Cardinal O’Hara’s Bridget Dawson, left, greets Archbishop Carroll’s Brooke Wilson during a meeting between the teams in January. They meet again Monday night in a PIAA Class 6A state semifinal game. PETE BANNAN – MEDIANEWS GROUP
By Matt Smith
The best rivalry in Delaware County girls basketball, featuring Archbishop Carroll and Cardinal O’Hara, will be renewed Monday on a grand stage. The Catholic League counterparts will pair off this time in a PIAA Class 6A semifinal game at Garnet Valley High. The game starts at 7.
It’s fitting that O’Hara and Carroll are the only teams left from eastern Pennsylvania competing for a chance to win a state title in PIAA’s highest classification. They are the most recent Delaware County girls hoops teams with PIAA titles.
While Carroll hasn’t played for a PIAA championship since 2019, O’Hara is aiming for a three-peat. The Lions captured the Class 5A championship – their first in team history – in 2021 and 2022.
Under the old PIAA classification system, the Patriots captured a Class AAA title in 2009 and a Class AAAA crown two years later. Carroll head coach Renie Shields was an assistant for the Patriots during those years. Carroll fell to Chartiers Valley, 53-40, in the Class 5A final in 2019.