WARREN, Pa. – It’s a busy day of District 9 playoff basketball on Friday, with boys Class 1A quarterfinal action, as well as the Class 3A girls’ semifinals and a Class 1A quarterfinal game.
UPDATE: The girls’ 3A semifinal between Punxsutawney and Moniteau has been postponed to Monday, Feb. 28.
Here’s a look at each contest.
CLASS 1A QUARTERFINALS
(8) CLARION at (1) ELK COUNTY CATHOLIC
Records: Clarion 13-10, Elk County Catholic 19-5
Top Players: Clarion – Christian Simko 18 ppg., Devon Lauer 10 ppg., Dawson Smail 8.9 ppg.; ECC – Luke Jansen 11.6 ppg., Charlie Briendel 11.4 ppg., Jordan Wasko 10.8 ppg.
Winner Gets: 4 Cameron County/5 North Clarion winner in semifinals
Notable: Clarion knocked off Elk County Catholic in the semifinals last season, 55-49 on its way to the D9 title and PIAA semifinals.
(7) UNION at (2) OTTO-ELDRED
Records: Union 12-8, Otto-Eldred 20-2
Top Players: Union – Caden Rainey 14.6 ppg., Payton Johnston 12.3 ppg., Dawson Camper 8.7 ppg.; Otto-Eldred – Gavin Jimmerson 14.6 ppg., Landon Francis 12.8 ppg., Austin Cousins 8.5 ppg.
Winner Gets: 3 DCC/6 Johnsonburg winner in semifinals
Notable: Otto-Eldred comes in with a 17-game winning streak. Union comes in 6-2 in its last eight games.
(6) JOHNSONBURG at (3) DUBOIS CENTRAL CATHOLIC
Records: Johnsonburg 11-12, DCC 16-7
Top Players: Johnsonburg – Jake Lobaugh 8.9 ppg., Jefferson Freeburg 8.4 ppg., Luke Zimmerman 6.3 ppg., DCC – Alec Srock 20.1 ppg., Andrew Green 7.5 ppg., Jalen Kosko 7.4 ppg.
Winner Gets: 2 Otto-Eldred/7 Union winner in semifinals
Notable: DCC won both meetings against Johnsonburg in the regular season by a combined eight points.
(5) NORTH CLARION at (4) CAMERON COUNTY
Records: North Clarion 15-8, Cameron County 17-4
Top Players: North Clarion – Aiden Hartle 16.2 ppg., Collin Schmader 15.0 ppg., Josh Daum 6.6 ppg.; Cameron County – Hayden Brown 18.9 ppg., Camdyn Allison 10.7 ppg., Alan Erickson 6.3 ppg.
Winner Gets: 1 ECC/8 Clarion winner in semifinals
Notable: North Clarion comes in 5-1 in its last six games. Cameron County is 8-2 in its last ten games.
DISTRICT 9 GIRLS
CLASS 3A SEMIFINALS
(1) PUNXSUTAWNEY vs. (4) MONITEAU at Brookville HS
Records: Punxsutawney 15-6, Moniteau 11-10
Top Players: Punxsutawney – Chloe Presloid 11.2 ppg., Danielle Griebel 9.5 ppg., Kiersten Riley 7.1 ppg.; Moniteau – Catherine Kelly 13.6 ppg., Davina Pry 8.9 ppg., Abbey Jewart 6.6 ppg.
Winner Gets: 2 Redbank/3 Karns City winner in final
Notable: Punxsutawney has given up 25 points or fewer in each of its last five wins; Catherine Kelly has scored in double figures in seven of her last nine games.
(2) REDBANK VALLEY vs. (3) KARNS CITY at Brookville HS
Records: Redbank Valley 20-4, Karns City 13-9
Top Players: Redbank Valley – Alivia Huffman 13.0 ppg., Mylee Harmon 12.8 ppg., Madison Foringer 11.0 ppg.; Karns City – Brooke Manuel 6.7 ppg., Rossi McMillen 6.5 ppg., Emma Dailey 5.0 ppg.
Winner Gets: 1 Punxsutawney/4 Moniteau winner in final
Notable: Redbank Valley won both meetings this season by seven and 26 points.
CLASS 1A QUARTERFINAL
(6) UNION at (3) OTTO-ELDRED
Records: Union 14-7, Otto-Eldred 20-2
Top Players: Union – Dominka Logue 13.6 ppg., Keria Croyle 12.5 ppg., Hailey Kriebel 6.8 ppg.; Otto-Eldred – Katie Sheeler 18.0 ppg., Bri Heller 8.4 ppg., Anna Merry 8.1 ppg.
Winner Gets: 2 North Clarion in semifinals
Notable: Union is coming off a 49-31 win over Port Allegany in the first round. Otto-Eldred has lost just once since the opening weekend of the season.
