MOUNT CARMEL, Pa. — The girls' basketball team from Mount Carmel had quite the welcome home from the state championships in Hershey.
For the first time, the girls' basketball team won the 2A state title.
Senior Lauren Ayres said this win was years in the making.
"It felt amazing. We have amazing coaches, and we've been striving for this for four years now, so it was just such a special feeling," Ayres said.
The Red Tornadoes beat Neshannock, a team from western Pennsylvania. The final score was 54-43.
"They just really wanted it, played hard every day, came to practice every day always positive," head coach Lisa Varano said.
At home in Northumberland County, parents, relatives, and fans cheered from the bleachers at the Silver Bowl as players were presented their medals.
Players said they were grateful to have been able to finish the season, especially considering the governor's shutdown on school sports from mid-December through early January.
"We were scared, you know, once that shutdown hit in December that we were going to be shut down for forever," senior DaniRae Renno said. "It feels great to be here because we didn't know if we were going to be able to get any games on our schedule."
"We definitely were nervous about losing our season, so we played every game as if it could be our last. To be able to be in the state title, it just made everything that much better, and we're just so blessed to have been able to play a season," senior Lauren Shedleski said.
Making a historic win even more memorable.
