By HUNTER O. LYLE
lyleoleanstar@gmail.com
After roughly two and a half months of the regular season, the playoffs are finally here. With the District 9 brackets seeing their first glimpses of action tonight, some squads look to return to center stage while others look to separate themselves from the pack.
Last March, the Bradford boys’ basketball team finally crested the mountaintop. After five years without an appearance, the Owls earned their spot in the D9 Class 4A championship. Playing on ‘Super Saturday’ at PennWest Clarion’s Tippin Gymnasium, Bradford fell to Punxsutawney by a slim eight-point deficit.
The bruise caused by that loss lingered as it came as the final title shot for their core of five seniors, four of which were starters. While the Owls didn’t find entirely new faces when they returned to the hardwood at the start of this season, they did see a few with little to no varsity experience. With that being said, the strides made throughout the year have been evident.
“Our offensive movement has greatly improved. Defensively, I think they’ve caught on to most of the concepts. We’ve been playing pretty good defense for most of the season. Our rebounding has improved in the last month of the season. We were getting beat a lot on offensive rebounds but we really haven’t had that problem lately,” said Bradford head coach John Bennardi. “Hopefully we get to that point now where we’re ready to peak at the right time and put it all together.”
To open the season, the Owls stormed through their first few games, jumping out to their best start in several years at 4-2. However, the tailspin began shortly after with a string of losses. On the eve of their playoff berth, Bradford sits at 6-15.
“We were a very young team at the start of the season and I thought the guys played hard and gave a constant effort,” said Bennardi. “I just feel like we were in a lot of games. The biggest hurdle throughout the season was consistency, putting together those four quarters of consistent basketball. I think we’re ready to start doing that and it’s just a sign of maturity and understanding what it takes to win in District 9.”
In the three-team Class 4A bracket, the Owls claimed the third seed. As a rematch of last years’ playoffs, Bradford will see St. Marys in the first round. Through two contests, the Dutch (9-14) have controlled the season series, defending their home court on Wednesday, Jan. 1 with a 43-38 win before planting their flag on the Owls’ court a month later with a second 54-44 victory. Needless to say, Bradford is aware of the challenges ahead.
“They’ll pressure you the whole game, full court, and they’ll look to trap on the sidelines. They’re a scrappy bunch and they hustle. They play the full four quarters, they’re tough defensively and they can get to the basket,” said Bennardi. “I expect it to just be a physical and quick game and a lot of defensive play.”
Staying in Bradford, the girls’ basketball team is eager to get into the playoff mix, earning their first berth since 2020.
Similar to the boys, the Lady Owls have had their own struggles with leadership and experience, two aspects that have largely fallen on sophomore Hayley Keane’s shoulders. In her second year as a breakout star for Bradford, Keane led the Lady Owls to a 10-11 regular season record. However, with Keane being temporarily sidelined from an ankle injury midway through the year, Bradford saw several Lady Owls rise to the occasion.
Alyssa Johnson (30) drives through traffic during the Lady Owls’ loss to DuBois on Monday, Feb. 3. Bradford will take on St. Marys on Thursday in the opening game of the Class 4A playoffs. | File photo by Hunter O. Lyle
Also similar to the boys, the girls team earned the third seed in the Class 4A bracket, earning a matchup with St. Marys (12-11) in the first round.
Bradford’s postseason play will take place in a double-header hosted at Kane Area High School on Thursday. The girls will lead the evening at 6 p.m. with the boys playing immediately after at 7:30 p.m.
If both squads win, they will each take on No. 1 Clearfield on Tuesday. Upon winning the Class 4A title, the boys will take on Obama Academy and the girls will play Carrick – both from District 8 – in this year’s Super Saturday on March 1 for a spot at the PIAA state tournament.
Two years removed from their D9 Class 2A finals appearance, the Otto-Eldred boys’ basketball team is looking as sharp as ever and ready to make up for their championship loss and the pitfalls that followed.
After making it to the title game in the spring of 2023 and losing to Clarion-Limestone, the Terrors responded with another near-perfect regular season, a league title and a head full of steam entering the 2024 postseason. However, in their frenzied attempt to return to the pinnacle of contention, the O-E faltered, losing to Karns City in the semifinals after a Gremlins game winner in the final 2.7 seconds.
Otto-Eldred’s Shene Thomas rises up for a layup during the Terrors’ lone loss of the season on Friday. Earning a bye through the first round of the D9 Class A playoffs, the Terrors could have a chance for revenge over Cameron County in the semifinals. | File photo by Hunter O. Lyle
This year, which stands as four starters’ swan song, the Terrors have returned once again. After losing their first game of the year on Friday, O-E sits at 23-1 and now enters the Class A bracket – O-E dropped down from 2A at the start of the season – as the second seed. Earning a bye through the quarterfinals, the Terrors will play either No. 3 Cameron County or No. 6 Northern Potter in the semifinals, slated for Tuesday, Feb. 25. If all goes as expected, O-E will see the Red Raiders for a fourth time this season, having a chance for revenge against the only team to tally a win against the Terrors.
Like their male counterparts, the Lady Terrors are also looking to make their return to the D9 title game.
After making it to Super Saturday in 2023, O-E earned their first D9 Class A championship in program history with a win over Elk County Catholic. Since then, however, the Lady Terrors have taken a step back. Losing the vast majority of their roster from their championship team, O-E has been slowly building up their program ever since.
After finishing the regular season 23-2 in 2023, the Lady Terrors held a 14-12 record at the end of last year, i.e. their rebuilding year. This season, however, O-E has returned to the top of the standings with a 20-4 regular season record.
“I don’t think we can say (this year) was anything but positive. I think we had, as a team, higher expectations than our fans, parents and others had and we may have surprised a few people with how well we played this year,” said Otto-Eldred head coach Shawn Gray. “Overall, I think it was a very successful season and, if I’m being honest, I think the kids think we could have won a few of those games that we lost. We’re aware that we still have work to do and still can get better.”
Entering the Class A bracket, the Lady Terrors hold the No. 2 seed, falling behind only to DuBois Central Catholic, a team O-E bested Tuesday Feb. 4. With no byes through this bracket, the Lady Terrors host No. 7 Northern Potter on Friday and while they have swept the Lady Panthers throughout the regular season, they know better than anyone that beating a team three times in a row is easier said than done – in the North Tier League playoffs, O-E beat Oswayo Valley, a team that had swept the Lady Terrors in the regular season, before losing to Coudersport, a team they had swept in the regular season, in the NTL finals.
“We’re preparing for the best that NoPo has. They are gritty, they play very, very hard, and play an unconventional style of defense, almost like a matchup-zone that can cause problems,” said Gray. “If we decide to live by the jumpshot and aren’t hot that night, anything can happen.”
If the Lady Terrors take down NoPo, they will advance to the semifinals where they will face either No. 3 ECC or No. 6 Clarion-Limestone. Beyond that lies a return to the championship stage.
“If we’re healthy, we have a great mix of inside-out players, girls that can really be dogs on defense and really get after you and most of our first seven girls can shoot it from deep and get to the rim as well,” said Gray. “But, our chemistry has really come around the past few weeks and I think that’s probably our most important aspect.”
Rayel Hakes (10) holds a Lady Falcon at bay during the Lady Terrors’ loss to Coudersport in the North Tier League finals on Friday. | File photo by Hunter O. Lyle
