The last time the Emmaus girls’ basketball program celebrated winning a District XI Championship was way back in 2003-04 season.
The Hornets will now have to wait at least one more year for that elusive title.
That was the harsh reality staring in the face of the 2024-25 squad as they walked off the court last night at Whitehall High School in disbelief following their District XI Class 6A semifinal playoff game.
Having already faced and beaten Parkland not once, not twice but three times this season and riding the emotional high of winning an EPC championship to go along with 22-game win streak, Emmaus couldn’t get it done in the fourth meeting as their hopes and dreams of winning the program’s first district title in 21 years ended in a 51-42 loss to the Trojans.
The loss was the first for the Hornets since December 6, 2024, when they fell to the state’s No. 1 ranked team and unbeaten Hazleton. It also marked the second consecutive year that they have loss to the Trojans in this same round.
With the defeat, Emmaus saw its 22-game win streak end as they fell to 25-2 on the season. They are now faced with a must-win situation on Friday in a third-place game at 6 p.m. back at Whitehall against Liberty, who fell to Easton in the other semifinal. Only three teams from District XI will qualify for the PIAA State Tournament. Emmaus defeated the Hurricane in the consolation game a year ago 38-32, to clinch a spot in states for the first time in 17 years.
After a hot start and leading 13-4 after the first quarter, Emmaus was outscored by Parkland over the next three quarters. Poor shooting and foul trouble plagued the Hornets for most of the night.
Emmaus had one of its worst efforts of the season from the field shooting just 30 percent (17 of 56) compared to Parkland’s 42 percent (14 of 33). Defensively, the 51 points allowed was 17 more than the team had been allowing on the season.
Sophomore Kayla Snyder was the only player to reach double figures for the Hornets with 10 points, but just one after halftime. Junior Gabby DeVita, the team’s leading scorer, was saddled with early foul trouble and finished with just eight, snapping a streak of 14 consecutive games in which she had scored in double figures. Senior Sylvia Sokolofski also added eight for Emmaus.
Parkland, the defending 6A champs, had a balanced scoring attack led by senior Delaney Chilcote who paced all scorers with a game-high 22 points — 14 coming after halftime. Junior Aneri McGalla added 11 and classmate Isabella Hallal nine for the Trojans who improved to 18-8 on the season.
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This story will be updated …
Parkland 51, Emmaus 42
Park – Delaney Chilcote 6 9-11 22, Isabella Hallal 3 4-4 10, Addison Fritzinger 0 4-4 4, Aneri McGalla 4 0-2 11, Sarah Car 0 0-2 0. Subs: Kate Blenis 0, Savannah Gonzalez 0 0-2 0, Cheryllana Cunningham 1 1-2 4. Totals: FG 14, FT 18-27, 3s (5 – McGalla 3, Chilcote, Cunningham)
Em – Kayla Snyder 2 6-10 10, Gabby DeVita 4 0-0 8, Sylvia Sokolofksi 4 0-0 8, Sofie Laird 1 0-0 2, Cassie Doemling 3 0-0 6, Emma Naccarato 1 0-0 2, Olive Whitney 2 0-0 6, Gracie Ervin 0, Sierra Stevens 0. Totals: FG 17, FT 6-10, 3s (2 – Whitney 2)
Park – 4-17-16-14 – 51
Em – 13-9-9-11 – 42