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Girls
Class AAA
Loyalsock (18-7) at Columbia (23-4), today, 7 p.m.
Loyalsock road to states: In District 4, beat Troy, 59-45 and Bloomsburg, 40-36; lost to Mount Carmel, 37-32
Loyalsock scoring leaders: Alaina Dadzie, 11.4; Julie Ellis, 9.4; Izzy Dadzie, 8.6
Loyalsock notes: Loyalsock is making its seventh straight state tournament appearance, the longest streak in program history. Only Mount Carmel at 14 years has a longer current streak in District 4. The Lancers lost four starters from last year's district champion but surged down the stretch and navigated a rigorous schedule, going 9-1 against larger school teams. Loyalsock also defeated Bloomsburg for a third straight season in the postseason despite being the lower seed each time. Loyalsock handed Bloomsburg two of its five losses and rallied from a nine-point second quarter deficit to win that semifinal. Loyalsock also avenged a loss against Southern Columbia during the regular season and gave Mount Carmel a battle for four quarters, never trailing by more than seven points against a team which has won 16 straight games. Alaina Dadzie was a first team HAC-III all-star and Izzy Dadzie and Julie Ellis second team selections. Katie Ryder earned Defensive all-star honors. Coach Curtis Jacobson has led Loyalsock to states in all seven years with the program after Loyalsock had missed the tournament the previous five years.
Columbia road to states: In District 3, beat Pequea Valley, 53-15 and lost to Lancaster Catholic, 49-34
Columbia scoring leaders: Brie Droege, 23.5; Brooke Droege, 16.6; Kailee Soto, 8.6
Columbia notes: Columbia lost in the District 3 final for a second straight season and Lancaster Catholic is a common opponent with both it and Loyalsock losing against it this season. The Crimson Tide play an up-tempo game and feature a potent offense which averages 61.5 points per game. They allow 33.7 points per game. Like Loyalsock, Columbia is a fairly young team and all five starters are underclassmen. The Droege sisters are junior sisters and both have topped 1,000 career points. Brie has 1,584 career points and Brooke, the point guard, has 1,158. Their mother Marjorie is the Lancaster Lebanon League's all-time leading scorer wih more than 2,500 career points scored at Columbia. Four players have made at least 20 3-pointers, including Soto who has a team-high 42. The Droege sisters have combined for 63 and Breanna Young has 20. Columbia captured the Lancaster-Lebanon Section 4 league championship, going 12-0 in league play.
Winner plays: Either Pen Argyl or Lake Lehman
Class AA
Lancaster Mennonite (8-16) at South Williamsport (20-6), today, 7 p.m.
Mennonite road to states: In District 3, beat Lancaster Country, 2-0 via forfeit and lost to Millersburg, 54-19
Mennonite scoring leaders: Jayla Rivera, 22.0; Leviiah Sweeney, 6.5; Cici Mann, 5.2
Mennonite notes: The Blazers qualified as the fourth and final seed for the District 3 playoffs and reached the final when top-seeded Lancaster Country Day had to forfeit because it did not have enough players due to injuries. Jayla Rivera has scored 1,028 points and can play either guard or forward. She is fourth in the Lancaster Lebanon League in scoring and has made more than 100 carer 3-pointers. Laviiah Sweeney has been one of the team's most improved players throughout the season and has made 25 3-pointers. Cici Mann is third on the team in scoring and has made 18 3-pointers but did not play in the District 3 final because of an injury. Mennonite won two of its last three regular-season games and Rivera (26) and Sweeney (14) combined for 40 points in a 72-56 late-season loss against Lancaster Country Day. Mennonite and South met once before in states with Mennonite defeating the 2009 team in the second round.
South road to states: In District 4, beat Wyalsuing, 69-38; Northwest, 43-25 and Line Mountain, 49-19
South scoring leaders: Lacey Kriebel, 15.1; Aleigha Rieppel, 11.8
South notes: South captured its first district championship since 2009 and is competing in states for a second straight year. The Mounties also have reached states in four of the past six seasons and may have done so in 2021 if it was not a condensed season in which only the champion advanced. South has won 13 of its last 14 games and its lone loss during that stretch seemed to ignite it throughout districts. Northwest defeated South in the Mid-Penn Conference championship but the Mounties led from start to finish in the district semifinal rematch. South's starters have not let the last two opponents reach 20 points and that strong defense paved the way to the championship. The Mounties reached last year's state quarterfinals and prepared for the postseason well by playing a strong non-conference schedule. Five of South's six losses are against state tournament qualifiers. Piper Minier was named Mid-Penn Defensive Player of the Year and Sofia Casella and Alizabeth Schuler formed a strong inside tandem against Line Mountain.
Winner plays: Either Faith Christian or Belmont Charter
Boys
Class AAAAA
Lampeter-Strasburg (19-7) at Central Mountain (24-2), Saturday, 7 p.m.
NOTE: Was ppd. from Friday
L-S road to states: In District 3, lost to Hershey, 35-26 and Milton Hershey, 65-40; beat Warwick, 70-55
L-S scoring leaders: Chase Smucker, 13.1; Luke Hines, 10.4 Dean Herr, 6.9
L-S notes: The Pioneers went 28-1 last year and captured the District 3 championship before losing to Penn Hills in the opening round of states. Lampeter-Strasburg has held itself together after losing leading scorer Ben Wert (24.1 ppg) to a season-ending injury in January. Four players are averaging at least 8.6 points per game. Chase Smucker has hit a team-high 46 3-pointers and Dean Herr is close behind with 42. Luke Hines was a force against Warwick, scoring 28 points and Herr added 18. L-S avenged a regular-season finale loss against Warwick with that state qualifying win. L-S averages 55.4 points per game and allows 48.3. It is a good free throw shooting team, making 72.2 percent of its shots.
Central Mountain road to states: In District 4-6, beat Hollidaysburg, 49-44 and Bellefonte, 59-56
Central Mountain scoring leaders: Hayden Pardoe, 21.1; Jack Hanna, 17.2; Hunter Hoy, 8.6
Central Mountain notes: It was pushed hard in districts, but Central Mountain repeated as champions, rallying in the second half of both games. Jack Hanna hit a go-ahead shot in the final minute against Bellefonte and Hayden Pardoe and Essex Taylor also hit some key late shots to help seal the first repeat in program history. Central Mountain also has set a record for wins in a season and captured its first Heartland Conference championship when it defeated Shamokin in the final. Pardoe was named the HAC-I MVP earlier this week and Hanna was a first teamer. Hunter Hoy made the second team and Taylor the third. Hanna is a four-year starter and scored his 1,000th career point in a HAC Tournament semifinal win against Loyalsock. Pardoe averages 8.2 rebounds and three blocks per game, while Levi Schlesinger averages 5.7 rebounds per game. Hanna, Hoy and Taylor all average at least two steals per game and Xavier Persun has provided a spark off the bench.
Winner plays: Either Peters Township or Milton Hershey
Class AAAA
Littlestown (20-6) at Lewisburg (16-9), today, 7 p.m.
Littlestown road to states: In District 3, beat Bishop McDevitt, 81-59; lost to Fleetwood, 58-37; beat Octorara, 75-57
Littlestown scoring leaders: Christopher Meakin, 18.3; Jake Bosley, 15.0; Zyan Herr, 12.3
Littlestown notes: The Thunderbolts feature a potent offense which includes two 1,000-point scorers in Christopher Meakin and Jake Bosley. Meakin is 6-foot-8 and went over 1,000 points in his last game. Bosley is 6-foot-4 and was the YAIAA-III Player of the Year. He has had eight games with 20 or more points. Meakin and Zyan Herr also were first team league all-stars as Littlestown won a share of its league title. Herr leads the team with 49 3-pointers as well. Lewisburg won a thriller against Littlestown in last year's first round game, winning in the final seconds, 56-54. Littlestown is making its third state tournament appearance in five seasons and coach John Forster is 129-47. Cole Riley averages 6.9 points per game and has made 36 3-pointers.
Lewisburg road to states: In District 4, beat Mifflinburg, 66-54 and Shamokin, 54-52 in OT; lost to Danville, 48-38
Lewisburg scoring leaders: Cam Michaels, 15.7; Henry Harrison, 12.6; Jack Blough 11.0
Lewisburg notes: Lewisburg reached a second straight district final despite losing four starters from last year's championship team. The Green Dragons also knocked off top-seeded Shamokin, avenging a 15-point loss from December. Lewisburg started the season 2-5 before winning 12 of its next 13 games. The Dragons shared the HAC-II championship with Danville after the rivals split two regular-season games. Michaels earned HAC-II MVP honors and hit a buzzer-beating, pull-up jumper Shamokin. Sophomore Neyshawn Mabry has become a weapon off the bench and the 6-5 forward had 15 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks against Danville in the final. He also had four blocks against Shamokin, helping change the game's complexion as Lewisburg rallied in the fourth quarter. This is the fourth time in five seasons under coach John Vaji that Lewisburg has reached the state tournament.
Winner plays: Either Berks Catholic or Uniontown
Class A
La Academia (12-11) at
Sullivan County (17-8), today, 7 p.m.
La Academia road to states: In District 3, beat Dayspring Christian, 50-39; lost to Greenwood, 51-50 and Lancaster Country Day, 48-42
LaAcademia scoring leaders: Alex Ermakov 19.3, Jerry Johnson 12.6, Elijah Perez, 6.9
LaAcademia notes: A charter school, LaAcademia is in its third season as a varsity program and is competing in states for the second time after reaching the 2021 semifinals. The Leones played a tough schedule and gave Class AAA contender Executive Education a battle during the regular season before coming within a shot of handing Greenwood just its second loss in districts. Alex Ermakov has a nice shooting touch, draining 52 3-pointers, while Jerry Johnson has added 37. Ermakov can take his game inside and outside and Johnson has made a big impact as a freshman. Elijah Perez, a 6-6 forward, averages a team-high 6.7 rebounds per game. Coach Jerry Johnson Sr. scored 1,792 at nearby J.P. McCaskey High School in Lancaster from 1997-2001 before enjoying a successful 13-year professional career overseas. La Academia averages 57.3 points per game and allows 53.5.
Sullivan road to states: In District 4, beat Bucktail, 68-36; North Penn-Liberty, 46-16 and Northumberland Christian, 52-41
Sullivan scoring leaders: Riley King, 12.8; Ben Carpenter, 12.2; Trey Higley, 7.3
Sullivan notes: Sullivan is making its 11th state tournament appearance in the last 14 years and avenged a 19-point loss against top-seeded Norry Christian to win the program's second district championship. The Griffins played outstanding defense throughout the postseason and held Norry scoreless for more than five minutes at the start of the second half in the final. Sullivan has won nine of its last 10 games and more than doubled last year's win total. Ben Carpenter and Riley King combined for 34 points against Norry, while all the Griffins swarmed defensively and hit the boards hard. Trey Higley produced a double-double against North Penn-Liberty and had eight points with eight rebounds against Norry. Maddox Bahr hit some key shots in the final, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer before halftime. Sullivan played a quality non-conference schedule in addition to competing in the Mid-Penn which sent four teams to states. The Griffins have wins against District 4 Class AAA champion Troy and Class AA champion Muncy.
Winner plays: Either Berlin Brothersvalley or St. Joseph's
North Penn-Liberty (14-11) at Linville Hill Christian (22-0), today, 7 p.m.
NPL road to states: In District 4, beat Lourdes, 51-50; lost to Sullivan County, 46-16; beat Galeton, 39-21
NPL scoring leaders: Derek Litzelman, 20.1; Daniel Sherant, 9.5; Adynn Wheeland, 4.2
NPL notes: Despite losing four starters for a second consecutive season, North Penn-Liberty is competing in states for the third time in four years. Had it not been for a condensed 2021 season in which only the champion advanced, North Penn-Liberty would have four straight tournament berths since it was the runner-up that year. The Mounties rallied past Lourdes in the quarterfinals with Derek Litzelman hitting a shot in the closing seconds to win it. Litzelman has had a huge senior season and is averaging a team-high 8.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game. Daniel Sherant has become a weapon inside and Adynn Wheeland and Blake Oakley have provided boosts off the bench. Jackson Brion and Brady Stetter each average more than a steal per game. North Penn-Liberty will again be replacing four starters next season, but has developed a strong program over the years and this recent four-year stretch is the best in program history.
Linville Hill road to states: In District 3, beat Coventry Christian, 58-29; Lancaster Country Day, 44-30 and Greenwood, 69-51
Linville Hill scoring leaders: Daniel King, Matthew Lapp, Reagan Smoker
Linville Hill notes: The Warriors repeated as District 3 champions in just their sixth year of existence and have four starters back from a team which gave St. John Neumann its toughest game en route to the state final last year. Linville Hill led the game late in the third quarter before Neumann rallied and won, 60-50. Daniel King is a 6-3 senior who can play either guard or forward while Matthew Lapp is tough around the basket. Reagan Smoker and Tim Fisher are good outside shooters and Stephen Smucker scored 18 games in a season-opening win against Lancaster Country Day. King scored 20 points against Greenwood in the district final as the Warriors overcame a second quarter deficit and broke things open in the fourth quarter. He was one of three players in double figures. Linville Hill averages 63.3 points per game and allows 39.8.
Winner plays: Either City School or Bethlehem Christian