St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy girls basketball ends historic season with loss in PIAAs
The girls basketball team at St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy watched its season end Saturday — but not without first making school history.
The Wolfpack fell to Bishop Guilfoyle 66-48 Saturday afternoon in the PIAA Class A quarterfinals in Altoona. But the game still marked the first time in school history that SJCA had ever reached the quarterfinals.
And Wolfpack coach Bethany Irwin couldn’t have been prouder of this season.
“I’m extremely proud of every single one of our girls,” she said Saturday. “Every single one of them has improved, and to see that ... makes me extremely proud. They came in every single day and pushed themselves. To get to where we are from last year is a big bonus because our goal is always to get a little better.”
District 6 champion Bishop Guilfoyle was always a threat to advance far into the state tournament. It won the state title last season, and it sits at 28-2 this season — with its only two losses coming in the regular season against Class 5A teams in Peters Township and Hollidaysburg. (And Bishop Guilfoyle beat Hollidaysburg in their second meeting.)
Bishop Guilfoyle has made a habit of dominating this year. In 14 of 30 games, it’s won by at least 20 points.
And, on Saturday, SJCA learned firsthand just how tough of an opponent the fellow Catholic school is. The Wolfpack fell behind by double digits in the first quarter and never recovered once their opponent opened the game on a 24-2 run.
But Irwin found some silver linings in that hiccup. Sure, her team still trailed at halftime 33-16. But, despite the 22-point deficit after the first quarter, her team refused to surrender and actually outscored Bishop Guilfoyle the rest of the way (46-42).
“For us, it was a moral victory of winning the last three quarters,” Irwin said. “... Bishop Guilfoyle is the level of which you want to play in single-A. They’re very good; very, very good.”
SJCA junior Naomi Crispin led the Wolfpack with a game-high 25 points. Aubrey Yartz added 13 points, and Alexia Luckovich chipped in seven. Five Bishop Guilfoyle players finished in the double digits, with Gia Adams leading the way with a team-high 15 points.
Again, with the loss, SJCA’s season is over. Bishop Guilfoyle advances to the PIAA semifinals on March 22, where it will take on Bishop Carroll in what will be a rematch of the District 6 championship. (Guilfyole won that 61-44.) The time and place of the semifinal is TBD.
St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy’s successful campaign comes after finishing winless in the 2022-23 season. The Wolfpack went from 0-18 to making it to the second round of the PIAA playoffs in 2023-24 with a 25-4 record and now, in 2024-25, making to the quarterfinals and finishing 26-3.
Every SJCA starter returns next season, and the team loses only one senior in Sara McElhinny. So can the team make some more school history next season, by making it even further in the state tournament?
“That would be our goal. I’m very optimistic,” Irwin said, adding her five starters play AAU hoops and should all return stronger next season.
“We know what we have to work on, and we’ll get better at it.”
