The Our Lady of Hope CYO girls basketball team is this year’s Pittsburgh Diocese CYO Girls Division Champs!

After a gripping  55-49 overtime win vs. St. Bede’s in the semi-final game, the girls were poised to face off in the championship against Our Lady of Mount Carmel on Sunday, Feb. 26.

Coach Modrak commented on the resilience of the team in close games saying, “Even though we have always stated that our first objective is to have fun; they are still a very competitive group and they wanted to win; especially when we got behind and  we were playing well enough to win.”

They used this competitive edge to once again scratch out a 40-32 overtime win in the championship game to defeat Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

The team finished the season with 11 wins and 3 losses and was coached by Head Coach Megan Horgan and assisted by Jim Modrak and Gary Nagy.

Coach Modrak commented on how they found success together saying, “Most of the girls have been playing together, BP basketball & soccer, for the past few years and are very familiar with each other and know each other’s strengths & weaknesses.”

And no doubt the team had familiarity as the team was riddled with BPHS students.

Some of the BPHS students include Eva Blatz, Anna Minick, Katie Erfort, Kristen Horgan, Logan Burke, Lauren Heh, Alyssa Headley, Emma Bucheli, Marena Chernicky, Mira Weston, and Violet Puskar.

The Catholic Youth Organization, better known as the CYO league, has been around since 1947 to connect youth activity with spiritual pursuits.