LC, Dock and Wood continue state runs
Local teams shooting for shot at Final 4
The Lansdale Catholic girls basketball team has gotten through the first two rounds of the PIAA-4A state playoffs with a pair of comfortable wins — 61-45 over Bishop McDevitt in the first round and 79-42 over Jersey Shore in the second.
In the quarterfinals Saturday, the Crusaders will face District 11 champion Allentown Central Catholic, which won its first two state matchups by nine points and 14 points, respectively.
This quarterfinal, which is set to tip off at 3 p.m. at Governor Mifflin Intermediate School, is a rematch of last year’s second round. Lansdale Catholic won that game, 49-41, en route to a state championship game appearance.
LC’s Gabby Casey reached the 1,000-point milestone in that contest. Then a junior, Casey scored 25 points and then-freshman Nadia Yemola added 11.
A year and a few days later, the Crusaders program has taken things to another level. They enter the state semifinals at 25-2 after winning the program’s first Philadelphia Catholic League championship and third District 12 title. Casey is the PCL MVP, Pennsylvania Gatorade Player of the Year and LC’s all-time leading scorer.
Casey scored 29 points in the second-round win over Jersey Shore while Olivia Boccella added 15, Jaida Helm 13 and Yemola 11. Sanyiah Littlejohn had eight assists.
“We’re feeling great, but we still have to work on the little details,” Casey said, “keeping up the intensity and defense — and rebounding and boxing out is a thing we really need to work on. We’re really confident in ourselves and we believe in each other. I think that’s really going to carry us, hopefully through the rest of the playoffs.”
Allentown Central Catholic is 26-3 this season. Last year’s loss to LC was ACC’s final game under legendary coach Mike Kopp. The Vikettes enter Saturday riding a 17-game win streak under firstyear coach Kathy Davidowich.
“We’re a little familiar with
each other, although they have a new coaching staff,” LC coach Eric Gidney said, “but most of the personnel there — those players will remember us and we certainly remember them.”
The winner advances to the Final Four and will face the winner of Scranton Prep and Liberty Tuesday. DOCK BACK TO QUARTERFINALS >> The last time the
Dock Mennonite Academy boys basketball team reached the PIAA-2A state quarterfinals, current-senior Nate Lapp was a freshman. The Pioneers beat Holy Cross, 56-43, in the second round on March 11, 2020 and the world shut down for the COVID-19 pandemic before they could play their Elite Eight matchup.
Now Lapp and Dock are facing that same Holy Cross program with a spot in the Final Four on the line. Tipoff is set for Saturday at
noon at East Stroudsburg South High School.
Lapp was a rotational player on that 2019-20 team and didn’t score against Holy Cross, but now he’s filling up the stat sheet. He scored 28 points in the Pioneers second-round win over Sankofa Freedom Wednesday to become the school’s all-time leader with 1,290 points in his career. Vaughn Martin added 16 in the 60-44 win.
Dock won its first-round matchup over Antietam, 5940, while Holy Cross won
its first two matchups by a combined 43 points.
The winner will face the winner of Mahanoy Area and Lancaster Mennonite in the semifinals Tuesday. WOOD DOUBLEHEADER AT NORRISTOWN >> The Archbishop Wood boys and girls basketball teams will play a doubleheader at Norristown Area High School Saturday afternoon. The boys play Coatesville in the Class-6A quarterfinals at 1 p.m. and the girls take on Bishop Shanahan in the Class-5A quarterfinals at
2:30 p.m.
The boys have gotten through the first two rounds without much of a challenge. They beat Central Bucks East, 61-37, and Chambersburg, 72-45. Coatesville beat Scranton, 68-58, and North Penn, 6155.
The winner will face the winner of Parkland and Roman Catholic in the semifinals Tuesday. Wood lost to Roman in the Class-6A championship last year and in the Philadelphia Catholic League semifinals last
month.
The Wood girls are on their quest for a third straight state championship — the other two coming in Class-4A. They’ve handled Mount Saint Joseph Academy in the first round, 6247, and Villa Maria Academy in the second, 42-29. Shanahan beat Bangor, 6836, and Pittston Area, 4335.
The winner will face the winner of West Chester Rustin and Bethlehem Catholic in the semifinals Tuesday.