Allentown, PA - February 13, 2025: The Eastern Pennsylvania Conference (EPC) girls and boys championship was held at the PPL Center tonight with the top two seeded teams taking on the two sixth seeded teams. In the end, there was one upset and two teams that won their first EPC title.
The girls game saw the favorite, Emmaus High School, defeat Bethlehem Catholic High School 59-37 to remain undefeated in the EPC. Emmaus’ last title was as a member of the Lehigh Valley Conference back in 2007. In the boys championship game, Northampton High School, upset the top seeded Pocono Mountain West 55-54 in overtime.
The Emmaus girls jumped out to an early 9-2 lead. Bethlehem Catholic clawed their way back and was down one after the first period (13-12). Emmaus extended their lead by the midway point 29-20. In the 3rd period, Emmaus surged to a commanding lead (48-31) behind junior Gabby DeVita (4) who led all players with 20 points.
DeVita, who also hit her 100th career 3-pointer during the game, was named the game's Most Valuable Player. Emmaus outscored Bethlehem Catholic in each period. Emmaus’ Kayla Snyder (1), a sophomore, followed DeVita with 15 points. Bethlehem Catholic’s Palin Coleman, only a freshman, led her team with 15 points.
After the game, first year coach Avon Mack commented that his team deserved this win. He said playing defense was something they were committed to from the start of the season. He said zone defense was never played and that playing man to man held each player accountable.
Emmaus is now 24-1 overall and finished a perfect 21-0 in the EPC. Their only loss this season came to one of PA’s top-ranked teams out of District II, Hazleton (82-44) back on December 6, 2024. Emmaus will be the top seed in the upcoming District XI tournament.
Unlike Emmaus, Northampton struggled at times during the regular season but tonight, their resiliency took center stage. They improved to 17-8 overall and 15-7 in the EPC. At the right time however, The Kids became hot as they defeated the 2nd and 3rd seeds on their way to the championship. They have now won their last eight games and are headed into the District XI tournament with a huge amount of momentum.
This game was hard fought and close until the very end. There were multiple lead changes and just when it seemed Pocono Mountain West had control late in the game, The Kids bounced back.
After the first period, Northampton was up 7-6 and they held a slim 25-20 advantage at the half. After the third period, the score was tied 37-37. Pocono Mountain West’s Adrian Brito (24) and Jonathan Mateo (13) shined to put their team up by eight late in the 4th period. Northampton, however, stayed composed and chiseled their way back into the game. There were seconds left when Northampton pulled within two. Korbin Sollars (24) then went in for a back door layup to tie it at 52, sending it into overtime.
In that four minute overtime period, the teams struggled on offense. Brito and Mateo were shut down and Northampton made only three free throws. Pocono Mountain West had a chance to win the game with 2.3 left but Leo Regec (4) came up with the steal on the inbound pass.
Regec, who finished the game with 21 points and was named the Most Valuable Player of the game, said after the game that “we made history." Head Coach Matt Scholl said that his team is young and are not done playing this season.
Pocono Mountain West’s Brito led all players with 28 points and 15 rebounds while Mateo added 14 points.
