Blue Mountain and North Schuylkill are hungry to get back in position for a league title, while Marian Catholic, Tamaqua and others look to topple last year’s top two. We take a look at a number of teams in the realigned league, following the departure of Lehighton and Jim Thorpe. This year, the Schuylkill League has two divisions, instead of three:
Division 1 – Blue Mountain, Minersville, North Schuylkill, Panther Valley, Pottsville, Pine Grove, Schuylkill Haven, Tamaqua
Division 2 – Lourdes Regional, Mahanoy Area, Marian Catholic, Nativity BVM, Shenandoah Valley, Tri-Valley, Weatherly, Williams Valley
We’d like to thank all the coaches who helped put these previews together.
North Schuylkill(21-6; 1st round of states)
Head Coach: Richard Wetzel
Key Losses: Olivia Burke, Haley Koutch, Eve Shovlin
Key Returners: Hannah Kane(Sr), Mya Conti(Jr), Maria Monahan(Sr), Jadelin Stitzer(Jr), Gianna Capone(So), Claire Kowalonek(Sr), Sadie Halko(Sr), Kirsten Conapinski(Jr), Kate Urbanowicz(Jr), Abby Klingerman(So), Jolin Stitzer(Jr), Gia Halford(Sr)
Key Newcomers: Monica Selgrade(Fr), Addie Balicki(Fr), Ella Daub(Fr)
Season Outlook: Our team’s strengths are our athleticism, commitment to hard work and willingness to sacrifice to be successful. Defensive pressure, our transition game, and execution in the half court offense will be our keys to success. A tough schedule and some inexperience are our biggest challenges.
| 12/6 | @ Panther Valley | 1/10 | Tamaqua |
| 12/10 | Pine Grove | 1/13 | Panther Valley |
| 12/13 | @ Minersville | 1/16 | @ Pine Grove |
| 12/17 | @ Pottsville | 1/18 | Loyalsock |
| 12/20 | Blue Mountain | 1/20 | Minersville |
| 12/21 | @ Shamokin | 1/23 | Pottstown |
| 12/27 | @ State College Tourney | 1/25 | Pittston |
| 12/28 | @ State College Tourney | 1/27 | @ Blue Mountain |
| 1/4 | @ Central Columbia | 1/30 | Schuylkill Haven |
| 1/7 | @ Schuylkill Haven | 2/1 | Williamsport |
| 1/9 | Whitehall | 2/3 | @ Tamaqua |
Blue Mountain(22-6; Schuylkill League champions, 1st round of states)
Head Coach: Rose Carper(3rd year)
Key Losses: Kylie Conway, Emily Hedyt, Kiersten Faust, Lindsay Gibson, Cala Armenise, and Mckenna Hall
Key Returners: We have two returning starters in Makayla Keck and Hailey Place
Key Newcomers: We will rely on quite a few younger players this year to have a major impact on our team.
Season Outlook: We have two returning starters this year, so we will be a young team that will look to be competitive in the League and District as the season progresses.
| 11/30 | Conrad-Weiser | 1/10 | @ Minersville |
| 12/2 | Southern Lehigh | 1/11 | Emmaus |
| 12/6 | Pottsville | 1/13 | @ Pottsville |
| 12/10 | Schuylkill Haven | 1/16 | @ Schuylkill Haven |
| 12/11 | @ Tamaqua | 1/20 | Tamaqua |
| 12/17 | @ Panther Valley | 1/23 | Panther Valley |
| 12/18 | Northern Lebanon | 1/25 | @ Eastern Lebanon |
| 12/20 | @ North Schuylkill | 1/27 | North Schuylkill |
| 12/30 | @ Middletown | 1/30 | @ Pine Grove |
| 1/4 | @ Northampton | 2/1 | @ Governor Mifflin |
| 1/7 | Pine Grove | 2/3 | Minersville |
Pottsville(4-18)
Head Coach: Steve Ennis(2nd year)
Key Losses: Liv Peleschak, Kali Hinkle
Key Returners: Keirra Jones (Sr), Jes Siminitis (Jr), Megan Yost (So), Myla Fegley (So), Jo Barnhart (So)
Key Newcomers: Jaelyn Carter (Jr), Tia Neufville (Jr), Lauren Brennan (So), Riley Davis (Fr), Ella Huda (Fr), Megan Goodman (Fr)
Season Outlook: The outlook for this season is to continue to take one step forward every day that we are together. This group had an incredible offseason in terms of commitment and activity. This is a group of selfless individuals who have high expectations for the success of the team. We need to continue to only focus on the task at hand and control what is right in front of us. A strength of this group is we know what level of effort we are getting from them everyday. If we can (for a lack of better terms) keep rowing the boat, establish an identity, and continue to make progress, this group can be in for a very special year. The players in the locker room believe and have put action into that belief in the off season. We are very excited.
| 12/2 | Southern Columbia | 1/10 | @ Panther Valley |
| 12/4 | @ Reading | 1/13 | Blue Mountain |
| 12/6 | @ Blue Mountain | 1/16 | @ Tamaqua |
| 12/10 | Tamaqua | 1/18 | @ Conrad-Weiser |
| 12/13 | @ Schuylkill Haven | 1/20 | Schuylkill Haven |
| 12/17 | North Schuylkill | 1/23 | @ North Schuylkill |
| 12/20 | Pine Grove | 1/24 | @ Saucon Valley |
| 12/23 | Northwestern Lehigh | 1/27 | @ Pine Grove |
| 12/27 | Hamburg | 1/30 | @ Minersville |
| 1/3 | @ Eastern Lebanon | 2/1 | Lehighton |
| 1/7 | Minersville | 2/3 | Panther Valley |
Tamaqua(17-9)
Head Coach: Erika Davis(9th year)
Key Losses: Sarah Hope, Lorelei Plasha, Makayla Bartenope
Key Returners: Kolbe Robb, Lauren Ligenza, Leah Black, Kendle Miller, Samantha Plasha
Key Newcomers: Millie Black
Season Outlook: We are looking forward to the season getting underway. We had a great, competitive summer which allowed for us to recognize some strengths and weaknesses of our team. Majority of our team are a part of a fall sport, but those that were not, put in a lot of time in the fall preseason open gyms. We have goals to talk about and put in place that we are determined to work hard for and achieve this season.
| 11/29 | @ ES South | 1/3 | Executive Education |
| 12/4 | Catasauqua | 1/7 | Panther Valley |
| 12/6 | Schuylkill Haven | 1/10 | @ North Schuylkill |
| 12/7 | Pleasant Valley | 1/13 | @ Schuylkill Haven |
| 12/10 | @ Pottsville | 1/16 | Pottsville |
| 12/11 | Blue Mountain | 1/18 | @ Lehighton |
| 12/14 | @ Nativity BVM | 1/20 | @ Blue Mountain |
| 12/17 | Pine Grove | 1/23 | @ Pine Grove |
| 12/20 | @ Minersville | 1/27 | Minersville |
| 12/27 | @ Mahanoy Area | 1/30 | @ Panther Valley |
| 12/30 | Dieruff | 2/3 | North Schuylkill |
Panther Valley(14-10)
Head Coach: Rob Kovac(4th year in 2nd stint)
Key Losses: Kaidence Krapf, Mikayla Yurichek, Maddison Maynard
Key Returners: Natalie Vermillion, Brenna McAndrew, Carolyn Breslin, Morgan Orsulak, Lucy Kocha, Morgan O’Brien
Key Newcomers: Megan O”Brien, Ajjeta Joka, Callie Koscielek, Janessa Prudente, Danika Blazosky
Season Outlook: The Panthers lost three contributors from a year ago including all-state selection Maddison Maynard. They do however return a nice mix of experienced players along with some fresh faces who will compete for playing time. Orsulak, Breslin, and Vermillion have lots of experience and should lead the team early in the season.
| 12/3 | Mahanoy Area | 1/7 | @ Tamaqua |
| 12/6 | North Schuylkill | 1/8 | @ Dieruff |
| 12/7 | @ Palisades | 1/10 | Pottstown |
| 12/10 | Minersville | 1/13 | @ North Schuylkill |
| 12/13 | @ Pine Grove | 1/16 | @ Minersville |
| 12/17 | Blue Mountain | 1/20 | Pine Grove |
| 12/19 | Notre Dame ES | 1/21 | Jim Thorpe |
| 12/20 | Schuylkill Haven | 1/23 | @ Blue Mountain |
| 12/27 | @ Nativity BVM | 1/27 | @ Schuylkill Haven |
| 12/28 | Salisbury | 1/30 | Tamaqua |
| 1/4 | @ Pleasant Valley | 2/3 | @ Pottsville |
Marian Catholic(22-7; state quarterfinals)
Head Coach: Damian Fritz(4th year)
Key Losses: Carly Minchhoff (1,000 point scorer and all-State player) averaged 15PPG and 6 RPG, Frankie Martinelli avg 11 0PPG and 3 APG, Aliya Tikhtova avg 6 PPG and 6RPG
Key Returners: Addy Fritz – 12PPG and 4 RPG (Jr), Deanna Pugh – 8PPG (So) 3 STLs PPG, Carly Hasara – 3 PPG (Sr) played a huge role last year for us defensively and now has her opportunity to start and contribute.
Key Newcomers: Olivia Serfass – (Jr), Addy Marek – Fr – Emily Carone – So
Season Outlook: We have a really nice nucleus this year that have worked really well together all summer. Our goals do not change from year to year. We wont to compete for a league championship. As a program we want to continue to close the gap between our program and others in our league. We spend a lot of time in the summer playing against bigger schools to prepare us for nights where we need to play against good quality programs. We are looking for a 3rd district title in 4 years and a final push to get beyond the quarterfinals of the state playoffs.
| 11/30 | @ Wilkes-Barre | 12/28 | TBD |
| 12/3 | Minersville | 1/3 | @ Schuylkill Haven |
| 12/5 | @ Lake-Lehman | 1/7 | @ Williams Valley |
| 12/6 | Weatherly | 1/10 | Shenandoah Valley |
| 12/10 | Nativity BVM | 1/13 | @ Weatherly |
| 12/13 | @ Mahanoy Area | 1/16 | @ Nativity BVM |
| 12/14 | Executive Education | 1/20 | Mahanoy Area |
| 12/17 | @ Lourdes | 1/23 | Lourdes |
| 12/20 | Tri-Valley | 1/27 | @ Tri-Valley |
| 12/21 | @ Central Catholic | 1/30 | Williams Valley |
| 12/27 | TBD | 2/3 | @ Shenandoah Valley |
Pine Grove
Head Coach: Allison Rizzo(1st year)
Key Losses: Marissa Stewart
Key Returners: Ayla Haines, Addison Zimmerman, Hannah Leininger, Callee Leffler, and Meadow Umbenhauer.
Key Newcomers: Hollyn Sampson, Lainey Fidler, and Kam Heming.
Season Outlook: Pine Grove girls expect to have a big season with 4 returning upper classmen and a group of sophomores and freshman looking to make an immediate impact. The team will be relying on vocal leadership from Senior Addison Zimmerman and senior, Ayla Haines and junior, Callee Leffler to lead the offense. Senior, Hannah Leininger, and sophomore, Meadow Umbenhauer will add to the attack. Freshman Hollyn Sampson will look to add a scoring threat to the offense as a true forward. The team worked hard in the offseason preparing a new offensive system and working to return to the defensive tradition of Pine Grove girls’ basketball. The Lady Cards look to return to district playoffs and make waves in Division I.
| 11/30 | @ Tri-Valley | 1/7 | @ Blue Mountain |
| 12/3 | Schuylkill Valley | 1/10 | Schuylkill Haven |
| 12/6 | Minersville | 1/11 | @ Tulpehocken |
| 12/10 | @ North Schuylkill | 1/13 | @ Minersville |
| 12/13 | Panther Valley | 1/16 | North Schuylkill |
| 12/17 | @ Tamaqua | 1/18 | @ Hamburg |
| 12/20 | @ Pottsville | 1/20 | @ Panther Valley |
| 12/21 | Kutztown | 1/23 | Tamaqua |
| 12/27 | Cardinal Classic | 1/27 | Pottsville |
| 12/28 | Cardinal Classic | 1/30 | Blue Mountain |
| 1/4 | Williams Valley | 2/3 | @ Schuylkill Haven |
Lourdes Regional(17-10; 2nd round of states)
Head Coach: Michael Klembara(41st year)
Key Losses: Masie Reed 12 ppg (Mt. Aloysius College-playing basketball) & 26 treys, Leah Kosmer (U of California PA) 9 ppg and Paityn Moyer 7 ppg (Lock Haven), Cassidy Grimes 9 ppg (PSU). This group of seniors lettered as freshman, had a wealth of experience, played in many pressured contests, reached eastern finals and PIAA State finals in 2023 as juniors. But for their senior year, “We had a disappointing year… they will be missed.”
Key Returners: Seniors: Anna Keer 5 ppg, Schuylkill League star volleyball player, will be going to Arcadia University majoring in Physical Therapy/Physician Assistant
Juniors: Luci Shingara, Payton Engleson, Sydney Gonzalez
Sophomores: Onaleigh Barnes, Vivian Reiprish, Hannah Lokitis, Alayna Marcheski, Katie Macaluso, Alexa Fariello, and Sierra Balonis
Key Newcomers: Sophia Karlovich 5’11”, Adalynn Schu 5’6”, and Kylla Sandri 5’5”
Other possible Starters:
Anna Keer – Sr, Vivian Reiprish – So. Excellent golfer, qualified for states, Hannah Lokitis – So 6’1’ who led the team in block shots as a freshman., Onaleigh Barnes – So had 5 treys in a JV contest vs Marian, and Kylla Sandri – Fr. Point guard 19 ppg in JH Girls Basketball. Subs: Sophia Karlovich, Luci Shingara, and possibly others TBA.
2024-25 Schedule in review. Strong schedule as 12 of 22 opponents were playoff teams, 18 of 22 games are against 2A, 3A, 4A and 5A schools.
Norry Christian (PIAA State Champion in 2021), Benton, Meadowbrook Christian (D4 “A” champion), and St. John Neumann should all be strong. Lewisburg (4A) has a solid group returning.
Schuylkill League: League schedule: Tri-Valley, Williams Valley, Marian Catholic, Shenandoah Valley, Mahanoy Area, and Nativity. Over half of our games are against 2023-24 playoff teams. We graduate 85% of the team scoring and the team leader in assists and rebounding graduated. We had a successful off season and showed some maturity. How quickly we continue to mature, react to adversity, and pressure of the Schuylkill will be a work in progress.
Coach Klembara Comments: Marian and Williams Valley are the teams to beat in our division. Our goal is to qualify for Schuylkill League playoffs, win Districts and advance well into the state tournament. The staff feels the chemistry, leadership and improvement in 3-point shooting. My biggest concern is consistency, maturity, defensive strength, scoring and reducing turnovers. We are not happy with the lead realignment because we no longer play Minersville or Schuylkill Haven, but we understand it. Therefore, the “team” must step up, mature and become vocal and assume leadership. Must continue to work on team speed, quickness, greater basketball focus, and show more discipline on defense and offense. The team understands that it is not about them, but playing great team defense and executing our offense at the other end of the court. It is important that we stay injury free, be consistent on offense and have a greater pride in our individual and team defense.
| 12/2 | @ Meadowbrook Christian | 1/10 | @ Nativity BVM |
| 12/4 | @ Sullivan County | 1/13 | @ Shenandoah Valley |
| 12/6 | Shenandoah Valley | 1/16 | @ Tri-Valley |
| 12/10 | Tri-Valley | 1/18 | Lewisburg |
| 12/13 | @ Williams Valley | 1/20 | Williams Valley |
| 12/17 | Marian Catholic | 1/23 | @ Marian Catholic |
| 12/20 | @ Weatherly | 1/27 | Weatherly |
| 12/27 | Benton | 1/30 | @ Mahanoy Area |
| 12/30 | Shikellamy | 2/3 | Nativity BVM |
| 1/4 | @ Northumberland Christian | 2/6 | Millville |
| 1/7 | Mahanoy Area | 2/10 | @ Mifflinburg |
Nativity BVM(7-18; DXI 1A championsm 1st round of states)
Head Coach: Scott Forney(9th year)
Key Losses: Reagan Bennett, Grace Brennan, Hannah Zimerofsky, Katlynne Pinkey,
Emmalee Pinkey , Delaney Walborn
Key Returners: Finley McNamara – So.
Key Newcomers: EmmaJoan Fox, Amara Miller, Kylah Stewart, Peyton Evans, Julianna Carlson, Maria Del Rosal
Siles, Blanca Kindler, Alexandra Moreno
Season Outlook: For us to be most successful: To continue to work hard every day at practice and continue to get better on fundamentals. We are a young and inexperienced team that works hard every day and great group of
young ladies. If they continue to work hard by January we will be a very competitive basketball team.
Biggest Challenges: Overcoming youthfulness and inexperience.
| 11/30 | @ Shamokin | 1/7 | @ Shenandoah Valley |
| 12/6 | @ Mahanoy Area | 1/10 | Lourdes |
| 12/10 | @ Marian Catholic | 1/13 | Mahanoy Area |
| 12/13 | @ Weatherly | 1/16 | Marian Catholic |
| 12/14 | Tamaqua | 1/20 | Weatherly |
| 12/17 | @ Tri-Valley | 1/21 | Salem Christian |
| 12/20 | @ Lincoln Leadership | 1/23 | Tri-Valley |
| 12/21 | Williams Valley | 1/27 | @ Williams Valley |
| 12/27 | Panther Valley | 1/30 | Shenandoah Valley |
| 1/3 | @ Tulpehocken | 2/3 | @ Lourdes |
| 1/4 | Lehigh Valley Academy | 2/6 | @ Lehigh Valley Academy |
Tri-Valley(3-18)
Head Coach: John Mika(2nd year)
Key Losses: 6 letter winners, including Grace Header, Cassie Huntzinger, Abby Raulston, and Alexandra Snyder
Key Returners: Avery Miller, junior guard who averaged 9.1 points per game as a sophomore
Key Newcomers: Ava Snyder, junior forward, Faith Artz, sophomore forward
Season Outlook: Lady Dawgs have low numbers and experience. Will look to rely on Avery Miller, Ava Snyder and Faith Artz to carry the load and blend in a lot of inexperience to improve on last years 3 win season.
| 11/30 | Pine Grove | 1/11 | @ Halifax |
| 12/6 | @ Williams Valley | 1/13 | Williams Valley |
| 12/10 | @ Lourdes | 1/16 | Lourdes |
| 12/13 | Shenandoah Valley | 1/18 | @ Upper Dauphin |
| 12/17 | Nativity BVM | 1/20 | @ Shenandoah Valley |
| 12/20 | @ Marian Catholic | 1/23 | @ Nativity BVM |
| 12/27 | v Millersburg | 1/27 | Marian Catholic |
| 12/28 | v Upper Dauphin | 1/30 | @ Weatherly |
| 1/4 | Greenwood | 2/1 | Line Mountain |
| 1/7 | Weatherly | 2/3 | Mahanoy Area |
| 1/10 | @ Mahanoy Area | 2/6 | @ Minersville |
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