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Monday, February 16, 2015
Altoona Mirror I Page B3
HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
PLAYOFF PARADE
The Mirror’s Philip Cmor presents his annual District 5 basketball tournament preview and analysis
AA BOYS
AA GIRLS
1 Chestnut Ridge (16-6)
Berlin Brothersvalley (18-4) 2
4 Everett (8-13)
Tussey Mountain (14-8)
3
Three Bedford County teams battling Berlin
THE SCOOP: It might be hard to believe,
but since 1997, Bedford County only has
produced four District 5 Class AA boys basketball champions: Tussey Mountain in
2006 and 2008, Bedford in 2005 and
Everett in one of the biggest upsets in the
tournament in 2009.
This year, the Mirror coverage area has a 3out-of-4 chance to turn out the winning
team, with Tussey and Everett joining topseeded Chestnut Ridge in the bracket.
Slight problem. The most proven team in
the tournament appears to be Berlin
Brothersvalley. The Mountaineers are coming off a 2014 title in Class AA and already
have a head-to-head win against Ridge.
DEFENDING CHAMPION: Conemaugh
Township
PLAYERS TO WATCH: Chestnut Ridge sr. G
Tyler Wiley; Chestnut Ridge jr. F Jay Grubb;
Berlin Brothersvalley sr. C Dante Paul;
Berlin Brothersvalley jr. F Zane Yanosky;
Tussey Mountain jr. G Parker Cornelius;
Tussey Mountain so. C Andrew Bithell;
Everett sr. G Kyle Sheaffer
MOST INTRIGUING POSSIBLE MATCHUPS:
Tussey Mountain at Berlin Brothersvalley in
the semifinals; Tussey Mountain or Berlin
Brothersvalley vs. Chestnut Ridge in the
championship
SLEEPERS: Tussey Mountain
MIRROR’S TEAM TO BEAT: Berlin
Brothersvalley
NUMBER OF TEAMS
ADVANCING: One
WHO THEY’LL PLAY
IN INTERDISTRICTS:
5-1 vs. 8-1 in a playin game; the winner
of that game plays 73
ANALYSIS: Could this
be the year Chestnut
Ridge finally exorcises
its basketball demons?
The Lions lost in the
finals to North Star in
2010 and Conemaugh
Township in 2012, and their
drought without a district
basketball championship —
boys or girls — extends 22 years
since the Ridge boys won 5-AA
back in 1992.
This looks like their
best shot to put that
Tyler Wiley
to rest. The Lions
Chestnut Ridge
ended the year impressively with a resounding win over Central, and they bested a
tough Bellwood-Antis team earlier in the
season. Also, when it looked like they were
in danger of dropping to the third seed, the
Lions came through with a three-point win
at Tussey Mountain last week, so they
seem to be able to rise to the occasion.
Wiley is one of the best 3-point shooters in
the area. He was a proven commodity heading into the season. Late in the year, though,
6-foot-6 newcomer Jay Grubb has emerged
as a force inside with a couple of 20-point
performances. Ridge seems to be getting
everything together at just the right time.
The draw is pretty favorable to Ridge, too; it’s
already met semifinal opponent Everett twice,
winning those encounters by 25 and 20.
In Everett’s favor is the fact that the
Warriors have shown they can compete
with top teams at least in one game.
They’ve beaten McConnellsburg and played
tight affairs with Bellwood and Tussey.
Speaking of Tussey, the Titans are the
biggest wild card in the field. Six of their
eight losses have been by seven points or
fewer, including three by just a point (to
Huntingdon, Tyrone and Southern Fulton,
no less). The Titans also were on a 10game winning streak before finishing out
the regular season with losses to Ridge
and Bellwood.
Tussey has the inside-outside combination
to be a tough matchup, and it also plays a
gritty, in-your-face style that makes no
game a picnic. It’s just a young team with
only one senior.
Berlin lacks the big guy
that Ridge and Tussey
can put on the floor,
but it hasn’t seemed
to matter much. The
Mountaineers are
physical on the interior
and do a pretty good job
getting to the foul line.
Berlin hasn’t had many
eye-opening losses,
falling twice to
Shanksville, once to
Windber and once to
Southern, Md. Factoring
in wins over Ridge,
Portage, Bishop McCort,
Conemaugh Township
and Ferndale prove the
Mounties are legit.
1 North Star (21-2)
Everett (19-4)
2
4 Northern Bedford (14-8)
Windber (16-6)
3
Everett, No. Bedford part of balanced mix
THE SCOOP: After a string of seasons in
which Somerset County had ruled the roost
when it came to District 5 Class AA girls
basketball, the eastern side of the district
has begun to reassert itself by winning the
tournament each of the last two years.
Before Tussey Mountain hoisted the trophy
last season, Everett did it in 2013.
Although they’d come close, that was the
first time the Lady Warriors had pulled it off
since 2000 — that season marked
Everett’s eighth 5-AA title in an 11-year
stretch.
The Lady Warriors should be hungry after
just missing the championship game last
year, and, if they can beat Windber, they’ll
probably have a chance to avenge 2014’s
one-point loss to North Star.
Speaking of North Star, it gets another
Bedford County foe, Northern Bedford, in
the semifinals. The Lady Panthers cooled
off in the last few weeks after a blazing
start but could be a factor if they find a
way to recapture the magic from the first
month.
DEFENDING CHAMPION: Tussey Mountain
PLAYERS TO WATCH: North Star so. F
Jackie Stanko; North Star jr. G Courtney
Schrock; Everett jr. C Kadie Morral; Everett
so. F Hannah Prather; Windber jr. G Kaitlyn
Weaver; Windber so. G Sam Pcola;
Northern Bedford so. G Sydney Snyder
MOST INTRIGUING POSSIBLE MATCHUPS:
Northern Bedford at North Star, and
Windber at Everett in the semifinals;
Windber or Everett vs. North Star in the
championship
SLEEPERS: Windber
MIRROR’S TEAM TO BEAT: North Star
NUMBER OF TEAMS ADVANCING: One
Alilison Snider
Everett
A BOYS
WHO THEY’LL PLAY IN INTERDISTRICTS:
8-1 in a play-in game; the winner of that
game plays 6-2
ANALYSIS: After a hard-to-explain seasonopening loss to United, Everett has been
on a roll, its only setbacks coming to
Bellwood-Antis (twice) and Tussey
Mountain. Seventeen of the Lady Warriors’
19 wins have been by double digits, and
nine of those have been against teams
that are in the postseason.
At the center of Everett’s title hopes is
Morral. The 6-footer is averaging a doubledouble this year with more than two
blocked shots per game, as well. A threeyear contributor, she’s gotten assistance
on the interior this season from Prather,
who is 5-9. The Lady Warriors’ perimeter
attack is pretty balanced, too.
Everett won’t have an easy time of it in the
semis, though. The Lady Ramblers have
won 12 of their last 14 and almost beat
North Star and Portage to run the table
over the months of January and February.
Windber is young but very talented, with a
pair of underclassmen averaging in double
figures.
Northern Bedford got off to a great start
this season, its first win of two over
Claysburg-Kimmel making the Lady Panthers
7-0. Since then, Northern has been under
.500, despite two wins over Southern
Huntingdon and a close loss to Everett.
The Lady Panthers need to return to form
quickly, because the North Star team
they’ll face looks much better than the one
that sidelined Everett and gave Tussey a
decent run over the last three quarters in
last year’s playoffs.
Although there’s only one senior on the roster, the Lady Cougars are very experienced,
and they have decent all-around height,
depth and athleticism.
North Star’s only two losses this season
have been against District 6 Class AAA
favorite Forest Hills, and both of those
games have been close. The Lady
Cougars also have 30-point wins against
Huntingdon, Portage and Conemaugh
Valley, and they’ve swept
Windber and Shade.
Northern Bedford
would be a sleeper
threat in most
years, but North
Star doesn’t look
like a team that will
put itself in much
position to be upset
— the Lady Panthers
will have to come to play to
pull it off.
A GIRLS
1 Southern Fulton (22-1)
Shanksville-Stonycreek (22-1) 2
1 Tussey Mountain (19-3)
Shade (19-4)
2
8 Meyersdale (8-14)
Rockwood (11-11)
7
8 Salisbury-Elk Lick (10-12)
Turkeyfoot Valley (11-10)
7
4 McConnellsburg (16-6)
Conemaugh Township (15-8)
3
4 McConnellsburg (12-10)
Meyersdale (15-7)
3
5 Shade (12-10)
Windber (10-12)
6
5 Southern Fulton (13-9)
Berlin Brothersvalley (12-10)
6
So. Fulton, Shanksville on collision course
THE SCOOP: Conemaugh Township has won
NUMBER OF TEAMS ADVANCING: Three
three consecutive District 5 Class AA chamWHO THEY’LL PLAY IN INTERDISTRICTS: 5pionships, so a move to Class A in 2014-15
1 vs. 3-4, 6-2 vs. 5-3, 5-2 vs. 7-3
would have been expected to bring more
ANALYSIS: In spite of Shanksvillehardware to the Indians’ trophy case.
Stonycreek’s great season, Southern Fulton
This isn’t your typical season, though.
managed to hold off the Trojans for the No.
Township, which still is very formidable, has
1 seed. With Conemaugh Township out
had the misfortune to drop in class right at
there, that seems to bring a bit of an advanthe time that Southern Fulton and
tage, because the Indians will be a dangerShanksville-Stonycreek are enjoying two of
ous second-round foe.
their best seasons ever, which is saying
Southern Fulton enters the tournament ridsomething because of the quality of basketing a 20-game winning streak since dropball those two schools have put on the floor
ping a six-point decision to District 6 Class
over the years.
AA power Blairsville. Among the Indians’
There’s actually quite a bit of talent throughmore impressive victories are a 17-pointer
out this bracket, and it should be an exciting over Township, a 17-pointer at Everett, a 27tournament. But the spotlight is on the top
pointer over then-unbeaten McConnellsburg,
two teams and the eagerly-anticipated showa 28-pointer against Chestnut Ridge and a
down between the two at the University of
comeback win against Bellwood in the InterPittsburgh at Johnstown late next week.
County Conference championship.
DEFENDING CHAMPION: Berlin
Southern Fulton has good size and length
Brothersvalley
and typically plays a very intense style of
PLAYERS TO WATCH: Southern
ball that gets every last ounce out of its
Fulton sr. F Connor Litton;
effort. To reach the finals, the Indians first
Southern Fulton so. F Dylan
will have to defeat a reasonably-athletic
Gordon; ShanksvilleMeyersdale squad and then the winner of
Stonycreek sr. F Jake Wilt;
McConnellsburg and Shade.
Shanksville-Stonycreek sr. G
McConnellsburg/Shade has the makings of
Tanner Ferko; Conemaugh
an entertaining first-round game.
Township sr. G Evan Steeves;
McConnellsburg will be a force in this brackConemaugh Township sr. G
et over the next couple of years because of
Ben Wilson; McConnellsburg
its young nucleus. Shade always seems to
sr. G Tyrelle Wright; Shade sr.
be in the mix and can fill it up with three
G Jeremy Pyles; Windber so. F
players netting more than 13 points per
Joe Cominsky; Rockwood sr.
game. Neither, though, seems likely to
G Logan Svonavec;
knock out Southern Fulton.
Meyersdale so. G Riley
Shanksville’s
only loss came at the hands
Christner
of Somerset, the defending District 6 Class
MOST INTRIGUING POSSIAAA champ which is having a great year in
BLE MATCHUPS: Shade at
its own right. Aside from two games against
McConnellsburg, and Windber
Township to wrap up the regular season, the
at Conemaugh Township in
Trojans really haven’t even been
the quarterfinals; Shade or
tested.
McConnellsburg vs. Southern
Shanksville
opens the playoffs
Fulton, and Conemaugh
against a Rockwood team it has
Township vs. Shanksvillebeaten twice by a combined
Stonycreek in the
58 points. Next is a probable
semifinals;
third game against Township
McConnellsburg vs.
in which the Vikings should
Conemaugh
prevail, although it might be
Township in the
tricky.
consolation;
Shanksville-Stonycreek vs.
Township will have to be on
Southern Fulton in the chamguard in the quarterfinals. It
pionship
meets archrival Windber;
although it swept the
SLEEPERS: Shade
Joe Hudak
Ramblers, one of those wins
MIRROR’S TEAM TO BEAT:
Shanksville
was by a single point.
Southern Fulton
Is Tussey class of a different class?
THE SCOOP: Tussey Mountain has been a
familiar face at the pinnacle of District 5
Class AA girls basketball recently. The Lady
Titans have been to the championship
game at UPJ the last three years, winning
their fourth district crown in the classification last season.
Tussey would have been one of the
favorites in 5-AA again this year if not for
one small issue: Its latest enrollment numbers put it in Class A instead.
That seems to bode well for the Lady
Titans. The last time they were in Class A,
they won back-to-back district championships for only the second time in program
history.
It might not be quite as easy as it once
appeared, though. There’s a Shade team
waiting in the wings that has one of the
state’s top scorers and the possibility of
facing a team that already has beaten
Tussey, as well as a key injury that could
hinder the Lady Titans’ playoff hopes.
DEFENDING CHAMPION: Southern Fulton
PLAYERS TO WATCH: Tussey Mountain sr.
G Breana Kendrick; Tussey Mountain sr. F
Amanda Stoudnour; Shade jr. G Emma
Spinelli; Shade sr. G Lexie Rapsky;
Meyersdale jr. F Erika Ritchey;
McConnellsburg so. F Bronwyne Mellott;
Southern Fulton so. F Olivia Mottern; Berlin
Brothersvalley sr. F Schyler McClucas;
Turkeyfoot Valley sr. F Katie Ryan; SalisburyElk Lick sr. G Kylee Short
MOST INTRIGUING POSSIBLE MATCHUPS:
Southern Fulton at McConnellsburg,
Turkeyfoot Valley at Shade, and Berlin
Brothersvalley at Meyersdale in the quarterfinals; Southern Fulton or McConnellsburg
vs. Tussey Mountain, and Meyersdale vs.
Shade in the semifinals; McConnellsburg
vs. Meyersdale in the consolation; Shade
vs. Tussey Mountain in the championship
SLEEPERS: Southern Fulton, Berlin
Brothersvalley
MIRROR’S TEAM TO BEAT: Tussey
Mountain
NUMBER OF TEAMS
ADVANCING: Three
WHO THEY’LL PLAY IN
INTERDISTRICTS: 5-1 vs.
6-4, 7-1 vs. 5-3, 5-2 vs. 7-3
ANALYSIS: Tussey
Mountain returned four
of its top seven players
from last year, so this
year’s showing wasn’t
exactly unexpected.
The Lady Titans
opened the year
10-0, including
wins over Central, Tyrone, Homer-Center
and Williamsburg. As usual, Tussey got the
job done with defense and hustle as much
as anything else, although the backcourt of
Kendrick and Courtney Rupert gave the
team more scoring punch than usual.
Despite playing a schedule that included a
number of Class AA and playoff foes,
Tussey was able to garner the No. 1 seed.
Whether that turns out to be a boon or not
remains to be seen, because it puts the
Lady Titans in the same side of the bracket
with Southern Fulton — the defending
champion Lady Indians are the fifth seed
but already have a pair of victories over
quarterfinal-round opponent
McConnellsburg, and they were the first
team to defeat Tussey Mountain this season. The rubber match with Southern Fulton
would take place in the semifinals.
To make matters more complicated, Tussey
lost Rupert to an injury 13 games into the
season. In the last nine games, the Lady
Titans have gone 7-2, splitting games with
rival and Class AA second seed Everett and
nearly dropping two to Southern
Huntingdon.
Even with Rupert unavailable, the odds of
Tussey making it to the championship game
are better than not. This is a team that
repeatedly has found ways to win. Tussey
gets Salisbury-Elk Lick, a team with little in
the way of recent postseason history, in the
quarterfinals — the Lady Elkers edged out
Forbes Road and Hyndman in the final
week.
Should Tussey make it back to UPJ, Shade
probably will be the team on the other side
of the court. The Lady Panthers lost in last
year’s finals, but that was a team filled with
underclassmen. Spinelli has averaged more
than 20 points per game for her career.
Shade is 6-0 against the other three teams
in its side of the bracket, although it
only beat first-round opponent
Turkeyfoot by seven the last
time they met.
Meyersdale is Shade’s likely
semifinal opponent, but don’t
count out Berlin, a playoff regular with a young lineup that
matured enough to take down
the Lady Raiders in their second head-to head meeting
this year.
Breana Kendrick
Tussey Mountain