PIAA basketball: Scouting Montrose and Mount Carmel
If you're free Friday night and willing to drive an hour-and-a-half into Berks County, you could catch a doubleheader featuring the final two YAIAA basketball teams left standing in the state playoffs.
Area rivals Delone Catholic and York Catholic will play back-to-back PIAA Class AA quarterfinal contests at Hamburg Area High School that night. The Squirettes will play District 2 champion Montrose at 6 p.m., followed by the Fighting Irish's contest with District 4 winners Mount Carmel at 7:30.
Keep your eyes peeled for more preview material in the coming days on GameTimePA.com and in the York Daily Record. For now, here's a primer on Friday's opponents for Delone and York Catholic.
MONTROSE HIGH SCHOOL
Nickname: Lady Meteors
Record: 26-2
How they got here: Won the District 2 championship, beating last year's state runner-up Dunmore, 49-45. Beat Carver Engineering and Sciences in a PIAA second-round matchup, 55-49, on Tuesday.Starters: Dallas Ely, 5-8, Sr., 21.8 ppg; Sara Krupinski, 5-8, Sr., 10.8; Myra Lattimore, 5-9, So., 7.1; Meghan Gilhool, 5-3, Fr., 3.6; Nicki Lewis, 5-5, So., 2.7.
Notes: Ely is the school's all-time leader in points (1779) and 3-pointers (190), and is coming off a 41-point performance against Carver. In six postseason games, the guard is averaging 30.2 points per game. ... Montrose has won 25 straight games since starting it's season 1-2. ... Lady Meteors are making their first appearance in the state tournament since 2006, and are coming off their first District 2 title since 2003. ... Montrose is making its first state quarterfinal appearance.
MOUNT CARMEL HIGH SCHOOL
Nickname: Red Tornadoes
Record: 27-0
How they got here: Beat Minersville in a PIAA second-round contest, 67-52. Rolled through the majority of their regular season and District 4 playoff schedule. Of the Tornadoes' 27 wins, 24 have been by double-digits.
Starters: G Heather Bolick, Sr., 5-4, 9.3 ppg; F Ranotta Ahrensfield, Sr., 5-6, 13.6; G Kim Andruscavage, Sr., 5-7, 15.2; F Ana Raybuck, So., 5-9, 7.3 ppg; G Ali Varano, So., 5-6, 12.9 ppg.Reserves: F Kayla Shamus, Sr., 5-6, 5.4 ppg; G Paige Hornung, So., 5-4, 2.0 ppg.Notes: Mount Carmel's last district title prior to this season came in 1985, and this is the furthest the program has advanced in the state playoffs. ... Red Tornadoes score 67.4 ppg, give up 42.7 ppg and have held six opponents under 30 this year. ... Ahrensfield (1,235) and Andruscavage (1,325) have crossed the 1,000-point mark for their careers. ... Coached by Lisa Varano (third season, 59-8). ... Likes to play an uptempo offensive style and will run the floor if given the chance.