Championship Saturday: 5 things to know about the District 10 girls basketball title games (2024)

District 10 will wrap up championship weekend on Saturday by crowning four girls basketball champions. The four championships are slated for three sites with third-place games going on as well as D-10 determines its representatives in the PIAA tournament.

Here are five things to know about the D-10 championships on Saturday.

Chasing a championship

The Class 1A championship game will produce history on Saturday between Jamestown and Youngsville. Jamestown won its first D-10 title last winter, while Youngsville has never won a D-10 girls basketball championship.

In Class 2A, Kennedy Catholic has 29 D-10 championships overall and the Golden Eagles have won 13 in a row. Maplewood, on the other hand, has no D-10 championships in program history.

Mercyhurst Prep is looking for back-to-back D-10 championships and No. 16 overall, while Northwestern has just one D-10 girls basketball title, which came in 1989.

In Class 4, Fairview is looking for its third D-10 title and second in a row, while Warren is playing for its fifth D-10 championship.

It's all in the family

Warren coach Lisa LaVan and Fairview coach Aaron Garrity have created family atmospheres in their programs and the two teams will square off for the District 10 Class 4A championship on Saturday. The family atmosphere comes from both coaches involving their daughters throughout the years.

Garrity's oldest daughter, Hope, is the all-time leading scorer in Fairview history with 1,537 points and has played 22 games for Edinboro this winter. Garrity also has his next daughter, Dee, on the Fairview roster and she has played 14 games this year, while Paige, a freshman, is having a breakout season and is the leading scorer for the Tigers with 14.2 points per game. Garrity also has his brother, Rand, on staff and his nieces Ella and Grace are also a big part of the team as Ella is a starter and the only senior on the team while Grace has played in 15 games.

LaVan is the same way as all three of her daughters have been impact players for the Dragons. Emma Ruhlman, who has played in 21 games for Hillsdale this year, helped Warren win three D-10 titles in four years and finished her career with 1,448 points and 927 rebounds. The middle daughter, Gracie Ruhlman, was also an impact player for the Dragons, and the youngest, Samantha Ruhlman, is a senior this year leading the Dragons with 10.1 points per game. Samantha Ruhlman has committed to D'Youville next winter.

Third time's a charm

It'll be the third meeting between teams in two of the four D-10 championship games on Saturday. Despite not being in the same region, Jamestown and Youngsville meet for a third time in the 1A final. Youngsville beat Jamestown 41-40 in the Iroquois tournament before Jamestown won 46-44 in a crossover game on Jan. 15. Makayla Williams had 16 points and Alayna Cadman scored 14 for Jamestown in the crossover game, while Riley Robinault had 23 for Youngsville.

Mercyhurst Prep and Northwestern meet for a third time in the D-10 3A championship game. The Lakers are the last team to beat Northwestern, a 42-27 win on Jan. 8, and the Wildcats are the last team to beat Mercyhurst Prep, a 47-37 win on Feb. 5.

Sophom*ore Makayla Presser-Palmer leads Northwestern with 24.7 points per game and Chloe Yazembiak is scoring 9.8 ppg. Presser-Palmer went over 1,000 career points on Wednesday, while Yazembiak is a Penn State Behrend recruit.

Olivia Kulyk is a 1,000-point career scorer for Mercyhurst Prep and leads the Lakers with 17.7 points per game, and freshman Seana Thrower is having a breakout season with 10.5 ppg.

Collision course

Kennedy Catholic and Maplewood seemed to be on a collision course to meet again after playing for the 2A title last winter. Kennedy Catholic won 73-33 and both teams returned strong rosters this season. Both teams had to take care of rivals in the semifinals and play for the 2A title on Saturday.

Layke Fields leads Kennedy, the defending PIAA 2A champion, with 19.6 points per game followed by Bella Magestro with 13, freshman Tori Harvey with 11.2 ppg and Monique Vincent with 10.7 ppg.

Savannah O'Hara leads Maplewood with 13.1 points per game, while Madison O'Hara is scoring 10.5 ppg and Maggie Means is adding 9.7 ppg. The Tigers have won 10 in a row and 19 of their last 20 despite losing defensive standout Madison Eimer for the season to an injury.

What's next

Out of the eight teams playing for a D-10 title Saturday, seven move on to the PIAA first round and host games at their home gyms. Only the Class 1A runner-up has its season end out of the eight teams on Saturday.

The D-10 Class 1A champion hosts the third seed from District 9. The third-place game takes place Friday between Clarion and DuBois Central Catholic.

In Class 2A, the D-10 champion hosts Fort Cherry, the seventh seed from the WPIAL, while the D-10 runner-up hosts South Side Beaver, the fourth seed from District 7.

The D-10 champion in 3A takes on Our Lady of Sacred Heart, the seventh seed from D-7, and the runner-up hosts Keystone Oaks, the fifth seed from D-7.

In Class 4A, the D-10 champion hosts Knock, the sixth seed from D-7, and the runner-up hosts Elizabeth Forward, the third seed from D-7.

Contact Tom Reisenweber attreisenweber@timesnews.com. Follow him on X@ETNreisenweber.