Girls
Class 6A
First round
Norwin (19-5) at Altoona (19-4)
6 p.m. Friday
District/place: Norwin 7-2; Altoona 6-1
Winner plays: Winner of 3-6 Mechanicsburg (20-5)/1-2 Pennsbury (20-5) in second round Tuesday (time, site TBD).
Players to watch: Ava Christopher, Norwin; Brionna Hudson, Altoona
Layup lines: Norwin made the WPIAL finals for the third straight year but fell to Canon-McMillan, 50-38. Christopher was the high scorer with nine points. Norwin had a 15-0 run in the third quarter but could not crawl out of a 19-point hole. The Knights drew a rematch with Altoona, a team to whom they lost in the first round last year, 49-38. Two years ago, Norwin reached the quarterfinals and lost to Spring-Ford, 60-47. This is Norwin’s fourth straight appearance in the PIAA playoffs and 12th overall. The Knights’ best finish is a run to the semifinals in 2015. Christopher, Kylie Rodkey and Anna Fraser are the team’s seniors, with much of the core group gaining valuable experience for next year. … Altoona got 18 points from Hudson as the Lions won their 33rd District 6 title with a 51-35 victory over State College in the title game. The Lions have won nine of their last 10 games. They lost in the second round last year to Garnet Valley, 54-38. Altoona has four state titles, the last coming in 1996. The program has 75 state playoff wins. Hudson (15.1 ppg), Raylin Eyer (13.3) and Zaelinh Nguyen-Moore (11.1) all average in double figures.
Class 3A
First round
Cranberry (15-10) vs. Greensburg Central Catholic (19-7)
7:30 p.m. Friday at Hampton
District/place: Cranberry 9-2; Greensburg Central Catholic 7-2
Winner plays: Winner of 10-1 Northwestern (21-3)/7-5 Quaker Valley (19-7) in second round Tuesday (time, site TBD)
Players to watch: Jadyn Shumaker, Cranberry; Avery Jones, GCC
Layup lines: Cranberry advanced to the state tournament despite a 43-19 loss to Karns City in the District 9 championship. Shumaker, the Berries’ only senior, had 10 points in the loss. In the semifinals, Cranberry defeated Brookville, 41-27 as Emma Morrow had 11 points and Shumaker added 10. The Berries lost in the first round last year to Shady Side Academy, 51-23. It was their first PIAA berth since 2017. Cranberry made the 2A semifinals in 1996 but lost to Greensburg Central Catholic, 54-37. The Berries have three state titles. … Greensburg Central Catholic reached the WPIAL finals for the third consecutive year but fell to Shady Side Academy, 57-40, at Petersen Events Center. Erica Gribble, GCC’s all-time leading scorer with 2,290 points, was limited to nine and fouled out in the loss. Jones had a team-high 14 points and nine rebounds. GCC, which won the WPIAL 2A title in 2023-24 and 3A title last year, made the PIAA second round last year and lost to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, 36-34. The Centurions made the state semifinals in 2022-23 and 2023-24, falling to Kennedy Catholic both years. GCC won its only state title in 1997. This is the Centurions’ fourth straight state tournament appearance. An interesting second-round matchup could involve GCC and Quaker Valley, which features 2,000-point scorer Mimi Thiero, a 6-foot-4 Maryland commit.