Boys and girls basketball teams headed for ICC title game
Senior guard Mason Yingling and the Blue Devil basketball team are headed to the ICC championship game Saturday, to the surprise of many.
February 14, 2019
This Saturday, both the boy’s and girls’ basketball teams will play in the ICC Championship against Everett at Claysburg-Kimmel High School.
For the girls it was no surprise for them to be in the championship game after last year’s PIAA championship win. In fact, the girls have been in the ICC championship gamer eight straight seasons.
But for the boys it was unexpected considering how the Devils’ year started off.
The boys team had a rocky start, going back and forth between wins and losses. After beating Mo Valley on the road in January, the team sparked an eight-game winning streak until losing in overtime against Central in a tight race to the finish.
Blue Devil coach Kevin Conlon says that it’s a great feeling to make the title game because of how far the team has to come.
“We started the year 4-5 and 1-2 in the league and had to win 11 straight league games to make it to where we are now,” he said. “No one had us winning the North so its quite an accomplishment for these boys.”
In the championship, the 15-6 Devils will take on the 17-2 Everett Warriors. The Warriors have won 13 in a row and are averaging 64 points per game, with two players in double figures for the season.
The girls’ basketball team made it to the championship game with no doubt, beating everyone that came into their path, save a late-season bump at Juniata Valley.
The Lady Devils will take also take on Everett in a rematch of last year’s championship won by Bellwood.
Head Coach Jim Swaney said, “Everett is a very good basketball team that is well coached and has an outstanding player in Kristen Maxwell.”
Maxwell leads the 19-2 Lady Warriors at more than 22 points per game.
Swaney said that the Lady Devils, who are led by the double-digit scoring of Alli Campbell, Riley D’Angelo and Emilie Leidig, need to get the tempo of the game in their favor or else Everett will capitalize on it and have an opportunity to win the game.
D’Angelo enters the ICC title game needing just 10 points to reach 1,000 for her career, while Campbell needs 20 to reach 2,000.
