District 3 Class 6A Girls Basketball Championship Preview: How Do Wilson and Dallastown Match Up?
- 12 hours ago
- 5 min read
Updated: 8 hours ago
The fourth-seeded Wilson Bulldogs (26-2) will face the third-seeded Dallastown Wildcats (24-3) in the District 3 Class 6A girls basketball championship game Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at Manheim Township High School.
The game will be played at a neutral site rather than the Giant Center in Hershey due to a scheduling conflict announced in September.
District 3 has held its basketball championship games at Giant Center each year since the arena opened in 2002, except in 2019 when a few games were moved to the Santander Arena.
The district hopes to return to Hershey for championship games moving forward.
Wilson, the Berks Girls League champion, defeated No. 13 Penn Manor 65-31 in the first round, No. 5 Mechanicsburg 50-33 in the quarterfinals, and top-seeded Red Lion 50-42 in the semifinals to reach its first district final since 2014.
Dallastown, the defending District 3 Class 6A champion, defeated No. 14 Cedar Crest 55-36 in the first round, No. 11 Gov. Mifflin 63-35 in the quarterfinals, and No. 2 Central Dauphin 42-38 in the semifinals to advance to its third consecutive championship appearance.
District 3 Class 6A girls basketball championship
No. 3 Dallastown Wildcats (24-3)
Head coach: Molly Day (first season)
Points per game: 51.0
Points allowed per game: 34.4
District appearances: 35
District championship appearances: 5 (1978, 2019, 2024, 2025, 2026)
District titles: 1 (2025)
Dallastown enters Thursday’s final as the defending champion and winner of seven straight district playoff games dating back to last season’s title run. The Wildcats captured their first district championship in program history last winter and have now reached the final three consecutive years.
Two seasons ago, Dallastown fell 39-29 to Central Dauphin in the championship game. Last year, the Wildcats broke through, defeating Red Lion 46-33 for the 6A title before advancing to the PIAA tournament, where they beat Abington and then fell to Cardinal O’Hara in the second round to finish 28-3.
This season, Dallastown’s only losses have come to YAIAA counterparts Red Lion twice and York Suburban, which defeated the Wildcats in the league semifinals and is headed to the 5A final against Middletown Friday. The Wildcats have regrouped to return to the championship stage.
First-year head coach Molly Day took over the program from her uncle, Jay Rexroth, who spent nine seasons at the helm. A 2016 York Suburban graduate and 2020 York College graduate, Day had previously served as the Wildcats’ junior high head coach and a varsity assistant.
Despite graduating five key players including Praise Matthews (Le Moyne), Alonna Dowell (D’Youville), Harper Poff (Penn State York), Campbell O’Neill and Natalie Good, Dallastown has reloaded around senior leadership and standout freshman guards.
Senior 5-10 forward Ava Jamison leads the Wildcats at 15.0 points per game and has made 39 3-pointers. Jamison eclipsed 1,000 career points in the semifinal win over Central Dauphin.
Freshman 5-6 point guard Denyla Handy (13.6 ppg) and freshman 5-5 shooting guard Natalie McLane (10.0 ppg, 50 3-pointers) have emerged as major contributors. Senior 5-7 guard Sophia Scovitch adds 8.2 ppg and 36 3-pointers, while senior 5-4 guard Olivia Cleaver provides steady minutes. Sophomore 5-6 forward Camryn Strouse and junior 5-6 forward Riley Gentzler have also added depth in the rotation.
No. 4 Wilson Bulldogs (26-2)
Head coach: Matt Raquet (second season, 46-12)
Points per game: 57.8
Points allowed per game: 34.2
District appearances: 36
District championship appearances: 10 (1985, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2026)
District titles: 6 (1997, 1998, 2000, 2008, 2013, 2014)
Wilson enters the championship riding an 18-game winning streak. Its last loss came to Dallastown, 49-38, on Dec. 22.
The Bulldogs advanced to the final by knocking off top-seeded Red Lion 50-42 in the semifinals. Junior 5-8 guard Ryan Leaman (7.4 ppg, 29 3s) scored a team- and season-high 17 points, adding five rebounds and three assists. Senior 5-8 wing Laura Crocona (8.7 ppg, 38 3s) finished with 12 points. Senior 5-6 point guard Laila Jones (11.8 ppg, 58 3s) had nine points on three 3-pointers, four assists and three rebounds, while senior 5-11 forward Violet Houck (6.8 ppg) contributed five points and nine rebounds. Junior 5-9 wing Kailani Hardy, who recently won Berks Player of the Year, is second on the team in scoring at 11.4 ppg and has hit 28 3s. Hardy had five points in the win over Red Lion as she battled foul trouble. Sophomore 5-10 forward Jade Lee and 5-8 freshman wing Mariam Osumanu also played quality minutes in the semifinals.
Wilson is making its 10th district championship appearance and owns a 6-3 record in title games. The Bulldogs last won a district championship in 2014.
District 3 playoff history between Wilson and Dallastown
Wilson and Dallastown have met twice previously in District 3 playoff history, both in the Class 6A quarterfinals. Dallastown won both matchups and holds a 2-0 advantage in the postseason series.
2019 6A quarterfinal — Dallastown won, 57-31
2025 6A quarterfinal — Dallastown won, 40-29
Common opponents
Wilson and Dallastown faced six common opponents this season: Cedar Crest, Central York, Gov. Mifflin, Muhlenberg, Penn Manor and Red Lion.
Cedar Crest: Dallastown won 55-36 in the district first round. Wilson won 39-33 on Dec. 20.
Central York: Dallastown won 48-44 on Dec. 19 and 52-22 on Jan. 23. Wilson won 67-37 on Dec. 5.
Gov. Mifflin: Dallastown won 63-35 in the district quarterfinals. Wilson won 54-35 on Dec. 15 and 66-50 on Jan. 27.
Muhlenberg: Dallastown won 60-13 on Feb. 4. Wilson won 75-22 on Feb. 2 and 60-24 on Jan. 6.
Penn Manor: Dallastown won 55-35 on Jan. 2. Wilson won 65-31 in the district first round.
Red Lion: Dallastown lost 34-31 on Dec. 9 and 31-28 on Jan. 14. Wilson defeated Red Lion 50-42 in the district semifinals.
Other Berks Teams
Only one other Berks team along with Wilson has qualified for the state tournament: Gov. Mifflin. The Mustangs are currently playing through the 6A consolation bracket after falling in the quarterfinals to Dallastown. After losing to Central York in the consolation semifinals on Tuesday, Mifflin plays Cedar Cliff Thursday at 5 p.m. to decide who will be the No. 7 or No. 8 seed in the PIAA playoffs. Bella Super scored a team-high 22 points in the 59-43 loss to Central York.
Kylie Rebert dropped 23 to lead Central York.
Oley Valley saw its season come to an end in a 49-45 loss to Columbia in the District 3 Class 3A third-place game Tuesday. The win gave Columbia the final spot in the PIAA tournament.
After trailing 37-27 at the end of the third quarter, the Lynx battled back to tie the game 41-41 on Kadyn Rhoads' steal and score. The Lynx went up 43-41 on Nina Bauer's putback with 59.1 seconds left, but two straight turnovers let Columbia regain a 46-43 lead with 28.3 remaining.
Rhoads made two free throws to make it 46-45 with 25.3 seconds left, but Columbia's Alivia Crawley (22 points) made 3-of-4 foul shots down the stretch to ice it.
Rhoads finished with a team-high 20 points for Oley, which last qualified for states in 2012.
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