Neumann-Goretti pulls away from Oakland Catholic in PIAA Class 4A championship game

TribLive TribLive Sat, Mar 21, 2026 • 02:26 PM

Oakland Catholic’s Luci LaMendola battles Neumann-Goretti’s Zion Coston for the ball during the PIAA Class 4A championship game Saturday at Giant Center in Hershey. (Christopher Horner | TribLive)

HERSHEY — Oakland Catholic coach Henry Schechter knew he had to get Saturday’s PIAA Class 4A title tilt against Neumann-Goretti at a pace his team could control.

Despite a spectacular shooting performance by the Eagles’ Madi Pullen, the Saints’ speed started to show in the second quarter and carried through the rest of the game.

Neumann-Goretti withstood an early 12-3 deficit to open the game and used a sharpshooting second quarter (6 of 11) to pull away and claim a seventh state title with a 53-48 win over WPIAL champion Oakland Catholic. In fact Neumann-Goretti needed only 12 field goal attempts over the final two quarters to pull away. They hit 7 of 12 over the final 16 minutes.

Pullen scored a game-high 24 points and hit 8 of 13 shots, including 6 of 10 from 3-point territory. Richmond recruit Josie Fontana was limited to eight points and seven rebounds for the Eagles. Oakland Catholic shot 14 of 40 from the field.

Neumann-Goretti’s Reginna Baker led the Saints with 18 points, while Azzure O’Connor chipped in 16.

Oakland Catholic’s season ends at 25-3 overall.

This story will be updated.