Pictured above: First-year head coach Carrie Toomey and her daughter, Ciera Toomey, lead Dunmore into the state championship game. (Tim Drewes Photo)
River Valley, the District 6 champion from Blairsville, carries a 20-game winning streak into the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class 3A girls basketball state championship game where it will meet Dunmore Thursday night at 6 at The Giant Center in Hershey.
The Panthers, from Blairsville in Indiana County, are 29-2 with the two losses coming by one point each against Greater Latrobe, 53-52, in the second game of the season and Elizabeth Forward, 54-53, Jan. 9.
River Valley won the Heritage Conference, unseating state Class 2A finalist Homer Center. The Panthers defeated the Wildcats, 49-30 and 49-37 in the regular season and 36-31 in the conference championship game.
Homer Center is the team that routed Lackawanna League Division 4 champion Montrose, 47-13, Monday night in the state Class 2A semifinals.
Ava Persichetti, a 5-foot-9 sophomore point guard, was named Most Valuable Player of the Heritage Conference Tournament after leading River Valley to the title.
Persichetti averages 19.7 points, 5.6 assists and 3.7 steals while shooting 36 percent from 3-point range and 82 percent from the foul line. She averaged more than 18 points per game last season as a freshman.
Two post players, who join Persichetti as the team captains, combine for 19.4 points and 17.5 rebounds per game.
Abby Pynos, a 6-foot senior, averages 9.9 points, 9.1 rebounds and 1.9 blocked shots. Hannah Artley, a 5-10 senior, adds 9.5 points and 8.4 rebounds.
River Valley reached the final with a 44-38, come-from-behind victory over Our Lady of Sacred Heart.
The Panthers, who made the state quarterfinals last season, outscored OLSH, 15-5, over the last nine minutes to overcome a four-point deficit. They have outscored four state opponents by an average of 53.5-41.3.
