JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Thursday will mark the second time two teams from District 5 or District 6 will face each other in a PIAA girls basketball championship game.
Both the Berlin Brothersvalley and Bishop McCort Catholic squads have won four straight games in the PIAA Class 2A tournament to face each other for the second time this season at noon Thursday inside Hershey’s Giant Center.
In 2010, District 6 champion Bishop Guilfoyle beat District 6 runner-up Northern Cambria 49-29 for the PIAA Class 1A crown. That was the only other time girls teams from District 5 or District 6 met in the final. Bishop Guilfoyle beat Northern Cambria 42-37 in overtime during that year’s District 6 title game.
There have been 15 PIAA semifinal matchups between two District 6 girls teams since 1987, including twice this year, when Bishop McCort beat Penns Manor for the second time and Bishop Guilfoyle Academy defeated Bishop Carroll Catholic for the third occasion this season. Bishop McCort also met another District 6 foe during a state semifinal in 1988 (beat Marion Center), 2008 (lost to Northern Cambria) and 2017 (defeated Bellwood-Antis).
There were two instances when a team from District 5 met one from District 6 in a state semifinal. Bellwood-Antis beat McConnellsburg 43-37 in 1990 and North Star defeated Bishop McCort 44-42 in 2016.
In 2019, two District 5 squads (Berlin Brothersvalley and Shanksville-Stonycreek) played each other in a semifinal for the only time when the Mountaineers won 55-37 in front of 1,700 fans inside the Pitt-Johnstown Sports Center.
Girls basketball was first recognized by the PIAA in 1973 with two classifications. There were three classes in 1978, four in 1984 and six starting in 2017.
District 5 champion Berlin Brothersvalley (27-2) has won 25 straight games after starting 2-2 with losses to Shady Side Academy and Greensburg Central Catholic. District 6 champ Bishop McCort (26-4) has ripped off seven consecutive victories after falling to PIAA Class 1A finalist and 2024 state champion Bishop Guilfoyle Academy in a Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference semifinal.
Berlin Brothersvalley beat Bishop McCort 56-49 in the Mountain Cat Tournament at Pitt-Johnstown Dec. 12. The teams were tied at 29-all at halftime.
Sophomore Coral Prosser netted a game-high 31 points for the Mountaineers. She scored all 15 of her team’s points in the third quarter and 22 of her points came in the second half. Junior Mercy Sechler added 10 points, and sophomore Elena Ritchey compiled 16 rebounds and nine points.
Berlin Brothersvalley outscored Bishop McCort 15-8 in the third. Both teams produced 12 points in the fourth.
Bishop McCort’s Cami Beppler, Elle Berkebile and Ava Zucco each supplied 10 points.
Berlin Brothersvalley won the 2019 PIAA Class 1A title, becoming the second girls basketball team from District 5 to win the championship (Mc- Connellsburg, 1991).
The Mountaineers also advanced to the semifinals in 2023.
The Mountaineers defeated Bellwood-Antis (70-38), York Catholic (71-52), Marian Catholic (57-46) and Mountain View (41-38) in this year’s state tournament.
Bishop McCort finished as state runners-up in 1977, 1986, 1988 and 2017. The Crimson Crushers won gold in 1985.
The Crimson Crushers beat Eisenhower (70-34), Winchester Thurston (66-39), two-time defending state champion Kennedy Catholic (47-43) and Penns Manor (55-53) in the state tournament.
Through 29 games, two-time Inter-County Conference champion Berlin Brothersvalley has outscored its opponents 1,749-1,074. Bishop McCort has tallied 1,875 points compared to 1,293 points it has given up on defense.
District 6 girls basketball teams have accounted for 22 state titles, including eight by Bishop Guilfoyle. Altoona (four), Bishop Carroll (three), Bellwood-Antis (two), Lewistown (two), Bishop McCort (one) and Williamsburg (one) have also won at least one. District 6 girls squads have finished as a state runner-up 31 times.
The other all-District 6 semifinal games occurred in 1987 (Bishop Carroll beat Conemaugh Valley), 1993 (Bishop Guilfoyle topped Williamsburg), 1994 (Bishop Guilfoyle defeated Williamsburg), 1996 (Bishop Carroll beat Williamsburg), 1998 (Bishop Carroll topped Williamsburg), 2011 (Bishop Guilfoyle defeated Homer-Center), 2017 (Juniata Valley beat Bishop Carroll), 2018 (Juniata Valley topped Bishop Carroll and Bellwood-Antis defeated Blairsville) and 2024 (Bishop Guilfoyle beat Williamsburg).
Jake Oswalt is a copy editor for The Tribune-Democrat. Follow him on Twitter @TheWizOfOz11.
