Cardinal O’Hara’s starters prepare to rush the court at the final buzzer of their PIAA Class 6A semifinal win over Parkland High on March 18. (Austin Hertzog – MediaNews Group)
By Matt Smith
If Cardinal O’Hara has anything in common with Spring-Ford, its opponent in Friday’s PIAA Class 6A championship game, it’s that each team has unfinished business.
The Lions were eliminated in the semifinal round of the 2023 tournament, falling by one point to eventual state champ Archbishop Carroll. Meanwhile, the Rams were ousted by O’Hara in the quarterfinals a season ago, and hope to avoid leaving Hershey empty-handed for the second time in four years.
O’Hara (25-4) and Spring-Ford (27-6) are vying for the title of best girls basketball team in PIAA’s highest classification. Tipoff at the Giant Center is 6 p.m.
O’Hara captured Class 5A championships in 2021 and 2022. Those teams were led by two-time Daily Times Player of the Year Maggie Doogan (Richmond) and All-Delco Amaris Baker (Drexel), both of whom have played key roles in helping their college squads to the NCAA Tournament. In 2021, when Spring-Ford lost to North Allegheny in the Class 6A final, Villanova star Lucy Olsen was arguably the best high school player in Pennsylvania.
There is connective tissue on both current rosters linking the teams’ previous state championship runs.
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