PIAA Class 5A girls basketball championship breakdown: Chartiers Valley vs. Cardinal O’Hara

By: Chris Harlan
Saturday, March 27, 2021 | 2:17 AM

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PIAA Class 5A girls basketball championship

Chartiers Valley vs. Cardinal O’Hara

5 p.m. Saturday at Giant Center, Hershey

On the air: PCN-TV; WJPA-FM 95.3/HSSN

How they got here: WPIAL champion Chartiers Valley defeated District 10 champion Warren, 61-38, in the quarterfinals and District 3 champion Spring Grove, 50-33, in the semifinals. District 10 champion Cardinal O’Hara defeated District 11 champion Bethlehem Catholic, 64-55, in the quarterfinals and District 1 champion Springfield, 40-28, in the semifinals.

Starting lineups

Chartiers Valley (25-3)

Coach: Tim McConnell

No., Player, Pos., Ht., Yr.

2, Aislin Malcolm, G, 5-11, Jr.

4, Hallie Cowan, G, 5-9, Jr.

5, Helene Cowan, G, 5-9, Jr.

11, Perri Page, G, 6-0, Jr.

22, Abby Vaites, G, 5-9, Jr.

Cardinal O’Hara (14-4)

Coach: Chrissie Doogan

No., Player, Pos., Yr.

3, Amaris Baker G, sr.

5, Sydni Scott, G, jr.

10, Siobhan Boylan, G, sr

43, Annie Welde, F, jr.

44, Maggie Doogan, F, jr.

Title-game history: Chartiers Valley won the PIAA Class 5A title in 2019, it’s only appearance in the state finals. Cardinal O’Hara was PIAA Class 4A runner-up in 2009 and 2016.

Notable: Cardinal O’Hara is located in Springfield, Delaware County. Boylan led O’Hara with a team-high 12 points in the PIAA semifinals. Combined, the team went 1 for 15 from 3-point range that game. Doogan (18 points) and Scott (14) led the way in the quarterfinals. The Lions were runners-up to Archbishop Wood in the Philadelphia Catholic League, losing 56-48 in the finals. Doogan and Scott earned first-team all-Catholic League honors. Baker was named second-team. O’Hara lost to Mt. Lebanon, 67-58, in the 2009 PIAA finals. … Chartiers Valley has reached the state finals for the second time in three years. The Colts were two wins away from the finals last season when the tournament was shut down because of the pandemic. Malcolm averages 17.2 points, Page 15.2 and Hallie Cowan 11.6. Hallie and Helene Cowan are twin sisters. Chartiers Valley starts five juniors. Another junior, Marian Turnbull, started all regular season for the Colts but is ineligible for the playoffs under PIAA transfer rules.

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: Chartiers Valley