H.S. BASKETBALL: Schuylkill Haven, Williams Valley and Lourdes bask in district championship glory
· Yahoo Sports
Ten Schuylkill League basketball teams qualify for the PIAA state playoffs, but only three — the Schuylkill Haven boys, Williams Valley girls and Lourdes Regional girls — did so by winning a district championship.
Here’s a look at how they got there.
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Schuylkill Haven 82, Tri-Valley 68
Schuylkill Haven defeated Tri-Valley to win the District 11 Boys Class 2A Championship, its first since 1997.
Five Hurricanes finished in double-figure scoring in the win.
Alan Evans scored his 1,000th career point with a 22-point performance in the district championship game. Justin Watcher led the Hurricanes with 23 points, while Max Heim scored 14 points, Brady Kelly rolled in 13 points and Brayden Diehl had 10 points.
“We knew we had what it takes to beat them,” Heim said. “We lost to them by one at home, and we just made mistakes when we were out there. Tonight, we came in and played our best basketball game that we played all year. We’re lucky enough to have it land on a day like today. Everybody played their butts off, and we were able to come out with a gold medal.”
Tri-Valley won both regular season matchups before Schuylkill Haven won the rubber match – and the district title.
The Hurricanes will get to start the state playoffs at home when they take Delone Catholic on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Williams Valley 51, Marian Catholic 29
Williams Valley beat Marian Catholic to win its second straight District 11 Class 2A Championship in a rematch of last year’s title game.
“Having four seniors in the starting lineup that all started in last year’s district championship and state playoff run is always good,” Williams Valley coach Shane Zellers said. “When we hit that rough stretch this season, they never panicked, they kept showing up everyday ready to work. I give our girls a lot of credit.”
Ella Kobularik, Ireland Kasper, Mallory Miller, Quin Smeltz and Victoria Starnowsky are all making their final postseason pushes.
“This team is probably my favorite to coach,” Zellers explained. “The challenges, the adversity, the pressure of defending a championship. But also their togetherness, toughness, and ability lock in when the lights come on. I really like coaching these seniors, hopefully we have a few more weeks together.”
Williams Valley’s district championship win was highlighted by the 13 turnovers forced defensively and Kasper’s four 3-pointers. The Vikings went on an 11-3 scoring run in the fourth quarter to put the game away.
“I think the thing that stands out about us is our ability to share the basketball,” Zellers said. “When we get a balanced scoring attack, we are tough to beat.”
“We learned that we can play a complete game on both ends of the floor,” he added. “I thought that was as much of a total team effort that we played all year.”
Williams Valley will host Southern Columbia in the first round of the PIAA Class 2A playoffs on Friday at 7 p.m.
Lourdes 59, Benton 45
Lourdes beat Benton to win the District 4 Girls Class A Championship.
The Red Raiders won their 1,000th game in program history in January, and that was just one milestone in what became a special season.
“We are still young and still learning,” Lourdes coach Mike Klembara said. “We must improve in all areas and have balanced scoring and teamwork.”
Lourdes has compiled an impressive 25-2 record and has made the PIAA state playoffs in each of the last five years.
The Red Raiders have only lost two games all season and have won 19 of their last 20 games.
“Our leadership is very good and practices will be shorter,” Klembara said. “We have to reduce turnovers and play better defense.”
Kylla Sandri leads the Red Raiders with 11.9 points per game. Hannah Lokitis has averaged 11.1 points a team-high 11.5 rebounds per game. Vivian Reiprish has averaged 3.7 assists per game, while Onaleigh Barnes and Lokitis each have 2.9 steals per game.
Lourdes will take on Conestoga Christian at home in the first round of the PIAA Class 1A state on Saturday at 1 p.m.