Both the Palmerton and Weatherly girls basketball teams will be in action during the state playoffs on Saturday.

The two area squads will each make trips to Philadelphia for first-round games.

A victory would result in a berth in Wednesday’s second round.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

PIAA Class 4A First Round

Palmerton (18-8) vs. Audenried (22-5)

Saturday, March 7 at West Philadelphia High School, 1:30 p.m.

LEADING OFF

Despite losing their leading scorer Courtney Connell to a season-ending injury nine games into the season, the Blue Bombers have come together and continued to win games. While Palmerton was disappointed in failing to reach the District 11 championship game, the team rebounded in the consolation round to defeat North Schuylkill and earn another trip to states. The Bombers are no stranger to their opponent on Saturday, as the team saw action against Audenried during the summer at the A-Town Throwdown, falling by a 39-22 score. “This game was a bit of a mess, literally and figuratively,” said Palmerton head coach Jeremy Coleman. “It started out at Cedar Beach and then got rained out and moved mid-game to the fieldhouse at Executive. They are a Philadelphia Public League team, so we are expecting an athletic team that plays a very physical brand of basketball. They seem to attack very similarly to the way North Schuylkill did with zone pressure. The major difference is, Audenried has more size and quickness.” Audenried won the Philadelphia Public School League championship this season with a 64-50 win over Imhotep Charter. The Rockets, however, lost in the District 12 Class 4A championship game to Neumann-Goretti, 67-52.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Palmerton - Cate Morgan (Sr., 9.96 ppg.), Hailey Barry (Sr., 8.52 ppg.), Emma Rex (Sr., 8.12 ppg.), Avery Barry (Fr., 5.13 ppg.), Alisyn Green (Sr., 4.00 ppg).

Audenried - Heaven Reese (Sr., 15.7 ppg, 2.9 rpg), Nasiaah Russell (Jr., 14.9 ppg, 3.5 rpg), Iyonna Ellison (So., 9.7 ppg), Ashley Boykin (Jr., 7.7 ppg), Ciani Scott (Sr., 3.6 ppg, 2 rpg), Aniyah Cheeseboro (Sr., 3.3 ppg).

BY THE NUMBERS

3 - The number of active players on the Bombers’ roster who saw action in last year’s opening round PIAA setback to Valley View. Hailey Barry, Cate Morgan and Grace Schneider all saw valuable minutes during their state playoffs loss last March.

4 - Audenried has captured the Philadelphia Public School League championships trophy the last four years.

7 - The number of players that have seen action in 20-plus games for Audenried this season. Two have seen action in 19, and two others in 18, so the Rockets have depth on their bench.

11 - The jersey number of the top player Palmerton will be facing. Nasiaah Russell, the 6-3 center/power forward for the Rockets, leads the team in offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds, and blocks, and is second on the team in points scored (387) and points per game average (14.9).

60.6 - The points per game average for Audenried this season. The Rockets are 14-2 when surpassing that number of points.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

“It is certainly a privilege to be a part of these PIAA State playoffs. The girls and coaches have worked extremely hard this year starting back in the summer. The girls have fought through injuries, illnesses and setbacks. It was right around the holiday break that we hit a low point as a team. We struggled for a few games after Courtney’s injury, but we established a list of five attributes of play that needed to change to be a championship team. This list served as a guide for each one of our practices. While it didn’t result in a championship, it did help us improve and figure things out through that rough stretch and to where we are now. Several girls stepped up their games, and the seniors wouldn’t give up on their final season without a fight. They gradually gained more confidence which translated into these postseason wins.” — Palmerton coach Jeremy Coleman.

PIAA Class 1A First Round

Weatherly (8-16) vs. Motivation (11-5)

Saturday, March 7 at Lincoln High School, Noon

LEADING OFF

Weatherly lost a tough match-up to Bethlehem Christian in the District 11 1A title game, 28-18. Motivation last played a game all the way back on Feb. 9, a loss to Imhotep Charter in the Philadelphia Public League playoffs.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Weatherly - Kelly Reiner (Sr., 9.14 ppg, 23 three-pointers), Maci Kane (Fr., 6.17 ppg).

Motivation - Joyce Cassell (Sr., 21.9 ppg), Joy Cassell (8.8 ppg).

BY THE NUMBERS

8 - The Wreckers’ eight wins is the most for the program since the 2022-23 season, when they won a consolation game to qualify for the state tournament. The last time Weatherly had double-digit wins was in 2018-19, with 18 victories, when it won the District 11 Class 1A title and advanced to the quarterfinals of the state tournament.

9 - Motivation went 9-2 in the Philadelphia Public League C Division. The Jaguars’ losses came to C Division champ West Philadelphia and also Roxborough.

14 - Reiner and Kane once again led the way for the Wreckers, scoring seven points apiece against Bethlehem Christian.

369 - Motivation has scored 468 points on the season. The Cassell sisters have combined to score 369 of the Jaguars’ points.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

“I think we match up pretty well with them. They have one girl who scores 20 a game, so we will need to do our best to limit her. They like to play man-to-man. We just have to come ready to play. We need to try and replicate our performance that we had against Notre Dame in the district semis. Defensively, against Bethlehem Christian, I thought we did a really good job. We held them to 28 points, but we shot 15 percent from the field and 12 percent from the foul line. I think we play our best ball when we force turnovers and get out in transition, so that’s what we will need to do in this game.” — Weatherly head coach Jason Kane.