Bishop McCort, Berlin have plenty of familiarity ahead of PIAA Championship
HERSHEY, Pa. (WTAJ) – The saying 'keep your friends close but keep your enemies closer' is fitting for the PIAA Class 2A Girls Basketball Championship between Berlin-Brothersvalley and Bishop McCort.
Before the season, both teams scrimmaged each other but never could have envisioned facing each other to end the year in the Giant Center.
'I know what (Berlin head coach Rachel Prosser) likes to do, what she doesn't like to do, and she knows the same about us,' Crushers head coach John Hahn said.
'They're really good team for us to scrimmage to get us (ready) early and find out what our strengths and weaknesses are,' Prosser said.
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Berlin-Brothersvalley used that familiarity to defeat Bishop McCort by seven points back in December, which would make a win in 'Chocolate World' even sweeter for the Crushers.
'It's motivation,' Bishop McCort senior Cami Beppler said. 'It's like we already know them. They know us. So, it's just going to be a battle of who shows up that day and who's better.'
'Since we played them earlier in the season, we know some of their strengths and we will be able to take that knowledge and use it once we play them,' Berlin-Brothersvalley junior Madi Visinsky said.
Both teams have improved marginally since their last matchup. The Mountaineers have gone undefeated since then, while the Crushers have a 23-3 record since that loss.
'They have good outside shooters by far, but they also can take it to the basket,' Prosser said. 'It makes it a tough matchup for anybody, which is why they have made it this far.'
'They're a tough team,' Bishop McCort senior Elle Berkebile said. 'They hustle a lot, and they'll show that Thursday, but so do we. So, it's just going to be a battle.'
Bishop McCort is seeking its first state championship since 1985, while Berlin-Brothersvalley is looking to win its first since 2019. This is the first time that girls basketball teams from District V and District VI have matched up against each other in the PIAA Championship game.
'I'm just excited that it's Cambria County and Somerset County, that's great for this area,' Hahn said. 'A lot of people get lost on the team from (Philadelphia) and the WPIAL from Pittsburgh but girls' basketball in District VI is as good as anybody's basketball.'
For whichever team brings a state title back to the area, you can expect the moment to be special to them.
'I'm very emotional, so I think I'd cry a lot, and I want that ring really badly,' Berkebile said with a smile.
The game is set for Thursday at 12 p.m. WTAJ will have coverage of the game on-air and online.
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