On Feb. 11, 2015, the basketball team at Mount St. Joseph Academy defeated Gwynedd Mercy Academy, 29-26, to repeat as champions in the Athletic Association of Catholic Academies. In their ninth season under head coach John Miller, the Magic had been the top seed for the AACA tournament. A few weeks later, the Mount would lose in the second round of the PIAA state tournament, ending the season with an overall record of 25-6.

Mount St. Joe supporters were destined to wait 11 years until they could celebrate another AACA title; their team won the 2026 championship on Feb. 9 by overcoming Villa Maria Academy, 46-41. Seeded first for the tourney, as in 2015, the Magic had easily defeated number four Villa Joseph Marie in the semifinals, 55-38. The second-seeded Villa Maria Hurricanes also won convincingly in the semis, dispatching third-ranked Gwynedd Mercy.

In the regular-season series between the two finalists, the Mount saw a large lead dissipate but hung on to win the first game, 44-40, while Villa rolled to a 45-25 victory in the rematch. The Magic won all of their other league games, while Villa split with Gwynedd Mercy and thus became the second seed for the tournament.

John Miller, the former Mount coach, was in the stands at the championship game last week.

Off the opening tip, sophomore guard Caitlin Cavallaro romped down the court to deposit a layup. Villa tied it with a pair of free throws by senior Sophia Tray (a primary lacrosse player who helped Villa win the 2025 Class 2A state championship and will attend Maryland’s Loyola University).

The Magic moved back in front as sophomore Katie Eichenhofer netted a three-pointer from the left corner and junior Caroline Dougherty scored on a drive. The Magic led 9-6 at the end of the first period, and they started the second quarter with a layup by sophomore Nina Meierdiercks off of a pass from senior post Bridget Horgan.

In the middle of the period, Cavallaro notched back-to-back buckets with a drive along the right baseline and then a “three” from the left corner. When senior Morgan Cross put in two free throws with 2:53 remaining in the first half, the Magic had a double-digit lead, at 20-10.

Mount St. Joe was still up by eight points as the final minute approached. Then Villa sophomore forward Erin Urbanski, who had come off the bench, scored two free throws and a midrange jumper to get the Hurricanes back within four points of the leaders at halftime, 22-18.

Three-pointers by Eichenhofer and sophomore guard Carly Derouin helped get the MSJ lead up to nine points late in the third quarter. Then Villa freshman Ashley Troy hit a layup right before the buzzer that made it 32-25 going into the final round.

The Magic fouled Villa’s Tray twice early in the fourth quarter, and she made three of four free throws to reduce the gap to four points and force a Mount time-out with 5:17 remaining. A drive down the lane by Meierdiercks got the MSJ offense moving again, and Cavallaro scored a layup off of a pass from Cross and also hit a 15-footer from the left wing. After a basket by the Hurricanes’ Troy was matched by Cross for Mount St. Joe, the score stood 40-30 with a little over two minutes remaining.

Villa’s next possession ended with a traveling call. Then each team missed a field goal attempt. The ball was back with the Mount and Derouin drew a foul. She put in two free throws and Becca Croft countered with a successful drive for Villa, keeping the lead at 10 points.

As the clock cut into the final minute, two made free throws by Derouin and one by Cross were balanced with a score off a rebound and a free throw by the ‘Canes’ Ava Broadhurst.

Briella Romeo popped in a “three” for Villa from the left corner, but then she fouled out of the game. With 25.1 seconds to go, Cross put in one of two free throws to make it 46-38. With the seconds draining away, a Villa inbounds play led to a three-pointer by Tray. The Hurricanes called time out with two-and-a-half seconds left, then the Mount inbounded the ball to Cross and time ran out with the score 46-41.

Mount St. Joe’s Cavallaro and Villa Maria’s Tray shared game-high scoring honors with 13 points apiece. The Magic also received eight points from Cross, seven from Derouin, and six points each from Dougherty, Eichenhofer, and Meierdiercks.