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1.
ELK COUNTY CATHOLIC LADY CRUSADERS HEAD COACH: Ken Pistner RECORD: 23-1 overall, 6-0 AML-North (1st place; Won AML Title) FIRST-ROUND OPPONENT: Hosts winner of Cameron County-Otto-Eldred at 7 p.m. Feb. 19 in
quarterfinals RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 5-0 NOTABLE: This is the third time ECC has been the top seed in Class A since
moving down from Class AA in 2003, and the Lady Crusaders hope the third time is the charm. In each of the last
two times as the No. 1 seed in Class A, ECC has lost in the quarterfinals falling to Cameron County 69-65 in 2003
and losing to Clarion 57-55 in overtime last year … Those are just two in a long-line of recent Class A and
Class AA frustrations of late for ECC. The Crusaders have been one of the Top 3 seeds in either the Class A or
Class AA tournament in 7 of the last 8 years but have failed to win a single D9 title while only reaching the
title game twice (2002 loss in Class AA to Karns City & 2005 loss in Class A to Union) … If any ECC team
can get over the hump, maybe it’s this one with all of its key players back from last year’s team that
didn’t have a senior on the roster. This group has gone 48-3 over the last two seasons … Lone loss was to St.
Marys in Elk County Christmas Tournament. Subsequently beat Lady Dutch twice after that and have won 17 in a row
… Quartet of seniors Bre Grimone, Kirstie Pistner and Kaitlyn Geci and junior Emily Detsch has combined to
score 2,692 career points led by Grimone’s 755 and Detsch’s 700 … ECC is tied for 4th in D9 in
scoring despite not player averaging more than Grimone’s 12.3 ppg, which ranks 18th in D9. That’s
because the “Big Four” are each averaging at least 7.7 ppg. DISTRICT TITLES: 3 (1 in Class AA; 2 in Class A) LAST TITLE: 1989 – Class A 2.
WEST FOREST LADY INDIANS HEAD COACH: Bob Wachob RECORD: 22-2 overall, 16-2 KSAC-North (1st place; Won KSAC Title) FIRST-ROUND OPPONENT: Hosts winner of Clarion-North Clarion game at 7 p.m. Feb. 19 RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 6-1 NOTABLE: Lady Indians got a taste of playoff action over the weekend needing to
beat Class AA No. 1 seed Cranberry for the KSAC-North title Friday night in a playoff game at Clarion HS and then
having to turn around and beat Class AA No. 3 seed Moniteau in the KSAC Title Game Saturday also at Clarion HS.
It’s West Forest’s first conference title since winning the TCAC Class A title in 1992 back in District 10
… Sneeringer is one of the top players in District 9 and has 1,415 career points. She is the leading active
scorer in District 9 and ranks second in D9 in scoring this season at 22.5 ppg … The Lady Indians rely heavily
on their Top 6 players but did go 8-deep in the KSAC Title game … Last year, West Forest finished 2nd
in D9 and advanced to the PIAA playoffs for the first time since 1982 when they were in District 10 … Wachob
has 457 wins in 30 years at the tiny Tionesta-based school, an average of over 15 wins per season at one of the
smallest schools in the state … West Forest’s first game will be a rematch with either Clarion or North
Clarion. The Lady Indians beat Clarion twice and split with North Clarion, losing to the She-Wolves at home 41-38
Jan. 31, that was West Forest’s lone loss to a Class A team this year … West Forest has played a lot of close
games down the stretch with 5 of its final 10 games decided by 6 points or less including a pair of overtime
contests … The Lady Indians are tied for 4th in D9 in scoring at 54.4 ppg and have four players
averaging 6.8 ppg or better. DISTRICT TITLES: 0 (5th year in District 9) LAST TITLE: N/A 3.
COUDERSPORT LADY FALCONS HEAD COACH: Brian Green RECORD: 20-2 overall, 14-0 NTL (1st place) FIRST-ROUND OPPONENT: Hosts winner of DuBois Central Catholic-Union game at 7 p.m. Feb. 19 RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 7-0 NOTABLE: The defending Class A champions reloaded this year winning 20 games
for the 11th straight season despite losing its two top players from a year ago … Coudersport has
won 18 straight since starting the season 2-2 … Lady Falcons have played in the last three D9 Class A title
games, 7 of the last 8 and 12 of the past 16 winning 10 titles since 1993 including 5 straight from 1993 to 1997
and 4 straight from 2001-2004. In fact, every time Coudersport has won a championship for the first time
following a year in which it didn’t, it has repeated including winning back-to-back titles in 1990-1991 …
This is a young team with only three seniors, two of them starters (Duffee and Bohn), and three of the top five
scorers are either sophomores or freshmen … Sophomore Jenna Matzinger is averaging
19.5 ppg in her final four games … Duffee’s health is a question mark heading into the postseason, she missed
three of the last four games because of an injured ankle … Coudy beat DCC 46-33 Dec. 13 … The Lady Falcons
have a lot of playoff history with Union. The Golden Damsels beat Coudersport in the 2006 & 2007 D9 Class A
finals paying the Lady Falcons back for beating Union in the 2004 and 1995 D9 Class A title games. Coudy also
beat Union in the 2003 Class A semifinals after Union beat the Lady Falcons in the 1999 & 2000 Class A
semifinals … Coudersport is tied for the D9 scoring lead averaging 57.9 ppg despite not having a player in the
Top 15 in scoring. That’s because eight players are averaging at least 4.2 ppg. DISTRICT TITLES: 12 (12 in Class A) LAST TITLE: 2008 – Class A 4.
AUSTIN LADY PANTHERS HEAD COACH: Dick Logue RECORD: 20-2 overall, 12-2 NTL (2nd place) FIRST-ROUND OPPONENT: Hosts Ridgway at 7 p.m. Feb. 17 RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 5-2 NOTABLE: Last year, Austin made a surprise run to the PIAA playoffs from the 11th
seed finishing fourth in D9 after upsetting 6th seeded Northern Potter and then beating 14th
seeded DuBois Central Catholic before losing to Coudersport in the semifinals and Clarion in the consolation game
… This year, Austin’s lone two losses have come to Coudersport, both times by double digits … The Lady
Panthers beat Ridgway 60-33 Dec. 18 … Crosby became a 1,000-point scorer last week in the same game that saw
Logue win his 200th game at Austin. In 15 seasons at the second smallest school in D9, Logue is
averaging 13.3 wins per season … This is Austin’s first 20-win season since going 20-6 in 2003. That season
the Lady Panthers lost to Union in the quarterfinals … Senior Whitney Crosby is 8th in D9 in scoring
at 15.1 ppg and has 1,021 career points. DISTRICT TITLES: 0 LAST TITLE: N/A 5.
JOHNSONBURG RAMETTES HEAD COACH: Mike Zilkofski RECORD: 16-8 overall, 4-2 AML-North (2nd place; 2nd in
the AML) FIRST-ROUND OPPONENT: Hosts East Forest at 6 p.m. Feb. 17 RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 5-4 NOTABLE: Senior Abby Grumley, the younger sister of D9’s all-time leading
boys’ scorer Calvin Grumley, went over the 1,000-point mark this season, joining her mom Sue as one of only
three 1,000-point scorers in J-burg girls’ history. She has 1,128 career points and is tied for 12th
in D9 in scoring at 13.9 ppg. But Grumley missed nearly the entire AML Title Game with Elk County Catholic
Saturday because of an apparent ankle injury suffered in the game leaving her status for the D9 Playoffs
uncertain … Fellow senior Ellie Kocjancic, Grumley’s cousin, stepped up in the title game scoring 25 points
and is averaging 13.1 ppg, which ranks tied for 14th in D9 … This is the fourth straight playoff
appearance for the Ramettes and their 6th in 8 years. Have lost previous 5 playoff games with last win
coming over Austin in 2002 first round … 1st round matchup with East Forest features the 2006
D9Sports.com District 9 Co-Rookies of the Year in Grumley and East Forest’s Kelsey Rini. Neither has
disappointed combining for 2,232 career points between them … Johnsonburg is guaranteed its first winning
season since going 13-12 in 2003 and the 16 wins are the most since it went 16-10 in 1998.
DISTRICT TITLES: 3 (3 in Class A) LAST TITLE: 1979 6.
UNION GOLDEN DAMSELS HEAD COACH: Josh Meeker RECORD: 15-7 overall, 13-4 KSAC-South (2nd place) FIRST-ROUND OPPONENT: Hosts DuBois Central Catholic at 7 p.m. Feb. 17 RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 3-1 NOTABLE: This is Union lowest seed in recent memory … The Golden Damsels have
qualified for the PIAA tournament in 9 of the last 11 years but missed out last season for the 1st
time since 2002. Last season also saw the end of Union’s run to four straight D9 Class A title games with wins
in the final three … Lipps is only a sophomore while two other of the top scorers, Logue and Brooke Pollock,
are just juniors … Of Union’s 7 losses, five of them have come to teams (Knoch, Ford City, Cranberry, West
Forest, Moniteau) who average 18 wins between them. Keystone was the only sub-.500 team to beat Union this season
… Union has played in 13 of the last 28 D9 Class A championship games winning six titles … The Golden Damsels
have plenty of playoff history with DCC having played the Lady Cardinals in four D9 title games (Union won in
2000; DCC won in 1981, 1998, 1999). In addition to the 2000 title game, the two have met three other times this
decade in the D9 playoffs with Union winning 75-24 in the 2006 quarterfinals and 56-47 in the 2004 semifinals
after DCC won 59-54 in the 2001 semifinals … The Golden Damsels are third in D9 in scoring at 55.8 ppg despite
not having a scorer among the Top 20. That’s because six players average at least 6.4 ppg led by Tina Lipps’
11.5 ppg. DISTRICT TITLES: 7 (1 in Class AA; 6 in Class A) LAST TITLE: 2007 (Class A) 7.
NORTH CLARION SHE-WOLVES HEAD COACH: Paula Judy RECORD: 15-7 overall, 13-5 KSAC-North (3rd place) FIRST-ROUND OPPONENT: Hosts Clarion at 7 p.m. Feb. 17 RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 5-2 NOTABLE: North Clarion and Clarion have faced each other twice with North
Clarion getting wins both times … This game is a family affair, as Clarion head coach Roger Walter is North
Clarion head coach Paula Judy’s brother-in-law. Judy and Walter are both North Clarion graduates, and Judy was
Walter’s assistant coach prior to taking the North Clarion job three years ago … North Clarion is one of the
best stories of the year, regardless of classification or gender. A year ago, the She-Wolves were 5-19, and they
had won 13 combined games over the past 5 seasons with last year’s 5 being a high-water mark. North Clarion was
0-21 in 2005 and 1-22 in 2004 … This is also the She-Wolves first playoff appearance since 2000 when they lost
50-44 at home to Oswayo Valley in 2000 and they looking for their first playoff win since a 44-34 win over
Cameron County in the 1999 first-round (lost to Union 70-35 in the quarterfinals) … The 15 wins are the most
for North Clarion since going 15-11 in 1996 when this year’s seniors were in Kindergarten … North Clarion
even has two signature wins on its resume this year beating the No. 2 seed West Forest and the Class AA No. 1
seed Cranberry, two teams with 40 or 41 combined wins … A win would mean a third game with West Forest, which
beat North Clarion once this season as well … The She-Wolves been to one D9 title game losing 47-45 in overtime
to Union in 1986 … Senior Jamie Zacherl is 10th in D9 in scoring at 14.7 ppg, while junior Jessica
Tarr is 17th (12.9 ppg) and junior Karlee Cyphert is tied for 19th (12.2 ppg). Those three
account for 74 percent of North Clarion’s offense, which ranks sixth in D9 averaging 53.7 ppg. DISTRICT TITLES: 0 LAST TITLE: N/A 8.
OTTO-ELDRED LADY TERRORS HEAD COACH: John Hepfer RECORD: 12-10 overall, 9-5 NTL (3rd place) FIRST-ROUND OPPONENT: Hosts Cameron County at 7 p.m. Feb. 17 RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 2-4 NOTABLE: This is the third meeting this year between Otto-Eldred and Cameron
County with the Lady Terrors winning the first two by scores of 36-31 and 42-37 … This is only Otto-Eldred’s
second playoff appearance since going to three straight D9 Class A consolation games from 2002-2004 and its first
since 2007. Looking for first victory in d9 playoffs since a quarterfinal win in 2004 … Despite going to three
straight consolation games, Otto-Eldred has only five playoff wins since 1999 (5-9) and only one PIAA appearance
(2002) … Started this year 1-5 but then won 9 of 11 before losing 3 of past 5 … Lady Terrors are young team
with only three seniors … One of those seniors is Justine Wilkins, the 7th leading scorer in D9 at
15.5 ppg. She has scored 20 or more points seven times and has 792 career points. DISTRICT TITLES: 0 LAST TITLE: N/A 9.
CAMERON COUNTY LADY RAIDERS HEAD COACH: Dave Sullivan RECORD: 11-10 overall, 8-6 NTL (4th place) FIRST-ROUND OPPONENT: at Otto-Eldred at 7 p.m. Feb. 17 RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 1-6 NOTABLE: This is the third meeting this year between Otto-Eldred and Cameron
County with the Lady Terrors winning the first two by scores of 36-31 and 42-37 … Lady Raiders are back in the
playoffs after missing the postseason last year. They are looking for their first playoff win since 2005 first
round. Have gone just 1-3 in last four playoff games after going 6-2 in previous eight before that … Cameron
County was 2002 and 2003 D9 Runner-up, the only two title-game appearances in school history … This has been an
up-and-down year for Lady Raiders. They have never won nor lost more than three straight but do enter playoffs on
2-game win streak … Offense only averages 38.8 ppg, which is second worst among teams in Class A field (Ridgway
is worst at 38.2 ppg) and third worst in playoffs – Punxsutawney (38.6 ppg).
DISTRICT TITLES: 0 LAST TITLE: N/A 10.
CLARION LADY CATS HEAD COACH: Roger Walter RECORD: 10-12 overall, 9-9 KSAC-North (4th place) FIRST-ROUND OPPONENT: at North Clarion at 7 p.m. Feb. 17 RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 1-6 NOTABLE: Clarion and North Clarion have faced each other twice with North
Clarion getting wins both times … This game is a family affair, as Clarion head coach Roger Walter is North
Clarion head coach Paula Judy’s brother-in-law. Judy and Walter are both North Clarion graduates, and Judy was
Walter’s assistant coach prior to taking the North Clarion job three years ago … A win for Clarion would mean
a third meeting with West Forest. Clarion lost the first two … Lady Cats are back in the postseason for the
eighth straight season. Last year, they beat Venango Catholic at home before upsetting top-seed Elk County
Catholic in the quarterfinals 57-55 in overtime. They then lost to West Forest 49-47 in overtime in the
semifinals before taking 3rd in D9 by beating Austin 53-42 in the consolation game. They then lost to
Farrell in the opening round of the PIAA Tournament. Clarion was also third in D9 in 2005 … In six seasons,
Walter has won 88 games, nearly 15 per year, helping to restore glory back in a program that was one of the top
in District 9 in the early 1990s … Clarion has battled through injury this season that has included losing its
top two scorers – Karyn Larson (10.9 ppg) and Kaitlin Roth (9.4 ppg) to either injury or illness. Larson has
missed the last five games and Roth the past four part of the reason why the Lady Cats lost their last two games,
although they had won four in a row prior to that … Kelsey Beichner (10.0 ppg in last 4 games), Tiff Smathers
(8.0 ppg in last 4 games), Skyler Ganoe (7.8 ppg in last 4 games) and Bri Nellis (7.8 ppg in last 4 games) have
all risen their level of play over the last four contests. DISTRICT TITLES: 0 LAST TITLE: N/A 11.
DUBOIS CENTRAL CATHOLIC LADY CARDINALS HEAD COACH: Paul Cherry RECORD: 8-14 overall, 4-2 AML-South (1st place) FIRST-ROUND OPPONENT: at Union at 7 p.m. Feb. 17 RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 3-3 NOTABLE: This is a young squad with only three seniors … The two leading
scorers – Megan Witherow (8.8 ppg) and Miller Hopkins (8.7 ppg) are sophomores and the third-leading scorer
Lauresa Gulvas (6.8 ppg) is a freshman … DCC enters the playoffs having lost 5 of its last 7 including a loss
to Johnsonburg in the AML Semifinals Friday night. The Lady Cardinals had beaten the Ramettes six days earlier
… The Johnsonburg win is one of two wins over teams with winning records for DCC, which also beat 17-win
Harmony from District 6 … The other six wins have come against Ridgway (2 times), Curwensville (2 times),
DuBois and Sheffield, teams with a combined 16 wins among them … Last season, DCC upset third-seeded Keystone
before losing to Austin in the quarterfinals. DISTRICT TITLES: 3 (3 in Class A) LAST TITLE: 1999 (Class A) 12.
EAST FOREST LADY BEARS HEAD COACH: Jerry Thornton RECORD: 9-13 overall, 7-11 KSAC-North ((5th place) FIRST-ROUND OPPONENT: at Johnsonburg at 6 p.m. Feb. 17 RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 1-6 NOTABLE: The Lady Bears are making their fourth straight appearance in the D9
Class A Playoffs (they joined D9 in 2005) and they have never been higher than a 12th seed including a
12th seed the last two years and a 13th seed in 2006. But East Forest has been a dangerous
high seed losing in overtime at Union last year after upsetting Smethport in 2007. Even in 2006, it only lost by
10 to fourth-seeded Port Allegany … East Forest enters the playoffs on a bit of a roll having won three in a
row including a victory over playoff-bound Clarion Thursday … The Lady Bears are 7-7 this year against Class A
schools and a couple of the losses have been tight ones – 4 points to Clarion; 5 points to North Clarion …
Senior forward Kelsey Rini is one of the top players in District 9 and has over 1,000 career points and 1,000
career rebounds. She is sixth in D9 in scoring at 16.0 ppg and has 1,104 career points … DISTRICT TITLES: 0 (Joined District 9 in 2005) LAST TITLE: N/A 13.
RIDGWAY LADY ELKERS HEAD COACH: Denise Kunes RECORD: 6-16 overall, 4-2 AML-South (3rd place) FIRST-ROUND OPPONENT: at Austin at 6 p.m. Feb. 17 RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 0-10 NOTABLE: The Lady Elkers six wins have come against teams with a combined
winning percentage of .186 and a combined record of 16-70 … Ridgway lost to Austin 60-33 Dec. 18 … In the 10
losses vs. D9 Class A Playoff teams, Ridgway has been outscored an average of 57.6 to 32.0 with only two games
– a 4-point loss to 9th seeded Cameron County and a 1-point loss to 11th seed DuBois
Central Catholic – not decided by at least 22 points. The Lady Elkers have played the three of the top four
seeds four times – Elk County Catholic (twice), West Forest and Austin – losing by an average of 37.8 points
… Only two Ridgway players are averaging at least 5 ppg a big reason why the Lady Elkers offense is the worst
among playoff teams averaging only 38.2 ppg, which is tied for 28th in the 35-team District 9 … The
six wins this season are actually a major improvement over the last four years when the Lady Elkers went a
combined 4-88 and they are the most since they went 7-17 in 2004… Ridgway is in the postseason for the first
time since 2003 when it lost in the Class AA semifinals 64-35 to Redbank Valley. Ridgway is looking for its first
playoff win since beating Brookville 41-34 in the Class AA quarterfinals in 1999 … This is only Ridgway fourth
playoff appearance since that 1999 season … This year marks the 30th anniversary of Ridgway’s
first D9 girls’ title. The Lady Elkers beat Moniteau in the Class AA title game in 1979. It is also the 20th
anniversary since their last title, a 58-40 win over Karns City in Class AA in 1989. That is one of four D9
titles (2 in Class AA, 2 in Class A) for Ridgway, which has been to six D9 title games but none since 1989. DISTRICT TITLES: 4 (2 Class A, 2 Class AA) LAST TITLE: 1989 (Class AA) CLASS
AA (Return
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CRANBERRY BERRIES HEAD COACH: Chrissy Shumaker RECORD: 19-4 overall, 16-2 KSAC-North (2nd place) FIRST-ROUND OPPONENT: Plays winner of Keystone at Brookville game at 8 p.m. Feb. 24 at
Clarion High School in the semifinals RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 2-0 NOTABLE: The Berries, who were a District 10 superpower before joining District 9 in 2005, have played in two D9 Class AA title games winning the title in 2005 and losing to Karns City 55-43 last year after entering the tournament as the No. 1 seed … Cranberry won three straight state titles from 1992-94 and made the state semifinals in 1995 while a member of District 10 … Cranberry’s lone D9 losses have come to West Forest, the No. 2 seed in the Class A bracket, including a loss in the KSAC-North Title Game Friday night … Cranberry has a nice mix of seniors and upperclassmen with the top two scorers – Jr. Hannah Heeter and So. Sarah Lutz – being underclassmen but the next three – Maggie O’Neil, Chyanne Shuffstall and Laura Heineman – all being seniors … Heeter is tied for 14th in D9 in scoring at 13.1 ppg and is one of the top big girls in D9. She already has 778 career points … Prior to the loss to West Forest Friday, Cranberry had won eight in a row. DISTRICT TITLES: 1 in District9 (1 in Class AA) LAST TITLE: 2005 (Class AA) 2.
KANE LADY WOLVES HEAD COACH: Dave Kiehl RECORD: 17-5 overall, 2-4 AML-North (3rd place) FIRST-ROUND OPPONENT: Plays Moniteau at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 24 at Clarion High School in the
semifinals RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 0-0 NOTABLE: Kane was the No. 2 seed in last year’s D9 Class AA playoffs as well but was upset by Karns City in the semifinals. That was the sixth straight postseason loss for the Lady Wolves, who haven’t won a postseason game since beating Brockway 54-42 in the 2001 Class AA quarterfinals … The 17 wins are the most for Kane since it went 17-9 in 2001. It also won 17 games in 1998 … Kiehl is in his first year as head coach taking over for his daughter Stacey Hastings, who had a baby in November. He had been the coach at East Forest prior to coming to Kane … Senior Bre Bergman became the school’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder this season. She has 1,054 career points and 762 career boards … Bergman ranks 9th in District 9 in scoring at 14.9 ppg but is the only Lady Wolf in double figures. DISTRICT TITLES: 0 LAST TITLE: N/A 3.
MONITEAU LADY WARRIORS HEAD COACH: Mark Yeager RECORD: 17-6 overall, 14-3 KSAC-South (1st place; 2nd
place in KSAC) FIRST-ROUND OPPONENT: Plays Kane at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 24 at Clarion High School in the
semifinals RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 2-1 NOTABLE: Moniteau has had a 10 ½ game turnaround this year after going 7-17 a year ago … This is the Lady Warriors first winning season since going 16-10 in 2006 and the 17 wins are the most for Moniteau since it went 17-8 in 2001 … The Lady Warriors did go to the postseason in 2007 losing to Curwensville in the opening round. They are looking for their first playoff victory since going 2-1 in 2006 advancing to the D9 Class AA title game before losing to Karns City … The Lady Warriors won the 2001 D9 Class AA title coming from the fourth seed to do so … Moniteau has three players in the Top 25 in D9 in scoring. Senior Maura McCaslin is 11th (14.3 ppg), junior Alex Guercio is 12th (13.9 ppg) and junior Jenna McCorry is 24th (11.3 ppg). That is a big reason why the Lady Warriors are 8th in D9 in scoring at 53.1 ppg … McCaslin has 833 career points, while McCorry has 569. DISTRICT TITLES: 3 (3 in Class AA) LAST TITLE: 2001 (Class AA) 4.
BROOKVILLE LADY RAIDERS HEAD COACH: Mark Powell RECORD: 12-9 overall, 5-7 D9 League (4th place) FIRST-ROUND OPPONENT: Hosts Keystone at 7 p.m. Feb. 18 RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 1-1 NOTABLE: The Lady Raiders split a pair of games with Keystone this year with
both contests played at Brookville. Keystone won 33-32 in the season opener as part of the Brookville Tip-off
Tournament, while Brookville won 42-34 Jan. 14 … The Lady Raiders followed up the win over Keystone with two
more victories to improve to 9-4 on the year but have gone just 3-5 since then including what had to be a
maddening 24-22 loss to Brockway in the season-finale … Brookville has solid wins on the year over Union,
Clearfield and North Clarion – all playoff teams – but has also lost to 4-win Bradford twice as well as the
loss to 8-win Brockway … Part of the reason for the ups and downs is Brookville’s lack of offense. The Lady
Raiders rank 22nd in D9 in scoring at 40.8 ppg and have no one averaging in double figures …
Fifth-seeded Brookville beat fourth-seeded Redbank Valley in the 5-4 game last year before losing to Cranberry in
the semifinals 44-37 … The Lady Raiders would like to make a trip to the D9 Class AA title game for the first
time since 2000 when they lost to eventual state champion Karns City 56-21 … Brookville’s last D9 title came
in Class AAA in 2001, 48-30, over Clearfield. The Lady Raiders haven’t won a Class AA title since beating Port
Allegany in 1991 41-32. DISTRICT TITLES: 10 (4 in Class AAA, 6 in Class AA) LAST TITLE: 2001 (Class AAA) 5.
KEYSTONE LADY PANTHERS HEAD COACH: Lana Graham RECORD: 10-12 overall, 8-9 KSAC-South (3rd place) FIRST-ROUND OPPONENT: at Brookville at 7 p.m. Feb. 18 RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 1-3 NOTABLE: The Lady Panthers split a pair of games with Brookville this season
with both contests played at Brookville. Keystone won 33-32 in the season opener as part of the Brookville
Tip-off Tournament, while Brookville won 42-34 Jan. 14 … Keystone moves up into Class AA after being the third
seed in Class A last year. The Lady Panthers were upset by DuBois Central Catholic in the opening round … After
going just 5-9 through 14 games, partly due to trying to play both varsity and junior varsity with only 10
players, Keystone, with the help of playing a varsity only schedule, finished the year with 5 wins in its final 8
games. But the Lady Panthers were just 1-3 in their final four including a pair of losses to Moniteau and an
upset loss to 5-win Karns City … Junior Sam Schwabenbauer is one of the top players in District 9 and ranks
fifth in D9 in scoring averaging 16.5 ppg. She scored her 1,000th career points a couple of weeks ago
and has 1,051 in her career. Schwabenbauer accounts for over 35 percent of Keystone’s total offense. DISTRICT TITLES: 2 (2 in Class AA) LAST TITLE: 1988 (Class AA) CLASS
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ST. MARYS LADY DUTCH HEAD COACH: Bob Swanson RECORD: 19-2 overall, 9-2 D9 League (2nd place) – Plays Bradford
Tuesday FIRST-ROUND OPPONENT: Plays winner of Punxsutawney at Clearfield game at 1 p.m. Feb. 28 at
Clarion University in D9 Title Game RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 4-0 NOTABLE: The Lady Dutch are the defending D9 Class AAA champions having beaten
Punxsutawney 51-14 in the title game last season. They were the No. 1 seed then too, and had a bye into the title
contest. It was St. Marys’ first District 9 title since 1994 and only its second all time … With one more
win, St. Marys will have back-to-back 20-win seasons. Prior to going 22-4 last year, St. Marys hadn’t won 20
games since 1995 … The Lady Dutch’s lone two losses have come to Elk County Catholic, the top seed in Class
A. St. Marys was 1-2 vs. its cross-town rival this season … Super sophomore Kayla Hoohuli is a big reason why
the Lady Dutch have been so good the last two years. She became the first sophomore since DuBois Central
Catholic’s Sheena Mosch to reach 1,000 career points and has 1,118 including 569 this year. She leads District
9 in scoring at 27.1 ppg, and she reached 1,000 career points in the second fastest time ever in District 9. The
43 games it took her to reach 1,000 is second to Coudersport’s Kim Tingley, who did it in 42 games in 1995 on
her way to 2,905 career points, the second most in D9 history. Mosch, D9’s all-time leading scorer with 3,066
career points, needed 45 games to reach 1,000 career points … Hoohuli accounts for 46.8 percent of St. Marys’
total points this season and has helped the Lady Dutch tie for the District 9 lead in scoring averaging 57.9 ppg
as a team. The next leading scorer is Gina Pelgrin at 6.5 ppg … Because of the bye into the title game St.
Marys automatically qualifies for the PIAA Playoffs. At worst, the Lady Dutch will be a play-in team, which is
awarded to the District 9 runner-up. DISTRICT TITLES: 2 (2 in Class AAA) LAST TITLE: 2008 (Class AAA) 2.
CLEARFIELD LADY BISONS HEAD COACH: Joey Castagnolo RECORD: 12-10 overall, 6-6 D9 League (3rd place) FIRST-ROUND OPPONENT: Hosts Punxsutawney either Feb. 24 or Feb. 25 at a time to be announced
in the semifinals RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 1-3 NOTABLE: The Lady Bisons split the season series with Punxsutawney beating the
Lady Chucks 34-27 Jan. 21 at home and losing to them 36-31 Feb. 11 … Clearfield also lost two tight contests to
St. Marys dropping a 48-44 decision Dec. 20 and a 62-58 decision Jan. 16 … Clearfield started the season 4-8
but finished strong winning 8 of its final 10 … The Lady Bisons are truly a team and don’t have anyone
scoring more than 7.5 ppg. But they do have four players scoring between 7.2 ppg and 7.5 ppg and six scoring
between 5.1 ppg and 7.5 ppg … Clearfield returns to the playoffs after a year hiatus. The Lady Bisons lost to
Bradford 36-27 in 2007 and are looking for their first playoff win since beating Brookville 48-44 in the Class
AAA semifinals in 2004 … The 12-10 mark is quite a turnaround from last year’s 5-19 mark that included a 1-11
showing in the D9 League. DISTRICT TITLES: 4 (4 in Class AAAA) LAST TITLE: 2000 (Class AAAA) 3.
PUNXSUTAWNEY LADY CHUCKS HEAD COACH: Randy Reitz RECORD: 7-15 overall, 5-7 D9 League (4th place) FIRST-ROUND OPPONENT: at Clearfield either Feb. 24 or Feb. 25 at a time to be announced in
the semifinals RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 1-3 NOTABLE: The Lady Chucks split the season series with Clearfield beating the
Lady Bisons 36-31 at home Feb. 11 and losing at Clearfield 34-27 Jan. 21 … Punxsy also played St. Marys tough
twice losing 42-37 and 52-42 … Last year, Punxsutawney beat Bradford in the semifinals before losing the D9
Class AAA title game to St. Marys 51-14. It was the second straight D9 Class AAA title-game loss to Punxsutawney,
which has been to seven straight D9 Class AAA title games winning the first five starting in 2002, Randy
Reitz’s first year at the school … Punxsutawney has had back-to-back losing seasons for the first time in
over a decade and a half at least … Punxsutawney has the second worst scoring offense of District 9 playoff
teams ahead of only Ridgway (38.2 ppg). The Lady Chucks average just 38.6 ppg and 11.6 of those come from
District 9’s 22nd leading scorer senior Allie Miller. DISTRICT TITLES: 9 (4 in Class AAAA; 5 in Class AAA) LAST TITLE: 2006 (Class AAA) |
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