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It had been a long time since either the DuBois Central Catholic girls and Union boys had won a PIAA basketball games, but that changed in 2023.
DCC beat Jamestown, 64-21 in Class 1A for its first state playoff win since 1999 (24 years), while it was more than double that number for Union, which beat Turkeyfoot Valley in Class 1A, 64-28, for its first PIAA win since 1974 (49 years).
Both did so in dominating fashion.
The D9 runner-up Golden Knights (15-12), making just their third PIAA playoff appearance since 1995, got a combined 42 points from Payton Johnston and Zander Laughlin in knocking off the District 5 third-place finishing Rams of Turkeyfoot Valley (17-10).
Union built a 24-13 lead at the end of the first quarter, and then Laughlin added eight more points and Johnston, who had six in the first quarter, chipped in six more to expand the lead to 28, 46-18, at halftime.
Union beat Clarion and DuBois Central Catholic in the District 9 tournament to get to the title game before falling to Elk County Catholic.
Union’s last PIAA playoff win was in the old Class C in 1974 when it beat Union City, 73-59, to advance to the PIAA title game which it lost, 63-48, to Holy Ghost Prep.
The DCC girls, meanwhile, were equally dominant in their win over Jamestown.
DuBois Central Catholic’s Marina Hanes.
The last PIAA win for the Lady Cardinals was in the 1999 quarterfinals over Serra Catholic, 75-70. DCC was making only its fifth PIAA appearance since that game.
Marina Hanes scored a career-high 16 points to lead DCC with Faith Jacob adding 15 points, Kayley Risser eight points, and Hope Jacob seven points.
Both teams saw their seasons end in the second round, with DCC falling in heartbreaking fashion in overtime to Williamsburg, 48-45, while fell to eventual state champion Imani Christian.
Nevertheless, they put together impressive runs that won’t soon be forgotten.
