Lady Wildcats seeking potential playoff upset against Shik
By Bees O’Brien
MILL HALL- Central Mountain head coach Scott Baker has to like his Lady Wildcats’ playoff chances entering the PIAA District 4/6 Subregional semifinals. CM earned the three seed, but despite having to go on the road their opponents are an old face. Central Mountain will have their third meeting with Shikellamy on February 20 at Shikellamy with tip off set for 7pm.
Central Mountain dropped a pair of close games to the Lady Braves. Shik’s 36-34 home win over the Lady Wildcats back on January 2 was followed by another Lady Braves victory in Mill Hall by a narrow 51-50 count. For the Lady Wildcats it can only be a confidence boost heading into the semifinal round.
How They Got Here
For Shikellamy, they’ve built up some impressive wins to get to 16-6 on the season and earning the 2 seed. The two wins against Central Mountain were huge, especially entering this contest. Their biggest win of the season was defeating District IV 4A title contenders Jersey Shore 64-54 on February 3. This win came after an 11-point loss to the Lady Bulldogs in January. Shik had an impressive 51-6 win over Selinsgrove.
It’s been an up and down season for Central Mountain. The Lady Wildcats improved from a season ago and their 9-13 record can be deceiving. This is an athletic group that can shoot the ball well from deep. They had a few set backs during the course of the season, but wins over Lewisburg, Dubois, Bald Eagle Area and a sweep over Danville have helped them build confidence. Knowing that they were within a basket of beating Shikellamy on two occasions should give them some added incentive going into this.
Key Players
Central Mountain has a variety of talent. The Doyle twins have played exceptionally well for Baker’s Lady Wildcats. Taylor Doyle leads CM in scoring with 10.3 ppg. Freshman Camdyn Weaver has scored 7.6 ppg and returning junior Lena Walker has also had multiple double figure games and averages 7.4 ppg. Ava Doyle has been a hustle defender all season long and leads the team in steals. Keely Rohrbach is the leader on the glass for Central Mountain. The senior’s 5.4 rpg leads CM.
In the 36-34 loss at Shik, Weaver led Central Mountain with 12 points. Taylor Doyle and Walker each scored 10 points. Central Mountain surrendered a 16-2 first quarter lead, but fought back strong. That’s something the Lady Wildcats can allow this time around.
Shikellamy has relied mostly on one player to lead them in 2023-24. Lily Fatool enters the playoffs averaging 19 ppg and scored 20 of her team’s 36 points in that meeting at Shikellamy. Blaire Balestrini (8.3 ppg) and Kianah Lenner (6.9 ppg) can also do damage for the Lady Braves.
The Rest Of The Field
Selinsgrove at 5-16 drew the four seed and will meet top seeded Hollidaysburg (17-3) on the road. The winner of this game will meet the Central Mountain/Shikellamy winners on February 24 at Mt. Aloysius College for the championship. Central Mountain split with Selinsgrove this past season and Shikellamy swept Selinsgrove. Neither the Lady Wildcats nor Shik has faced Hollidaysburg this season.
