssa Martinazzi; Bishop Guilfoyle so. G Lili Benzel;
Bishop Guilfoyle so. G Macy Adams;
Portage jr. G Lexi Wozniak; Juniata Valley fr.
G Taylor Leidy; Homer-Center sr. G Julia
Buggey; Saltsburg so. G Abbie Okopal;
Claysburg-Kimmel jr. G Paige Burk; Conemaugh Valley so. G Brooke McLeester;
Williamsburg sr. C Madison Detwiler;
Penns Manor so. G Skyler Altemus
MOST INTRIGUING POSSIBLE MATCHUPS:
Conemaugh Valley vs. Claysburg-Kimmel,
and Williamsburg vs. Saltsburg in the first
round; Claysburg-Kimmel vs. Blairsville, Juniata Valley vs. Portage, Williamsburg vs.
Bishop Carroll, and Homer-Center vs.
Bishop Guilfoyle in the quarterfinals; Juniata Valley or Portage vs. Blairsville, and
Bishop Guilfoyle vs. Bishop Carroll in
the semifinals; Portage vs.
Bishop Carroll in the consolation game; Bishop Guilfoyle vs. Blairsville in the
championship
SLEEPERS: Williamsburg
MIRROR'S TEAM TO
BEAT: Bishop Guilfoyle
some pretty good teams, Guilfoyle got the
third seed. The Lady Marauders will open
in the quarterfinals against the winner of a
couple of fairly young Heritage Conference
teams, Homer-Center and Penns Manor.
Look for Homer to win that opening-round
contest, but for the Lady Wildcats to knock
off Guilfoyle would be a major upset.
That should lead to the rubber match between Guilfoyle and Bishop Carroll. These
teams' lineups are dominated by underclassmen, so it wouldn't be surprising for
this to be the first in a string of postseason
encounters. Carroll won a close meeting in
Ebensburg which BG avenged convincingly
in Altoona, so Guilfoyle has the edge.
If Carroll looks ahead, it could have its
hands full in the quarterfinals against
Williamsburg, which has two very capable
6-footers in its starting lineup. The Lady Pirates are a very dangerous 10th seed.
Making it through the quarterfinals is vital,
because a berth in the semis also qualifies
a team for the PIAA tournament.
The upper bracket has a very interesting
quarterfinal pitting 2014 runner-up Portage
against fifth-seeded Juniata Valley. The
Lady Mustangs are small but fast and very
good shooters. Valley is young and
untested but extremely talented.
Claysburg's path back to interdistricts
would mean an upset of Blairsville after
getting through Conemaugh Valley, a task
made all the more difficult by leading
scorer Elizabeth Weiland’s season-ending
injury. Blairsville will prove a very, very
tough out — the Lady Bobcats have a Division I forward, a high-scoring guard and are
very athletic. They beat defending 6-AA
champ Bellwood and almost beat AA top
seed Bishop McCort, and they've made
runs in the playoffs the last couple of
year.
Blairsville also
won at BG last
year, and both
teams return
many of the
same players.
NUMBER OF TEAMS ADVANCING: Four
WHO THEY'LL PLAY
IN INTERDISTRICTS: 5-1 vs. 64, 9-2 vs. 6-3, 6-2
vs. 7-4, 6-1 vs. 9-4
ANALYSIS: Because of a midseason lull against
Paisley Zatek
Portage