Centre County basketball teams that have won their first-round games in the 2017 District 6 Tournament, no matter how meaningful or dramatic the wins were, will not be doing very much celebrating.
They don’t have time. Everyone is right back into action in round two, and there are some compelling games in the works for both boys’ and girls’ teams.
Thursday, Feb. 23, the Penns Valley girls, who had a big night in a 60-50 win over Ligonier Valley on Feb. 21, will take on familiar Mountain League rival Central in a 3-A second round game in Martinsburg.
Then on Saturday, Feb. 25, the Bellefonte girls will vie for their first D-6, 5-A championship against Obama Academy at Mt. Aloysius College. Bellefonte defeated DuBois on Feb. 21, 42-38, to qualify for a shot at the title.
Philipsburg-Osceola, despite 25 points from Halle Herrington, lost its first-round, 3-A game to Everett on Feb 21 and concluded its season, while in 6-A, the State College girls took on Mifflin County on Feb. 22 in a game that was played too late to be included in this edition.
In boys’ action, Penns Valley also played on Feb. 22 at No. 1 seeded Richland with a spot in the PIAA tournament on the line, but
Bellefonte lost to Central Mountain in 5-A and its season has ended.
The State College boys will play Altoona on Friday, Feb. 24 for the D-6, 6-A title at Tyrone High School (see that game previewed in this edition), and in single-A, St. Joseph’s Academy also played on Feb. 22 against No. 4 seed Juniata Valley.
The Penns Valley girls may be very familiar with No.5 Central (17-5), but that familiarity came with a price. The Lady Dragons beat PV twice this season, the first time by a score of 49-45 on Dec. 21 and then by 49-34 on Jan. 27 at Central.
The Rams return to Martinsburg hoping that the third game will reverse their fortunes.
Central, however, is an experienced, senior-led team that has two players who average in double-digits per game. Senior Hannah Johnston averages 15 per game and was held below 10 just three times this season. In her last three games, all Central wins, she has scored 26, 22, and 28 so she’s been very hot and will be tough to contend with.
Central as a team has been hot as well. The Dragons have won eight straight coming into this game, mostly on the strength of their
defense. In that stretch of games, no one scored more than 49 points, and they held six teams to less than 40.
The good news for Penns Valley is that even if the Rams can’t pull out a win, they are not finished. With five teams advancing to the PIAA tournament from 3-A, the loser of this game will drop into a consolation bracket to determine the fifth qualifier.
The Bellefonte girls, coming off their big win over DuBois, will face Obama Academy at Mt. Aloysius College on Saturday, Feb. 25, for the
D-6 championship. Both teams have already qualified to advance to the state tournament, but securing the first-ever 5-A title would be a lasting achievement.
Obama Academy beat Hollidaysburg 48-44 on Feb. 21 to set up this matchup, and that was the Eagles’ 17th win of the season against eight losses.
The Academy is led by three senior players who all will be difficult to deal with for the Red Raiders.
Two-time Pittsburgh City League Player of the Year Michaela Porter is the team’s high scorer, averaging more than 20 points per game.
And then senior forwards Taylin Tyler and Taylor Stewart both add double-figure scoring and rebounding averages. Against Allerdice, for example, a 64-53 win for the City League title, Porter scored 22 points, had 10 rebounds, and four assists. Stewart added 17 points and 12 rebounds and Tyler scored 13 and pulled 10 boards. All three players are over 6 feet tall.
Bellefonte, now 12-11, has also been playing well. The Red Raiders have won five of their last eight games, and they have been playing
their usual tough defense. None of the teams counted in those five wins scored more than 36 points, and one team, Central Mountain, did not make it to 30.
The winner of this game will go on to play the No. 5 seed from District 7 in the opening round of the state tournament, and the loser
will get the No. 3 seed from D-7.
