CENTRE COUNTY — St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy girls’ basketball team had some business to take care of on Tuesday night before it could really look ahead to what will be coming up in the quarterfinals of the District 6, 1A Girls Basketball Tournament.
That second round matchup against No. 1 seed Bishop Carroll (22-3) is now official after the No. 3 WolfPack took care of No. 6 Juniata Valley, 71-35, in the first round at Bald Eagle Area High School.
The Juniata Valley game, which was originally scheduled to be played on Monday but was postponed, began as a back-and-forth affair until SJCA went on a 15-4 run to close out the first quarter with a 27-13 lead.
There was more of that to come before halftime as the WolfPack extended their advantage to 43-20 with a solid defensive effort that held the Hornets to just seven points in the second quarter.
The defense continued into the second half — Juniata Valley scored just 16 second-half points — as SJCA wrapped up its 23rd win of the season against just two losses.
The victory also extended the team’s winning streak to 21 consecutive games.
Jacee Cunningham led the WolfPack with 21 points, while Alexia Luckovich scored 16 and Naomi Crispin added 15.
Aubrey Yartz and Lauren Himes each scored eight.
“Jacee Cunningham had an outstanding game,” SJCA head coach Bethany Irwin said, “and she had a career high in points.
“We had the flu run through us last week, and it was good to have Alexia Luckovich back on the court, and Aubrey (Yartz) had the best game I have seen her play in a long time.”
The victory set up a quarterfinal showdown with the Lady Huskies, one of only two teams that own a victory over SJCA this year.
Back on Nov. 29 in the Bishop Carroll Tipoff Tournament, Carroll tripped up SJCA 62-51, in the tournament championship game.
Since then, SJCA lost only to 5-A Indiana before setting out on its 21-game winning streak.
The Carroll quarterfinal game will take place on Thursday, Feb. 19, at Bishop Carroll, and the winner will see either No. 1 Bishop Guilfoyle or No. 4 Williamsburg in the championship game on Feb. 25 at Mount Aloysius College.
Since four teams advance, all four top seeds have already qualified for the PIAA Tournament. The champion will have a home game against the No. 4 team from District 9.
SJCA boys advance to Round 2
A 15-0 run in the first quarter spurred the St. Josephs’ Catholic Academy boys basketball team to a 57-25 victory over No. 6 Ferndale in the D-6 1A first round game at Bald Eagle Area High School on Tuesday night.
The win sends the No. 3 WolfPack to the D6 semifinal against No. 2 Conemaugh Valley on Friday night at CV, and it also completed an impressive girl-boy doubleheader win. In the first game of the night, the SJCA girls won their first round game over Juniata Valley.
The Ferndale game started close and the Yellow Jackets took a 10-9 lead.
But SJCA started to feel it, and fueled with baskets by Caleb Foytack, Chase Luckovich and Isaiah Crispin, the WolfPack ran off 15 straight points to take a 24-10 lead.
By halftime that lead was up to 21 points, 44-23, and SJCA was on its way to victory No. 15 for the season.
After starting the second half with another run — this time 11-0 — the WolfPack closed out the 57-25 victory and began to look ahead to Conemaugh Valley in the semifinal.
Conemaugh Valley is 16-6 for the season and had a bye in the first round along with No. 1 Williamsburg.
The winner of the game will face either Williamsburg, No. 4 Harmony or No. 5 Bishop Carroll in the D6 final.
Two A-class teams qualify for the PIAA tournament, but a third team will play off against the No. 3 team from District 5 to fill the third PIAA qualifier. If SJCA loses the semifinal, it will play a consolation game on Feb. 25 to determine the No. 3 seed.
