Here’s how St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy girls basketball just made program history
Naomi Crispin, a junior guard for St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy, didn’t hesitate when asked to sum up her team’s 51-42 win Wednesday night in the second round of the PIAA Class A championships.
“It’s just intense, but it’s also fun,” she said from the hardwood of Bald Eagle Area High School.
Crispin played a crucial role down the stretch in leading St. Joseph’s to its first trip to the quarterfinals of the state’s tournament after dispatching District 9 champ DuBois Central Catholic.
“Anybody would want a Naomi Crispin on their team. I think that she just knows and understands the game,” Lady Wolves coach Bethany Irwin said. “We talked about patience this time because sometimes she has a tendency to rush a shot. If it goes in, I’m not going to complain. But if we miss, that’s another story.”
Crispin had a game-high 19 points for St. Joseph’s.
However, it was her ball control late in the game that helped add to the lead and run the clock out to give her team the win. It’s a position she thrives in and wants to be in.
“I enjoy controlling the game. I love being a point guard. I love seeing other people succeed,” Crispin said. “I think that’s a big thing. I also like pressure. I think being able to have the ball at the end of the game is what I want. I want to be able to control the game. I think that’s a hard position to have, but it is rewarding.”
It was a back-and-forth game with the St. Joseph’s leading most of the way. After three quarters, it led 35-33.
However, the two-point advantage exploded into a 12-point lead with 1:05 left in the game thanks to an 8-0 run over the span of four minutes.
With 5:45 left in the game, Aubrey Yartz hit a jumper to make the score 40-36. Two plays later, Crispin drove to the hoop for a score.
After a scoring chance came up empty for the Lady Cardinals, Lauren Himes then drilled a three to give the Lady Wolves a 45-36 lead.
“I think it just made us more confident in general, being able to hit those shots, which we weren’t hitting great in the first half. Being able to see the shots go in and knowing we got this, that was good a confidence booster,” Crispin said. “We all really kept our heads up. Even though we were only up two, we were like we got this, we’re going to keep going. We’re going to score.”
Having such a large lead allowed Crispin to get the ball in her hands and navigate the DuBois Central Catholic’s defense, dribbling the ball around but also keeping the offense moving to kill the clock. She was fouled with 1:50 left in the game, and hit both of her free throws to make the score 47-36.
The Lady Cardinals tried to claw their way back with back-to-back triples, but the deficit was too large.
Yartz hit a pair of free throws with 16 seconds left to get to 10 points for the game to join Crispin and Alexia Luckovich (10 points) as double-digit scorers for the Lady Wolves.
St. Joseph’s will now face District 6 and defending PIAA champion Bishop Guilfoyle in the quarterfinals on Saturday at a site and time to be determined. The winner of that quarterfinals match would face the winner of other District 6 schools in Williamsburg and Bishop Carroll in the state semifinals March 22.
“It’s one day at a time. I don’t know who we play,” Irwin said. “It would be kind of interesting if all District 6 teams made it to the Western finals area. I think that’d be pretty awesome because they represent girls basketball at the highest level.
“Every one of those teams, BG, Bishop Carroll, St. Joe’s and Williamsburg represent. They play really hard and good basketball. Of course, I want to be there and want to win, and the girls want to win, but I also want to say kudos to those girls. I don’t know if that’s ever happened before. I know it never happened when I was in 6A, so that’s pretty cool.”
This story was originally published March 13, 2025 at 5:00 AM.