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.
Saint Francis University announces transition from Division I to Division III athletics
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.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
11 hours ago
- Forbes
Bryson DeChambeau's U.S. Open Bid Comes With A Possible Bonus For Fans
OAKMONT, PENNSYLVANIA - JUNE 09: Bryson DeChambeau of the United States signs autographs for fans ... More during a practice round prior to the 125th U.S. OPEN at Oakmont Country Club on June 09, 2025 in Oakmont, Pennsylvania. (Photo by) Bryson DeChambeau, LIV Golf's hottest commodity and a YouTube juggernaut, has been making his presence known in a major way on golf's grandest stages this season—especially on those rare occasions where the stars of both tours collide. The Crushers captain finished in a three-way tie for second at the PGA Championship and placed T5 at Augusta National during the Masters. Now, the primo mettle tester that is Oakmont beckons the world's best as the first round of the 125th U.S. Open tees off Thursday morning. Bryson arrives at the Pittsburgh burb classic course, home of the famous Church Pew bunker, with a third career national championship in sight. And while he sets out to notch another milestone on a belt already full of them, a show of peak performance this time round could perhaps earn fans a free snack in the process. 'The course is set up for true championship golf and will be an incredible test. I've felt really comfortable with my game this year, and I'm excited to see how it stacks up at Oakmont. Winning a third U.S. Open would be a dream come true—and to do it at a place like Oakmont would be an incredible honor,' DeChambeau said via email. Thanks to a promotion teaming ONE x Hershey's Double Chocolate protein bar—a brand the Pennsylvania-based chocolate giant acquired in 2019 for $397 million—if DeChambeau cards a hole in one during the tournament, fans nationwide will score a bar on the house. Aces don't come easy (the odds of a tour pro hitting a hole-in-one are about 2,500 to 1)—especially a course where a final score of just a few strokes under par may be good enough to top the leaderboard. Even the shorter distance holes feel daunting at Oakmont whose four par-3s offer slim margins for error. No. 8 certainly draws the most gawks. It's a nearly 300-yard beast—and the only hole Johnny Miller bogeyed during his iconic 1973 round when he set the course record. 'No. 8 is an absolute monster of a hole. It's going to be really interesting to see how everyone plays it this week. You can probably rule it out as an ace hole though, that thing is treacherous,' DeChambeau said. Guess that leaves Nos. 6, 13 and 16 as Bryson's best chances to jar or pour one in. ONE got the inspiration for the ace challenge after DeChambeau went viral for doing the deed over his house into a hole in his backyard. His star has soared in the social media sphere over the past year as his Break 50 and Course Record series gained loft and netted him tens of thousands of new fans. 'The Course Record series has been a blast to work on. It gives me a chance to compete in a different way, lock in for the week, and just have fun with the game,' DeChambeau said. 'Having ONE involved in the new episodes is a great fit—they're all about fueling performance, and I'm always looking for ways to stay sharp out there. I've especially been into the Double Chocolate flavored protein bar; it satisfies my sweet tooth and it's easy to toss in the bag when we're filming. We've got some cool stuff dropping through August that I think people are really going to enjoy,' he added. DeChambeau's been in the thick of both majors played this season, and the U.S. Open is where he's historically shined brightest, so expectations are high. If he does top the leaderboard, that would be a career hat trick at the national championship. 'I've felt really comfortable with my game this year, and I'm excited to see how it stacks up at Oakmont. Winning a third U.S. Open would be a dream come true—and to do it at a place like Oakmont would be an incredible honor,' DeChambeau reflected. 'Oakmont is a true test of championship golf. You have to bring your best stuff out there—or it'll eat you alive. I've been putting in some solid work and preparation, so I'm excited to see how this week shakes out.' And as for that ace, while the odds are real slim, he's already curled one in at a major championship before.
Washington Post
2 days ago
- Washington Post
Germany reassesses World Cup prospects after being taught lessons by France and Portugal
BERLIN — Two defeats and last place in a mini-tournament it expected to win have dealt Germany a cold dose of reality ahead of the 2026 World Cup. The Nations League final four in Germany was supposed to show Julian Nagelsmann's team can count itself among Europe's best, but a 2-1 loss to Portugal in Munich followed by a 2-0 defeat to France in Stuttgart instead revealed a gulf in class.
Associated Press
2 days ago
- Associated Press
Germany reassesses World Cup prospects after being taught lessons by France and Portugal
BERLIN (AP) — Two defeats and last place in a mini-tournament it expected to win have dealt Germany a cold dose of reality ahead of the 2026 World Cup. The Nations League final four in Germany was supposed to show Julian Nagelsmann's team can count itself among Europe's best, but a 2-1 loss to Portugal in Munich followed by a 2-0 defeat to France in Stuttgart instead revealed a gulf in class. It showed that tournament-winner Portugal, beaten finalist Spain – the European champion – and a talent-packed France team are among the favorites with defending champion Argentina to win soccer's biggest prize next year. Nagelsmann was keen to highlight the positives, noting that Germany dominated and created a host of chances in the first half against France on Sunday – but counterpart Didier Deschamps had already said what little importance he gave the third-place decider, and it was clear which side was more motivated in front of the Stuttgart fans. Kylian Mbappé scored before the break and set up Michael Olise for the second goal as Les Bleus shook off their apathy in the second half and might have scored more. 'If you look at the first half, honestly, they were not bothered about winning. But they still won,' Germany captain Joshua Kimmich said. Germany's forwards were simply not as clinical as France's. It was a similar tale against Portugal, which rallied to beat Germany on Wednesday. Portugal coach Roberto Martínez changed the game when he introduced substitutes Vitinha, Francisco Conceição and Nelson Semedo in the second half, and Germany needed goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen at his best to stop the visitors scoring any more. Coach Nagelsmann pointed to the injury-enforced absences from his team – Jamal Musiala, Angelo Stiller, Kai Havertz, Antonio Rüdiger, Nico Schlotterbeck, Tim Kleindienst, Jonathan Burkardt and Yann Aurel Bisseck. But France was also without key players like Ousmane Dembélé and Eduardo Camavinga while Deschamps had to do without three of his preferred four-man backline – William Saliba, Dayot Upamecano and Jules Koundé. Even with a full-strength squad, it's debatable whether Germany can match its rivals' strength in depth when it comes to player development and the quality of youngsters coming through. Nine players in Spain coach Luis de la Fuente's Nations League squad are young enough to play at the Under-21 European Championship starting Wednesday in Slovakia. Star player Lamine Yamal is just 17 while Real Madrid's new signing Dean Huijsen looked like he'd been playing for Spain for years. The final was just his fourth appearance. 'It's quite clear, when it comes to the depth of the squad, that we have to abandon the illusion of getting it sorted out in a year,' Nagelsmann said. 'We have a few positions in German soccer that are given too little attention.' Nagelsmann pointed to Spain's use of wide players in attack – like Yamal or Nico Williams – and said Germany's dearth of wing backs had been a problem for years. Kimmich has been deployed at right back when his favored position is in midfield. 'Right now we're looking at what's important to see where we are in the world, what we need for the future, and to learn the right lessons from that,' Nagelsmann said. 'It would be nice if we could get one or two of the players up to speed by next year, but of course that's a limited window of opportunity.' The 37-year-old Nagelsmann appealed for patience from journalists, saying he was sure with the players he has that they 'will play a very, very good (World Cup) qualifying campaign and a very, very good tournament' in the United States, Mexico and Canada next summer. Nagelsmann then attempted to push some of the responsibility onto the media. 'You have to have a bit of trust and pull the handbrake a bit,' he said. 'You're in the same boat.' ___ AP soccer:
