CLARION, Pa. – The District 9 Class 3A girls’ championship game between Karns City and Kane highlights a slate of six postseason games in D9 Tuesday, Feb. 28.
The Lady Gremlins and Lady Wolves are the second of two games at PennWest Clarion’s Tippin Gym with the opener being the lone boys’ contest in D9, a D8-9-10 Class 5A subregional semifinal between DuBois and Obama Academy.
The DuBois/Obama game is set for 6 p.m. with the Kane/Karns City game at 8 p.m.
Tippin Gym is one of two sites holding doubleheaders in D9 Tuesday, as Kane will feature a pair of games as well with the D9 1A girls’ semifinal contests.
Fourth-seeded DuBois Central Catholic meets top-seeded Otto-Eldred at 6 p.m. with third-seeded North Clarion taking on second-seeded Elk County Catholic at 7:30 p.m. Both of those games will be broadcast on the YDL Sports Network.
The D9 2A girls’ semifinal contests are a pair of standalone games at 7 p.m.
Top-seeded Redbank Valley faces fourth-seeded Keystone at Clarion High School, and second-seeded Moniteau takes on third-seeded Coudersport at Brockway High School. The Coudersport/Moniteau game will be broadcast on the YDL Sports Network.
Here is a quick breakdown of each matchup.
CLASS 3A GIRLS’ CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
(2) Kane (11-11) vs. (1) Karns City (14-8), 8 p.m. Tippin Gym, PennWest Clarion
Winner gets: Winner of Chestnut Ridge/Westinghouse game in a subregional contest at Noon Saturday, March 4, at PennWest Clarion’s Tippin Gym
Kane leading scorers: Mia Anderson (8.7 ppg), Maya Smith (8.5 ppg), Cora Jekielek (4.3 ppg), Hailey Hillman (4.3 ppg)
Karns City leading scorers: Chloe Fritch (12.2 ppg), Brooklyn Taylor (12.0 ppg), Emma Dailey (8.3 ppg), Savanna Prescott (4.8 ppg)
Notable: Kane is making its first D9 title-game appearance since beating A-C Valley, 61-52 in overtime, in 2019 in Class 2A. It was the first D9 title for the school in girls’ hoops after losing its previous five trips to the title game … Karns City is in the championship game for the first time since falling to Brookville, 46-39, in 2018 in Class 3A. That ended a string of five straight title games (2 in 3A and 3 in 2A) for the Lady Gremlins, who won D9 titles in 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017 with the first three in 2A and the last in 3A. Karns City has won 14 D9 titles (13 in 2A) overall with all coming since 1988 and 12 since 1999. The Lady Gremlins also won the 2000 PIAA Class1A title and are 14-6 overall in D9 championship games … Kane comes into the title game having won 3 of 4 but hasn’t played since losing in the AML semifinals to St. Marys, 49-28, Feb. 17. Prior to the ending stretch, the Lady Wolves had lost 6 of 7 … Kane averages 36.3 ppg while allowing 33.7 ppg … Karns City hasn’t played since beating Moniteau, 40-35, Feb. 15. The Lady Gremlins also won three of their last four and are 10-4 since Jan. 1 with two losses to North Clarion (No. 3 seed and D9 1A semifinalist), one to Redbank Valley (top seed in 2A), and one to WPIAL Class 6A Butler … North Clarion is a common opponent for these teams. Karns City lost by 4 (51-47) at North Clarion and by 4 in overtime (49-45) at KC. Kane lost to North Clarion, 44-18, at Kane in the title game of the Kane Christmas Tournament … Karns City averages 44.0 ppg and allows 34 ppg.
CLASS 2A GIRLS’ SEMIFINALS
(4) Keystone (13-9) vs. (1) Redbank Valley (23-1), 7 p.m. Clarion High School
Winner gets: Winner of Coudersport/Moniteau game Saturday, March 4, at PennWest Clarion’s Tippin Gym with a game time TBA in D9 championship game
Keystone leading scorers: Natalie Bowser (14.8 ppg), Emma Gruber (5.8 ppg), Jillian Winters (4.7 ppg) Ashlee Albright (4.5 ppg)
Redbank Valley leading scorers: Mylee Harmon (21.3 ppg), Alivia Huffman (16.0 ppg), Caylen Rearick (6.4 ppg), Adyson Bond (4.4 ppg)
Notable: This is the third meeting between these KSAC Large School rivals this year with Redbank Valley winning the first two by counts of 59-23 Dec. 20 and 59-45 Feb. 14 … Keystone won the D9 2A title in 2021, which was the second straight year the Lady Panthers were in the title game and they have played in 3 D9 title games (2 in 2A, 1 in 1A) since 2016 winning in 2016 and 2021 … Redbank Valley won the D9 3A title last year beating Punxsutawney, 52-40. The Lady Bulldogs were also the 2020 D9 2A champions with a 48-37 win over Keystone … Keystone is led by Natalie Bowser, who has over 1,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds. She ranks seventh in D9 in scoring … This is the Lady Panthers’ first game since the Feb. 14 loss to Redbank Valley … Redbank Valley has two of the top four scorers in D9 in Mylee Harmon (No. 2) and Alivia Huffman (tied for No. 4). Huffman is a 1,000-point scorer … Redbank Valley’s lone loss came Dec. 27, 45-40, to OLSH at PennWest California. OLSH has qualified for the PIAA playoffs and is playing in the WPIAL fifth-place game in Class 3A … Redbank Valley is the highest-scoring team in D9 averaging 60.3 ppg.
(3) Coudersport (16-6) vs. (2) Moniteau (18-6), 7 p.m. Brockway High School
Winner gets: Winner of Keystone/Redbank Valley game Saturday, March 4, at PennWest Clarion’s Tippin Gym with a game time TBA in D9 championship game
Coudersport leading scorers: Emma Chambers (10.6 ppg), Sierra Myers (8.2 ppg), Bel Porterfield (7.0 ppg), Olivia Fink (6.2 ppg), Hallie Rigas (5.4 ppg)
Moniteau leading scorers: Catherine Kelly (15.3 ppg), Davina Pry (7.2 ppg), Allie Pry (6.9 ppg), Kendall Sankey (6.8 ppg), Abbey Jewart (5.4 ppg)
Notable: Coudersport is looking for a spot in a D9 title game for the fifth time in seven years having won 2A titles in 2017 and 2018 and 1A titles in 2020 and 2021 … Moniteau is gunning for a 7th D9 title game appearance in 12 years (4 in 3A and 2 in 2A), although the Lady Warriors are 0-6 in championship games since 2012. Moniteau’s last appearance was in 3A in 2021 when it lost to Punxsutawney, 60-37 … After starting 14-4, Coudersport enters the postseason having gone 2-2 in its final four games and hasn’t played since beating Austin Feb. 14 … Moniteau has played three times since Coudersport last played going 1-2 with losses to Karns City and Redbank Valley and a win over North Clarion. The Lady Warriors fell to Redbank Valley in the KSAC championship game, their third loss of the year to the Lady Bulldogs giving them four losses against D9 top seeds with Karns City being the top seed in 3A. Catherine Kelly is the sixth-leading scorer in D9 … Coudersport’s leading scorer, Emma Chambers, is the younger sister of D9’s all-time leading boys’ scorer, Owen Chambers.
CLASS 1A GIRLS’ SEMIFINALS
Note – Losers move into the third-place consolation game, which will be played Thursday, March 2, at a site and time to be announced.
(4) DuBois Central Catholic (13-11) vs. (1) Otto-Eldred (21-2), 6 p.m. at Kane High School
Winner gets: Winner of North Clarion/ECC game Saturday, March 4, at PennWest Clarion’s Tippin Gym with a game time TBA in D9 championship game
DCC leading scorers: Kayley Risser (12.0 ppg), Faith Jacob (7.7 ppg), Lexi Berta (6.5 ppg), Jessy Frankl (4.6 ppg), Emma Elensky (4.1 ppg), Marina Hanes (3.9 ppg)
Otto-Eldred leading scorers: Katie Sheeler (21.8 ppg), Anna Merry (10.0 ppg), Brooke Close (6.3 ppg), Bri Heller (5.3 ppg), Carrie Drummond (4.9 ppg)
Notable: DCC beat Port Allegany 54-30 Thursday in the quarterfinals behind 15 points from Jessy Frank, while Otto-Eldred topped Northern Potter, 57-38, behind 30 points from Katie Sheeler. In that game, Sheeler became the all-time leading scorer at Otto-Eldred with 1,582 career points. Sheeler is the leading scorer in District 9, while Anna Merry checks in tied at 24th in D9 … The Lady Terrors are looking to make their third straight D9 1A title game having lost to ECC, 39-28, last year and to Coudersport, 41-28, in 2021. It would be Otto-Eldred’s fourth D9 title game appearance in Class 1A since 2017. It was in 2017 that the Lady Terrors made their title-game debut in a loss to North Clarion … Despite losing the title game a year ago, Otto-Eldred advanced to the PIAA Quarterfinals before losing to eventual PIAA runner-up Kennedy Catholic … DCC is looking for its first championship berth in 22 years. The Lady Cardinals last made the finals in 2001 losing to Coudersport,55-53. That ended a five-year run in title games for DCC which lost in 1997, 2000, and 2001 and won in 1998 and 1999. DCC also lost championship games in 1991, 1990, 1980, and 1978 … Otto-Eldred is riding a seven-game win streak since losing to Redbank Valley, 64-60, the top seed in the D9 2A tournament Jan. 28 … DCC also lost to Redbank Valley this year falling 56-38 Jan. 14 at Penn State-DuBois … DCC played a brutal schedule this year and this is only its eighth game against a 1A opponent. The Lady Cards are 5-2 vs. 1A foes this year with the only losses coming No. 2 seed, Elk County Catholic.
(3) North Clarion (20-4) vs. (2) Elk County Catholic (22-3), 7:30 p.m. at Kane High School
Winner gets: Winner of DCC/Otto-Eldred game Saturday, March 4, at PennWest Clarion’s Tippin Gym with a game time TBA in D9 championship game
North Clarion leading scorers: Lauren Lutz (10.3 ppg), Emma McFarland (6.9 ppg), Maria Bauer (6.2 ppg), Madison McFarland (4.7 ppg), Ainsley Hartle (4.8 ppg)
ECC leading scorers: Lucy Klawuhn (10.4 ppg), Syd Alexander (8.9 ppg), Tori Newton (8.7 ppg), Emily Mourer (7.1 ppg), Sami Straub (5.6 ppg)
Notable: North Clarion is coming off a 49-33 win over Ridgway in the quarterfinals. Brooke Steinman came off the bench and had a career-high 11 points while Lauren Lutz scored 10 for the She-Wolves … ECC rolled past Clarion, 47-28, in the quarters behind 16 points from Emily Mourer and 15 from Syd Alexander … North Clarion is looking to get back to the title game for the first time since losing to Coudersport in 2020. That ended a run of four straight championship-game appearances for the She-Wolves, who won the first three … ECC is the defending champion having beaten Otto-Eldred, 39-28, last year. It was the Lady Crusaders’ first title since winning back-to-back crowns in 2009 and 2010 … ECC’s only losses have come to 4A top seed Punxsutawney (twice) and to 1A top seed Otto-Eldred … North Clarion has two losses to Moniteau, the second seed in 2A, and one to top-seeded in 2A Redbank Valley and one to Otto-Eldred … ECC dropped a 36-32 decision at Otto-Eldred in Decemeber and North Clarion lost 63-50 in mid-February … North Clarion is playing the postseason without leading score Lily Homan (Jr., 12.0 ppg) who is ineligible for the postseason under PIAA rules since she transferred to North Clarion this season from Venango Catholic (transfers after freshman year are automatically ineligible unless an appeal hearing overturns it and Homan didn’t request a hearing). The She-Wolves are 3-0 on the season without her.
CLASS 5A BOYS’ D8-9-10 SEMIFINALS
Obama Academy (10-10) vs. DuBois (10-12), 6 p.m., Tippin Gym, PennWest Clarion
Winner gets: Cathedral Prep
Obama Academy leading scorers: Not available
DuBois leading scorers: Tyson Kennis (14.2 ppg), Cam Thompson (11.5 ppg), Maddox Bennett (8.5 ppg), Rudy Williams (5.8 ppg)
Notable: Obama Academy lost in the City League championship game to Allderdice, 66-45, Feb. 19. Torrien Perkins hit four 3-pointers in that game for the Eagles and had 18 points while Xavier Rodgers scored 15 points … DuBois hasn’t played since losing to Clearfield, 59-55, Feb. 15. The Beavers enter the postseason having lost two straight but they are 5-3 in their last eight after a five-game losing streak in January almost derailed their season. This is a young DuBois team with all its key players being underclassmen … Last year, DuBois beat Brashear, 39-38, in the subregion title game before losing to Gateway in the opening round of the PIAA playoffs … The winner gets Cathedral Prep, who beat Meadville for the D10 title, in the subregion title game Friday at a site and time to be determined.
