Two D9 Title Games on Tap Thursday; PIAA Playoff Berths Also on the Line

A pair of championship games, two consolation games and a subregional contest are on tap in the District 9 basketball playoffs Thursday.

(Photo by Paul Burdick. Check out more of Burdick’s work here)

DISTRICT 9 CLASS 2A BOYS’ CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

(2) RIDGWAY VS. (1) COUDERSPORT
When and Where: 7:30 p.m. at St. Marys High School
PIAA Playoffs Outlook: Winner gets the fourth-place team out of the WPIAL, while the loser plays the third-place team out of the WPIAL
Records: Ridgway 23-3, Coudersport 23-1
How They Got Here: Ridgway beat Clarion, 48-32, in quarterfinals and Keystone, 42-38, in semifinals; Coudersport beat Brockway, 79-44, in quarterfinals and Karns City, 83-67, in semifinals
Ridgway Leading Scorers: Jake Reynolds (11.5 ppg), Will Thompson (11.2 ppg), Matt Dush (9.6 ppg), Daunte Allegretto (9.1 ppg)
Coudersport Leading Scorers: Owen Chambers (31.2 ppg), Hayden Keck (15.2 ppg), Dillon Keglovits (8.8 ppg)
Last District 9 Title: Ridgway 2014 in Class 1A; Coudersport 2018 in Class 2A
Notes: This is a rematch of last year’s championship game won by Coudersport, 66-46. It was the second straight Class 2A title for the Falcons, who are appearing in their fourth straight championship game having lost to ECC in 1A in 2016. Coudersport has never won three straight D9 titles … This is also a rematch of a Jan. 4 game that was won by Ridgway, 57-56, in come-from-behind fashion as the Elkers overcame a 10-point halftime deficit and won the game on a pair of Daunte Allegretto free throws with 7.5 seconds left. Jake Reynolds led Ridgway with 17 points, all in the second half, while Owen Chambers paced Coudersport with 25 points … Chambers is nearing the District 9 scoring record of 2,257 points set by Johnsonburg’s Calvin Grumley. Chambers is 69 points shy of the mark with 2,188 career tallies. Chambers has scored 30 or more points 15 times this season while twice hitting 40 … This game pits the top offensive team in D9 Coudersport (80.6 ppg) vs. the top defensive team in D9 Ridgway (36.7 ppg allowed).

DISTRICT 9 CLASS 1A GIRLS’ CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

(3) NORTH CLARION VS. (1) JOHNSONBURG
When and Where: 7:30 p.m. at Brookville High School
PIAA Playoff Outlook: The winner plays sixth-place team out of the WPIAL, while the loser plays the fourth-place team out of the WPIAL
Records: North Clarion 18-6; Johnsonburg 20-5
How They Got Here: North Clarion beat ECC, 54-48, in the quarterfinals, and Coudersport, 50-29, in the semifinals; Johnsonburg beat Otto-Eldred, 59-39, in the semifinals after having a bye in the quarterfinals.
North Clarion Leading Scorers: Abby Gatesman (14.0 ppg), Mackenzie Bauer (10.6 ppg), Hayley Sherman (7.3 ppg)
Johnsonburg Leading Scorers: Cassidy King (15.0 ppg), Maria Jones (11.2 ppg), Lindsey Kocjancic (8.4 ppg), Rylee Casilio (7.6 ppg)
Last District 9 Title: North Clarion 2018 in Class 1A; Johnsonburg 1979 in Class 1A
Notes: North Clarion is making its third straight appearance in the D9 1A title game and is looking for its third straight title, a feat that hasn’t been accomplished in 1A since Union won three in a row from 2005-07 … Johnsonburg, on the other hand, is making its first trip to the title game in 40 years. The Ramettes were last in a championship game in 1979 in Class 1A when they beat Clarion-Limestone, 98-38, to win their third straight title (two in 1A and one in 2A) … This is the second meeting of the season between these teams. Johnsonburg won the first at North Clarion, 55-46, Jan. 3 when it outscored North Clarion, 20-8, in the second quarter. The She-Wolves clawed back within three in the final minute of play but couldn’t get over the hump. Maria Jones and Cassidy King each scored 23 points in the win, while Abby Gatesman had 23 points for North Clarion.

DISTRICT 5-9 CLASS 3A BOYS’ SUBREGIONAL GAME

(9-1) BROOKVILLE VS. (5-1) EVERETT
When and Where: 6 p.m. at Pitt-Johnstown
Winner Gets: Get the sixth-place team out of the WPIAL, either Beaver Falls or Deer Lakes, in the opening round of the PIAA playoffs.
Records: Brookville 15-8; Everett 20-2
How They Got Here: Brookville beat Moniteau, 54-35, in D9 title game; Everett beat Chestnut Ridge, 60-53, in the D5 title game
Everett Leading Scorers: Jared Colledge (18.1 ppg), Elijah Treese (13.9 ppg)
Brookville Leading Scorers: Aaron Park (11.3 ppg)
Notes: Both Colledge and Tresse are over 1,000 career points for Everetts. The Warriors have won 16 in a row … Colledge has hit 77 3-pointers which is just a bit less than the 84 Brookville has made this year as a team … Brookville was last in the PIAA playoffs in 2014

DISTRICT 9 CLASS 2A GIRLS’ CONSOLATION GAME

(6) KEYSTONE VS. (4) CLARION
When and Where: 6 p.m. at Brookville High School
Winner Gets: The District 4 champion
Records: Keystone 11-12; Clarion 16-8
How They Got Here: Keystone beat Port Allegany, 36-26, in the quarterfinals but lost to A-C Valley, 38-27, in the semifinals; Clarion beat Cranberry, 48-33, in the quarterfinals but lost to Kane, 61-51, in the semifinals.
Keystone Leading Scorers: Emily Lauer (12.4 ppg), McKenzie Hovis (12.1 ppg)
Clarion Leading Scorers: Kait Constantino (13.0 ppg), KK Girvan (10.0 ppg), Wendy Beveridge (8.9 ppg)
Notes: This is a win-and-move-on-lose-and-go-home game … It’s the second meeting this year between the teams with Clarion gaining a 59-29 win at Keystone Jan. 12 behind 23 KK Girvan points. Danae Hurrelbrink led Keystone with eight points. The Lady Panthers’ leading scorer, Emily Lauer, missed the game with an injury.

DISTRICT 9 CLASS 1A GIRLS’ CONSOLATION GAME

(5) OTTO-ELDRED VS. (2) COUDERSPORT
When and Where: 6 p.m. at St. Marys High School
PIAA Playoff Outlook: The winner gets the second-place team out of District 5. The loser gets the WPIAL champion.
Records: Otto-Eldred 15-9; Coudersport 18-5
How They Got Here: Otto-Eldred beat Cameron County, 36-32, in the quarterfinals but lost to Johnsonburg, 59-39, in the semifinals; Coudersport beat Northern Potter, 49-21, in the quarterfinals but lost to North Clarion, 50-29, in the semifinals
Otto-Eldred Leading Scorers: Haylee Frederick (8.2 ppg), Reilly Raught (7.1 ppg)
Coudersport Leading Scorers: Shae Black (13.8 ppg), Sarah Chambers (13.1 ppg), Rosalyn Page (8.7 ppg)
Notes: This is the third meeting of the year between these teams with Coudersport winning the first two by scores of 46-39 Dec. 20 in Coudy and 50-36 Jan. 24 in Duke Center. Sarah Chambers had 17 points and Rosalyn Page 13 in the December win while Page had 14 points and Shae Black and Mikayla Gunn each had 12 in the January victory. Otto-Eldred was paced by nine points from Reilly Raught and eight from Morgan Dalton in the first game and nine points from Britney Greeley and eight from Raught in the second game.