PIAA Class 3A girls basketball final

Greensburg Central Catholic vs. Holy Redeemer

6 p.m. Thursday, Giant Center, Hershey

On the air: PCN; NFHS Network

PIAA titles: Greensburg Central Catholic 1 (1997), Holy Redeemer 0

Greensburg Central Catholic (23-7)

Coach: Chris Skatell

Projected starting lineup

No., Name, Ht., Cl., Pos.

12, Jayla Peterson, 5-10, sr., G

23, Erica Gribble, 5-11, sr., PG

24, Abby Dlugos, 5-10, sr., F

31, Avery Jones, 5-11, jr., F

34, Nolan Althof, 5-10, jr., F

How they got here: WPIAL runner-up Greensburg Central Catholic defeated Cranberry, 66-14; Northwesterm, 50-36; Trinity (Camp Hill), 65-51; and Shady Side Academy, 49-27.

Notable: Greensburg Central Catholic finally solved Shady Side Academy in the teams’ fourth meeting of the season with a convincing semifinal win that saw the Centurions dominate the second half by outscoring the WPIAL champion Bulldogs, 23-5. … Upstart junior forward Avery Jones, who has scored in double figures in every playoff game this season while shooting a high percentage, had a game-high 16 points. Junior Morgan Skoloda hit three 3-pointers for nine points, senior Jayla Peterson scored eight and star senior Erica Gribble had seven, contributing in other ways to a balanced team effort on both ends of the floor. … GCC has a long lineup with all five starters 5-foot-10 or taller. … GCC has beaten three district champions in the state tournament. … It has not been to the state finals since 1996-97 when it won its only PIAA championship in girls basketball. … It was the state runner-up in 1995-96. … The 1996-97 Centurions beat Trinity (Camp Hill), 48-45, a year after losing to Pine Grove in the title game, 67-59 in overtime. … Gribble (23 ppg), a Richmond commit, is third all-time in Westmoreland County girls basketball scoring with 2,362 career points. … Peterson (14 ppg), a Wheeling recruit, has more than 1,000 career points.

Holy Redeemer (22-8)

Coach: John Jezorwski

Projected starting lineup

No., Name, Ht., Cl., Pos.

1, Kearney Quinn, 5-8, sr., G/F

2, Tessa Cegelka, 5-7, sr., G

3, Gillian Parsons, 5-8, jr., F

5, Bella Boylan, 5-9, sr., G/F

22, Mckenzie Chimock, 5-5, sr., PG

How they got here: District 2 runner-up Holy Redeemer defeated Loyalsock Township, 61-55; Imhotep, 67-62; Schuykill Haven, 51-36; and Hughesville, 39-27.

Notable: Holy Redeemer, from Wilkes-Barre, advanced to the state finals for the first time in program history. … The senior-heavy Royals used a 12-1 run to open the fourth quarter to put away Hughesville, the District 4 champion. … The Royals lost in the first round last year to Hughesville, 56-53, after reaching the quarterfinals in 2024. … Their last semifinal before this year was in 2015. … Senior McKenzie Chimock had 14 points, and Gillian Parsons added nine in the semifinal win. Holy Redeemer made 8 of 12 free throws in the fourth. … Chimock scored 17 in a quarterfinal win over Schuylkill Haven. She has a team-high 45 3-pointers. … Starters Chimock (13.3 ppg), Bella Boylan (13.5 ppg), Tesse Cegelka and Quinn Kearney are all seniors. … The Royals have a deep rotation that stretches to eight or nine, and they like to substitute early. … Holy Redeemer opened in 2007-08 and is the combination of four Catholic schools in Luzerne County — Bishop O’Reilly, Bishop Hoban, Seton Catholic and Bishop Hafey.