PIAA Girls Basketball: Check out semifinal matchup for Archbishop Wood
Seven Courier/Intell teams began their PIAA state playoff journey, with four of those teams winning to advance. Check out the first-, second-, quarterfinal- and semifinal-round recaps and top player performances.
Results from the semifinal round of the PIAA Girls Basketball Playoffs:
Class 5A: (12-1) Archbishop Wood 53, (11-1) Bethlehem Catholic 30
A dominant performance from Emily Knouse secured the Vikings' fourth straight trip to the state championship game. Knouse scored 26 points in the win, including 12 in the first quarter to give the Vikings an early 14-8 lead. The advantage continued to grow, with Wood taking a 15-point halftime lead en route to the blowout win. Ava Renninger scored 12 points for the Vikings, while Lauren Greer powered the defense.
The Vikings will be in Hershey for Saturday's championship game against Cathedral Prep, formerly known as Villa Maria before the two schools merged in 2022.
Results from the quarterfinal round of the PIAA Girls Basketball Playoffs:
Class 5A: (12-1) Archbishop Wood 48, (2-1) Scranton Prep 35
Emily Knouse led the way with 14 points and 8 rebounds, while Ava Renninger and Alexa Windish scored 11 points apiece. The Vikings advanced to the semifinals where they will face District 11 champion Bethlehem Catholic on Tuesday. BC defeated Abington Heights 46-33 in the quarterfinals. Lauren Greer led the way on defense with 10 rebounds.
Class 6A: (1-6) Garnet Valley 58, (1-4) North Penn 51
An exceptional season for the Knights came to an end against Garnet Valley. The Knights trailed by 10 points early, but outscored the Jaguars 16-8 in the third quarter and tied the game at 41-41, before a run by GV sealed its victory. Cam Crowley led the Knights with 14 points, while Caleigh Sperling had 12 points. A teamwide effort helped the Knights tie the game, with Olivia Stone and Leah Miluski hitting 3-pointers, and freshman Lily Brown sinking a pair of free throws.
Results from the second round of the PIAA Girls Basketball Playoffs:
Class 6A: (1-4) North Penn 56, (7-2) North Allegheny 54 (OT)
Caleigh Sperling has been nearly unstoppable this postseason. While she didn't have her highest scoring game on Tuesday, she did have her most memorable and impactful. Sperling scored the game-winning basket at the buzzer, in overtime, in a thrilling finish to a game that was close from start to finish. Sperling finished with a team-high 16 points, while Cam Crowley had 13 points and Lily Brown scored 12. North Penn advanced to the PIAA quarterfinals to take on fellow District One foe Garnet Valley at 7 p.m. Friday at Bensalem High School.
Class 5A: (12-1) Archbishop Wood 66, (2-3) Dallas 32
Emily Knouse, Lauren Greer, and Sophia McDonald each scored 12 points as the Vikings cruised to the win and advanced to the quarterfinals for the 11th straight season. Wood next takes on District 2 champion Scranton, 1 p.m. Saturday at Easton Middle School.
Class 4A: (2-1) Scranton Prep 58, (1-1) Villa Joseph Marie 39
A strong season for the Jems came to an end against a tough Scranton Prep team.
Class 3A: (3-1) Lancaster Catholic 64, (1-1) New Hope-Solebury 33
The Lions' season came to an end against a tough 26-2 Lancaster Catholic team. Sophomore Kayla Fennell led New Hope with 10 points, and Emily Wilson scored seven points.
4 Bucks County area teams advanced in the PIAA Girls Basketball playoffs after first-round wins:
North Penn wins big at home
The Knights took a 24-14 lead into halftime and never let up en route to the 48-34 win over District 11’s Emmaus in Class 6A. Caleigh Sperling led all scorers with 22 points as the Knights put on a show in front of the home crowd.
Archbishop Wood, New Hope-Solebury and Villa Joseph Marie advance
After an atypical slow start against (1-6) Radnor, the Vikings took control and secured a 55-42 victory.
New Hope-Solebury's opponent, District 12 team Pickett Mastery Charter, forfeited, so the Lions were awarded a win by forfeit and advanced to the second round.
Villa Joseph Marie had no trouble in dispatching its District 12 opponent, Prep Charter, winning 54-22.
CB East, Pennsbury, Gwynedd Mercy fall on the road
Fine seasons for the Patriots and Falcons came to an end in Friday's road games. The Falcons, who rallied to secure a state playoff berth as the 16th seed in District One, had a tough matchup against District 2 champion Hazelton, falling 63-48. The Falcons finished with a 20-9 record and will graduate seven seniors, including offensive star Sofia Vitucci and defensive catalyst Layla Matthias.
CB East kept things close against District 3 runner-up Dallastown, but fell just short in a low-scoring 43-36 game. The Patriots also finished with a 20-9 record, and will graduate top scorer Anna Barry and top defender Chantal van Dongeren.
Gwynedd Mercy also faced a district champion, as the Monarchs were matched up against District 11's Bethlehem Catholic, the team that ended their 2022-23 season in the second round of states. While the Monarchs faced an early deficit, they made things tough in the second half, sparked by sophomore Bailey Balkir, and scored seven straight points, cutting the deficit to 35-31. BC regained control after an offensive foul and went on to win 41-35. The Monarchs (22-6) return their young core next season.
Who had the top performances in the first round of the PIAA playoffs?
Caleigh Sperling, North Penn
The senior had her third playoff game with 20 or more points, scoring a game-high 22 against Emmaus. Sperling got the Knights off to a great start, scoring 8 points in the first quarter, and she went 8-for-9 from the free throw line.
Ava Gumienny, Villa Joseph Marie
The Jems’ top scorer put up a game-high 15 points in a blowout win against Prep Charter.
Riley Deal, Villa Joseph Marie
The junior had an impressive 10 steals in the Jems’ first round win.
Sofia Vitucci, Pennsbury
The senior has had to carry much of the offensive load for the Falcons this season, and she did that again against a strong Hazleton defense, putting up 20 points. Vitucci had 15 of her points in the first half, fighting through double-teams to keep the Falcons in the game. She averaged 18 points during Pennsbury’s playoff run.
Joley Hohman, Pennsbury
The freshman had one of her best games of the season, scoring 10 points against Hazleton.
Haley Moran, CB East
The freshman impressed in her first state playoff game, scoring a team-high 10 points against Dallastown. In addition, Moran provided a spark on defense, racing down the court and delivering an impressive block.
Lily Brown, North Penn
This was another big showing from a freshman, with Brown putting up 12 points, including a 4-for-4 night at the free throw line, in the Knights’ win over Emmaus.
Olivia Stone, North Penn
Stone was a key facilitator for the high-scoring Knights, dishing out 6 assists while scoring 8 points and contributing on defense.
Bailey Balkir, Gwynedd Mercy
The sophomore sparked a late-game comeback, scoring 12 points in the second half against Bethlehem Catholic. She finished with a game-high 16 points in the close loss.
Lauren Greer, Archbishop Wood
The Vikings’ top defender was also their top scorer in the win against Radnor, scoring 15 points and fighting for four rebounds.
Ava Renninger, Archbishop Wood
She posted a double-double, scoring 12 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, and also handed ot five assists in a win over Radnor.
PIAA Girls Basketball Second-Round Matchups for Bucks County area teams:
Class 3A: (1-1) New Hope-Solebury vs. (3-1) Lancaster Catholic
Tuesday, 6 p.m. at Pottstown HS
Lancaster Catholic (25-2) won the District 3 championship for the 21st time, setting a district record, when it topped Columbia 64-37. Lancaster Catholic won its first-round PIAA 3A game in a 64-16 rout of Masterman.
The Crusaders average 60 points per game and allow 35 points per game.
NH-S (14-11) averages 48 points per game and gives up an average of 45 per game.
Class 4A: (1-1) Villa Joseph Marie vs. (2-1) Scranton Prep
Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. at Easton Middle School
Scranton Prep (20-5) won the District 2 4A title, defeating Valley View 55-31, and won its PIAA first-round matchup against North Schuylkill 55-22.
The Cavaliers average 55 points per game, give up an average of 35 points per game.
Villa Joseph Marie (16-9) averages 45 points per game, and allows 39 per game.
Class 5A: (12-1) Archbishop Wood vs. (2-3) Dallas
Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. at Catasauqua H.S.
Dallas (21-7) finished third in District 2, defeating Crestwood 42-35 to earn a state playoff berth. The Mountaineers edged Villa Maria 43-41 in the first round of the PIAA 5A playoffs.
Wood (22-5) scores an average of 58 points per game, while giving up just 41 per game.
Class 6A: (1-4) North Penn vs. (7-2) North Allegheny
Tuesday, 7 p.m. at Bald Eagle H.S.
North Allegheny (22-3) fell to Norwin 56-41 in the District 7 championship game, and defeated Erie 57-23 in the first round of the PIAA 6A tournament.
The Tigers score an average of 54 points per game, while allowing 41 per game.
North Penn (22-5) scores 51 points per game, and allows an average of 40 per game.
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Archbishop Wood makes finals of PIAA Girls Basketball
