PIAA girls’ basketball state finals: Neumann Goretti, Lansdale Catholic among four local teams in action
Archbishop Wood and Perkiomen Valley also will be playing for championships.
The high school girls’ basketball season will come to a close with PIAA state championship games in six classifications from Thursday through Saturday at the Giant Center in Hershey.
Four teams from the area will be taking part in state finals.
Class 4A
Catholic League rivals Neumann Goretti (25-3) and Lansdale Catholic (23-8) will play Saturday at noon.
The Saints, the Catholic League champions, first had to overcome Public League and District 12 champ Audenried in the semifinals. They secured a 61-52 victory to send Neumann Goretti back to the state final for the sixth time under coach Andrea Peterson, who’s in her 11th season. Catholic League MVP Carryn Easley leads the Saints.
The Crusaders dominated North Catholic of Pittsburgh, 54-16, in the other semifinal. This marks the program’s third state championship appearance since 2022. After falling to Archbishop Wood that year, Lansdale Catholic earned the school’s first state title in 2023. Grace McDonough is a force under the basket for the Crusaders.
Neumann Goretti and Lansdale Catholic squared off once during the regular season as the Saints beat the Crusaders, 58-54.
Class 5A
Archbishop Wood is one win away from earning its fifth consecutive state title and the 10th in school history. The Vikings (22-7) will face South Fayette (28-2) of Allegheny County in the Class 5A final Saturday at 6 p.m.
Wood cruised past District 2 champ Crestwood of Luzerne County, 68-29, in the semifinals. Sophomore Ryan Carter led the way with 25 points, while junior Sophia Topakas added 10 points, four assists, five rebounds, and six steals.
In the other semifinal, South Fayette beat Peters Township of Washington County, 50-36. The Lions are making their second appearance in the final in three years.
Class 6A
Perkiomen Valley (29-3) will contend for its first PIAA title in the Class 6A final against Upper St. Clair (22-6) of Pittsburgh on Friday at 6 p.m.
The program has never made an appearance in the state final, and for the last few years, the Catholic League schools have been its biggest hurdle to overcome.
“Two years in a row, we were stopped by Philadelphia Catholic League teams,” said fifth-year coach John Russo. “Everybody would tell us it’s the best basketball in the area, and that we can’t beat them. They are the end-all, be-all. So to us, it was beating the Catholic League.”
The Vikings got it done against Archbishop Carroll in the semifinals with a 52-45 win.
The Pioneer Athletic Conference champions made a second-round appearance in 2023 but fell to Carroll, then were knocked out by Cardinal O’Hara in the quarterfinals last season. Upper St. Clair (22-6) beat Garnet Valley, 53-49, in the other semifinal.
Perkiomen Valley played Upper St. Clair early in the regular season and earned a 63-57 victory.
“We want to win,” Russo said. “Friday was such a great win and emotional hurdle for us, but honestly, we want the next game and we want it badly. We’ve been talking about it and preparing for this game for 2½ years.”