The Bishop Carroll Catholic girls and Forest Hills boys basketball teams will each look to end their respective Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference basketball title droughts Saturday.
Both games could be a preview of District 6 championship games in two weeks.
The Huskies battle Bishop Guilfoyle Academy in a matchup of 21-2 section-winning teams at 6 p.m. Saturday inside St. Francis University’s DeGol Arena in Loretto. Bishop Guilfoyle is the defending champion. Bishop Carroll has not won LHAC gold since winning back-to-back titles in 2018 and 2019.
The Rangers meet three-time defending LHAC champ Bishop Guilfoyle Academy in a contest of 20-3 section runner-up squads at 8 p.m. Saturday in Loretto. Bishop Guilfoyle knocked off Forest Hills 78-69 in a 2025 conference semifinal, but the Rangers won 69-58 in the District 6 Class 3A championship game.
Forest Hills shared the 1993-94 LHAC title with Bishop McCort Catholic. The Rangers previously played in the conference championship game in 2011, a loss to Greater Johnstown.
“That will be a great matchup,” Bishop Guilfoyle coach Ryan Lestochi said of Forest Hills. “We played them twice last year. We played them in the conference semis last year.
“We played them in the district championship. We split games. They’re a really good team. They’ve got a stud for a player in Dylan (Stohon).
“Hopefully, we’re ready.”
“I love competition,” Bishop Guilfoyle senior 1,000-point scorer Taurean Consiglio said of playing Forest Hills. “Challenges are great. I can’t wait to be on the floor.”
“Bishop Guilfoyle is not only quick and skilled, they are physically strong,” Forest Hills coach Dom Vescovi said. “They do a great job of getting to their spots on offense and disrupting you on defense with their strength.
“From a skill standpoint, they are elite. Every player they put on the floor is able to handle the ball and shoot it well. The way they stretch you out on offense makes them difficult to guard. You can tell they are well-coached because they always seem to be in the right spot, so their players always have a chance to make the right play.”
Forest Hills junior Stohon, who is 18 points away from 1,500 for his career, tallied 18 of his team-high 22 points in the second half as the West runner-up Rangers beat East champion Clearfield 69-62 Thursday in a semifinal. Seniors Brandon Gregovich and Koy McGough each finished in double figures with 16 and 12 points, respectively, for the Rangers.
The Rangers outscored the Bison 18-10 in the pivotal third quarter. Stohon supplied 11 points in the fourth, including 5-for-7 from the foul line.
Forest Hills went 11-for-17 from the free-throw line in the fourth.
East runner-up Bishop Guilfoyle Academy defeated West champion Greater Johnstown 45-36 Thursday. A 15-2 edge in the second quarter put the Marauders up 25-19 at halftime.
Consiglio netted a game-high 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
“They do a great job pressuring the ball with their defense,” Vescovi said of Bishop Guilfoyle. “Each player they have can guard one-on-one, but they also do a great job helping.
“They move as if they were on a string, so openings are difficult to find. I think their size and strength is what helped them hold Johnstown to 36 points and our challenge will be the same. Hopefully, we can use the Johnstown game to learn from.”
In a 51-40 victory over East runner-up Hollidaysburg, West champ Bishop Carroll received 13 points apiece from Emily Lucko, Adelyn Myers and Ava Pablic.
Sophomore Lucko leads the Huskies with 14.4 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Junior Myers scores 12.2 points per contest, and junior Pablic averages 11.2 points, 3.2 assists and 2.5 steals per game.
In the final stanza, Pablic contributed seven of Bishop Carroll’s 17 points to seal the victory.
Bishop Carroll and Bishop Guilfoyle are quite familiar with each other. Bishop Guilfoyle beat Bishop Carroll three times during the 2024-25 season, including in the District 6 Class 1A title game (61-44) and PIAA semifinal (49-42).
“It’s a winnable game,” Bishop Carroll coach Nick Smith said. “It’s BG. We’ve been waiting for this game.”
Bishop Guilfoyle advanced with a 65-54 victory over Central Cambria. The 2024-25 PIAA Class 1A champions received 15 points each from Mary Haigh and Morgan Ruggery. Stella Yeskey added a dozen points, and Layona Williams netted 10.