Wilson Captures District 3 Class 6A Crown Over Dallastown, Seventh Title in Program History
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Wilson's senior class endured a coaching change after its sophomore season, a torn ACL by its star point guard causing her to miss her entire junior season, and back-to-back postseason heartbreak.
Thursday night meant more than just a trophy. It was about actualizing potential that was evident since the group stepped onto the court as freshmen.
The fourth-seeded Bulldogs defeated third-seeded and defending champion Dallastown 42-37 in overtime to win their first District 3 Class 6A championship title since 2014 Thursday night at Manheim Township.
“It just means so much,” senior Laura Crocona said. “I'm so grateful for this team. We've been talking about this since day one and playing to our standards. I think we couldn't have done it better tonight.”
Juniors Ryan Leaman and Kailani Hardy were also pivotal in the win as Leaman drilled a 3 with 1:43 remaining in overtime and Hardy finished a layup with 52.5 seconds left — each off an assist from senior Laila Jones — to seal the victory and end a nearly five-minute scoring drought for both teams.
The game carried extra juice. The teams have scheduled each other in the regular season in recent years and Dallastown knocked Wilson out of the district playoffs last winter.
The Wildcats also handed the Bulldogs their last loss — a 49-38 decision over two months ago — in a game Wilson played without Hardy, the Berks Player of the Year.
The Bulldogs have rattled off 19 consecutive wins since.
“They've been a tough matchup for us all four years,” Crocona said. “And so it just felt so good to get a rematch against this team.”
Wilson (27-2) now advances to host the 11th-place finisher out of District 1, either Conestoga or Methacton, in the PIAA state tournament. Dallastown (24-4) will host the seventh-place finisher from District 1, either Spring-Ford or Garnet Valley.
The victory marked Wilson’s seventh District 3 championship, the most of any Berks County girls basketball program. It also moved the Bulldogs into a tie for seventh all-time in District 3 history with Delone Catholic and J.P. McCaskey.
Only Lancaster Catholic (21), the now-closed Lebanon Catholic (20), Trinity (19), York Catholic (15), Camp Hill (10) and Central Dauphin (9) have won more.
The Bulldogs' victory also continued a recent county trend. For the third time in the past four seasons, a Berks County champion went on to win a District 3 title in its classification. Wyomissing accomplished the feat in Class 4A in 2023 and 2024. Now, Wilson has done it in 6A.
As a No. 4 seed for the Bulldogs, this required going through a tough fifth-seed in Mechanicsburg, then top-seeded Red Lion, and finally Dallastown, which was appearing in its third straight district final.
The Wildcats struck first as freshman standout point guard Denyla Handy buried a 3-pointer as time expired in the first quarter to give the Wildcats an 11-6 lead. Wilson did not hold a lead in the opening eight minutes.
Back-to-back 3s from Jones and Crocona tied the game midway through the second quarter. Crocona's came on a heady play where she didn't force a fastbreak layup and instead slowed it down before realizing she was open to launch the trey.
Wilson senior forward Violet Houck stole the ball near halfcourt and pushed it ahead to Crocona, who sensed the defense collapsing, pulled the ball back out to the perimeter and drilled it to even the score at 14-14.
Leaman followed with a putback to give Wilson its first lead of the night. Houck then delivered an emphatic block on Dallastown senior and 1,000-point scorer Ava Jamison, signaling that the Bulldogs were not content with just being here.
Crocona’s midrange jumper at the halftime buzzer gave Wilson an 18-17 lead.
“We knew we could win this gold,” Jones said. “And just having that confidence and stepping on the floor tonight just showed as much that we wanted this.”
Hardy managed just two points in the first half, but she flipped the script in the second half, after Dallastown's student section decided to chant "overrated" at her when she had to go to the bench after picking up her second half.
The junior attacked the rim for tough finishes and made momentum-swinging plays on the other end, taking charges like the ones taken on her in the first half. Twice she stepped in front of Handy to draw charges.
“I worked on my defense because I wasn't that good two years ago,” Hardy said. "Bringing it back up and working on it has helped pick up the team."
Hardy finished with 12 points, four rebounds and three steals. Leaman and Crocona each added 10 points, while Houck controlled the glass with eight rebounds. Jones contributed five points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals including the two assists in overtime that ultimately decided the game.
“Kailani just does everything,” head coach Matt Raquet said. “She plays such a good floor game. Laura Crocona, you know what you're going to get every single night. Violet, same thing, you know exactly what you're going to get. And then even our bench, the energy that they bring and provide on the court for our team is huge too.”
The Bulldogs have used balanced scoring all season and it proved to be a winning formula once again Thursday.
“I think on any given night, any of our players can score,” Leaman said. “Maybe I was one of the top scorers these past two games, but everyone's out there doing their job. And we won, so that's all that matters.”
Wilson built its largest lead at 37-29 on a Leaman 3-pointer with 4:45 remaining in regulation, but Dallastown refused to fold. Jamison answered with a 3, Handy scored at the rim, and Natalie McLane tied the game 37-37 with 58.7 seconds left.
After a turnover gave Dallastown a final possession, the Wildcats held for the last shot. Wilson bet on its defense and left with money. The Bulldogs eventually forced a turnover and sent the game to overtime as time expired, with the Wildcats getting no shot attempt up.
“Going out there on the last defensive possession, we just trusted each other and gave each other energy,” Leaman said. “In the huddle before overtime, we were like, ‘Let’s do this. Let’s finish it. We can win this.’”
The first two-plus minutes of overtime produced nothing and every possession felt tense.
“I would say, yes,” Crocona said when asked if it felt like the first basket might decide the game.
Finally, with 1:43 remaining, Jones found Leaman in the corner.
“My teammates told me to shoot it, and I trusted myself shooting it, so I shot it and it went in,” Leaman said.
The 3-pointer broke the drought and gave Wilson a 40-37 lead. On the next key possession, with Dallastown attempting to foul without Handy fouling out of the game, Jones slipped a pass underneath to Hardy for a layup with 52.5 seconds left.
“When she made that layup, it was just amazing,” Leaman said. “I was like, we did it.”
Wilson’s defense handled the final minute, sealing a championship that had been years in the making.
For Jones, the moment carried extra weight. She missed her entire junior season recovering from a torn ACL before returning to guide this group through a 19-game winning streak and two championships.
“Yeah, definitely,” Jones said of the validation. “I mean, the game comes with more ease, and mentally, I can play just in the moment and be thankful that I can step on the floor not having to worry about my injury.”
Raquet called her “our rock at the end of games,” praising her poise and leadership in the biggest moments.
Houck, Crocona and Jones — the senior trio — had experienced postseason exits at home and near misses in previous years. This time, there was no heartbreak.
“It definitely takes a weight off our shoulders,” Houck said. “I think it would have hurt knowing that we didn't get a district (title).”
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Final | |
Wilson | 6 | 12 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 42 |
Dallastown | 11 | 6 | 9 | 11 | 0 | 37 |
Bulldogs (27-2) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
Jones | 2-6 | 0-0 | 1-4 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
Hardy | 6-10 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 1 | 4 | 12 |
Crocona | 4-6 | 0-0 | 2-4 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
Leaman | 4-7 | 0-2 | 2-2 | 1 | 3 | 10 |
Houck | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 3 | 8 | 0 |
Lee | 2-8 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
Osumanu | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Totals | 18-39 | 1-6 | 5-10 | 9 | 25/30 | 42 |
Wildcats (24-4) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
Jamison | 3-11 | 1-4 | 2-7 | 2 | 1 | 9 |
Handy | 4-13 | 7-7 | 1-2 | 0 | 5 | 16 |
McLane | 2-10 | 0-0 | 1-8 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
Scovitch | 1-7 | 0-0 | 1-7 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
Cleaver | 1-3 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
Strouse | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Gentzler | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
Totals | 12-45 | 8-11 | 5-25 | 4 | 19/27 | 37 |
Turnovers: Wilson 18, Dallastown 16. Team Rebounds: Wilson 5, Dallastown 8.
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