With one (sometimes two) freshman, three sophomores and one senior as this year’s starting five for the Lady Red Raiders, a District 4 championship and a PIAA Final Four appearance could be just the start of another girls’ basketball dynasty at Our Lady of Lourdes Regional School in Coal Township.
After graduating four seniors at the end of last year, Coach Mike Klembara’s young team secured a remarkable 2024-2025 season, earning the program’s 16th district title and powering through three rounds of the state tournament for a trip to the Final Four. Along the way, they scored solid wins over Veritas Academy (51-36), Bethlehem Christian (65-23) and Delco Christian (54-39).
The young squad’s visions of playing for a state championship came up short in the semifinals, however, where the Red Raiders fell to Linville Hill, 60-45, in a match-up at Pottsville’s Martz Hall on March 22.
Linville Hill’s Warriors opened the game with an 11-2 run and never gave up the lead. They sealed the win with an astounding 13 three-pointers to advance to the state championships on March 28 in Hershey.
The Red Raiders finished their season at 22-7, and will graduate just one senior, Anna Keer, who will play volleyball for Arcadia after graduation.
Following the semifinal game, Klembara told the media the message he shared with his team after the loss. “I asked them how many teams after losing four seniors do they think could be in the Eastern Conference Finals?”
Klembara has been at the helm of the girls’ basketball team since 1988. With more than 800 wins, 11 Elite 8 appearances and five trips to the state finals with one gold, he knows the experience his young team has garnered this season will serve them well next year.
“The experience is really going to help us because we had more freshmen and sophomores playing this year than ever before,” he said. “The nucleus is there for future years.”
(Photos by Jen Reed, The Catholic Witness.)
By Jen Reed, The Catholic Witness
 freshman, three sophomores and one senior as this year’s starting five for the Lady Red Raiders, a District 4 championship and a PIAA Final Four appearance could be just the start of another girls’ basketball dynasty at Our Lady of Lourdes Regional School in Coal Township.){kind=link}