PIAA GIRLS BASKETBALL FIRST ROUND

CLASS 2A

4-3 Northwest Area (20-6) vs. 2-1 Mountain View (19-6)

Where: Lakeland HS

When: Friday, 7 p.m.

Tickets: General admission ticket prices for the First Round through the Semifinal Round of the PIAA Basketball Championships are $9 for advance online purchases and $10 for day-of-game online purchases. Tickets purchased at the door are $10 cash only, and exact change is required. Please note that due to capacity limits, tickets may not be available for purchase at the door. Purchasing tickets online in advance is strongly recommended. Tickets are required for all individuals, inclusive of grades K–12. Pre-kindergarten individuals are admitted free of charge (via piaa.org).

How they got here: Northwest was seeded third in the District 4 playoffs. It beat East Juniata in the quarterfinals, 47-27; lost to Muncy in the semifinals, 40-31; then defeated Northeast Bradford in the third-place game, 44-28. Mountain View was the No. 2 seed in the District 2 playoffs. It beat Old Forge in the quarterfinals, 55-31; Holy Cross in the semifinals, 50-44; and Wyoming Seminary in the final, 47-43.

Up next: The winner advances to the second round March 10 against the winner of the first-round game between District 1 champ Faith Christian and District 12 No. 4 seed Paul Robeson.

Players to watch: Northwest – Ashlyn Hermanofski (Sr., 10.2 ppg, 21 3-pointers), Ali Miner (So., 7.3), Natalia Ninotti (So., 5.8, 23 3s), Ava Ruckle (Jr., 8.7, 38 3s), Arheya Williams (Sr., 3.3)

Mountain View – Addison Kilmer (6-2 Sr., 28.4 points, 48 3-pointers), Aubrey Sanders (5-6 Jr., 10.0, 21 3s), Emily Trichilo (5-8 Jr., 5.0), Emma Thatcher (5-8 So., 3.2), Dazlyn Sobol (5-8 Jr., 1.5); Reagan Bishop-Russo (5-5 Jr., 2.1)

Noteworthy: Northwest won the Mid-Penn Athletic Conference championship, 42-41, over Muncy. The Lady Rangers rallied from a four-point deficit in the final 14.5 seconds with Ali Miner hitting three free throws with 0.4 seconds left. … This is Northwest’s fifth PIAA appearance. It is still looking for its first win (0-4). … Hermanofski was named Mid-Penn Athletic Conference MVP. Ruckle was a first-team selection, Miner a second-team choice and Ninotti an honorable mention. … Mountain View won the Lackawanna League Division III championship, then captured its second straight District 2 Class 2A title and fourth district crown overall; the first two came in Class 1A. … Kilmer, an East Stroudsburg University commit and first-team all-state selection last season, has scored 2,212 career points. She is shooting 80.7 percent (130 for 161) from the foul line this season. … The Lady Eagles average 53.0 points and allow 38.9 points. … Northwest and Mountain View have two common opponents in Wyoming Seminary and Susquehanna. Northwest lost to Wyoming Seminary, 38-37, and beat Susquehanna, 71-33. Mountain View beat Wyoming Seminary, 47-43, and defeated Susquehanna twice in league play, 58-29 and 61-29.

CLASS 3A

4-4 Mount Carmel (16-9) at 2-1 Dunmore (22-3)

When: Friday, 7 p.m.

Tickets: General admission ticket prices for the First Round through the Semifinal Round of the PIAA Basketball Championships are $9 for advance online purchases and $10 for day-of-game online purchases. Tickets purchased at the door are $10 cash only, and exact change is required. Please note that due to capacity limits, tickets may not be available for purchase at the door. Purchasing tickets online in advance is strongly recommended. Tickets are required for all individuals, inclusive of grades K–12. Pre-kindergarten individuals are admitted free of charge (via piaa.org).

How they got here: Mount Carmel was the No. 5 seed for the District 4 playoffs. It beat Towanda in the quarterfinals, 42-29; lost to Hughesville in the semifinals, 40-25; and lost to Troy in the third-place game, 34-26. Dunmore was the No. 1 seed for the District 2 playoffs. It beat Carbondale Area in the quarterfinals, 64-17; Riverside in the semifinals, 48-28; and Holy Redeemer in the final, 37-35.

Up next: The winner advances to the second round March 10 against the winner of the first-round game between District 11 champ Executive Education and District 12 No. 6 seed First Philadelphia Charter.

Players to watch: Mount Carmel – Raina Paulson (5-8 Fr., 11.8 ppg), Hannah Fourspring (5-10 Sr., 8.5 points), Tessa Fourspring (5-10 So., 3.6), Arianna Adams (5-3 Jr., 3.4), Samantha Siegrist (5-11 So., 5.1), Brooklyn Torres (5-3 So., 2.9), Bella Hudick (5-4 So., 2.3)

Dunmore – Amanda Dempsey (5-7 Sr., 10.1 ppg, 34 3s, 35-50 FT .700), Leena Conte (5-7 Sr., 8.0), Jackie Brown (5-8 Sr., 7.5), Michelle Nidoh (5-11 So., 6.8), Janessa Martin (5-5 Fr., 5.2), Janaya Martin (5-4 Fr., 4.5).

Noteworthy: Dunmore is 4-0 against Mount Carmel in the PIAA playoffs, including a 66-25 win in the first round last season. … This is the Red Tornadoes’ 21st appearance in the PIAA playoffs (19-20). They won the Class 2A championship in 2021, beating Neshannock in the final, 54-43. … Dunmore is making its 33rd PIAA appearance (50-32). It won the Class 3A championship in 2023. … The Lady Bucks won their second straight District 2 Class 3A title and third in four years when Janaya Martin hit a 3-pointer with 6.6 seconds left to beat Holy Redeemer. … Dunmore averages 49.8 points and allows 29.9 points. … The Lady Bucks’ three losses have come by a total of 14 points, including a pair of one-point defeats. … Dunmore won its 13th consecutive Lackawanna League division title and has a 108-game league winning streak. … The Lady Bucks ride a nine-game winning streak into the state tournament.

CLASS 6A

3-4 Red Lion (23-4) at 2-2 Scranton (11-13)

When: Friday, 7 p.m.

Tickets: General admission ticket prices for the First Round through the Semifinal Round of the PIAA Basketball Championships are $9 for advance online purchases and $10 for day-of-game online purchases. Tickets purchased at the door are $10 cash only, and exact change is required. Please note that due to capacity limits, tickets may not be available for purchase at the door. Purchasing tickets online in advance is strongly recommended. Tickets are required for all individuals, inclusive of grades K–12. Pre-kindergarten individuals are admitted free of charge (via piaa.org).

How they got here: Red Lion was the No. 1 seed in the District 3 playoffs. It beat New Oxford in the first round, 47-25, and Cedar Cliff in the quarterfinals, 32-30; lost to Wilson in the semifinals, 50-42, and to Central Dauphin in the third-place game, 42-37. Scranton was the No. 2 seed for the District 2 playoffs. It beat Delaware Valley in the semifinals, 72-43, and lost to Hazleton Area in the final, 67-30.

Up next: The winner advances to the second round March 10 against the winner of the first-round game between District 11 champion Easton and District 1 No. 9 seed Neshaminy.

Players to watch: Red Lion – Bekah Sedora (So., 14.2 ppg, 50 3-pointers), Julia Sedora (Sr., 12.1, 29 3s), Kendall Williams (Fr., 5.2), Olivia Miller (Sr., 3.7), Madison Sechrist (Sr., 2.6), Maddie Young (Jr., 3.3).

Scranton – Chrissy Jacklinski (18.3 points, 68-94 FT .723, 56 3-pointers), Rhylee Bell (12.0, 30 3s), Jaelyn Alers (11.3, 42 3s), Abigail Stalica (2.5), Bianca Perez (1.9).

Noteworthy: Red Lion averages 42.2 points. … Three of the Lions’ four losses have come in the postseason. They lost to Delone Catholic in the York-Adams League semifinals, 45-30, then lost to Wilson and Central Dauphin in the District 3 tournament. … This is Red Lion’s 20th PIAA appearance (10-20). It has lost eight straight state games since beating Upper Dublin, 59-26, in the Class 4A first round in 2012. … Scranton is making its 10th PIAA appearance (5-9). … The Lady Knights played a very challenging schedule. Their 13 losses came against teams with a combined record of 181-49, including three District 2 champions, two District 2 runnersup, two District 2 semifinalists and a New Jersey team (St. Thomas Aquinas) that is in the sectional semifinals of the state tournament. … The Lady Knights average 49.8 points and allow 45.8 points. … Jacklinski scored her 1,000th career point Feb. 2.

— SCOTT WALSH