To advance past the first round of the PIAA Class AA playoffs, the Karns City girls basketball team is going to have to beat itself.

Well, sort of.

The Gremlins play Shady Side Academy at 5 p.m. Friday at Clarion University.

The Gremlins (21-5) and Indians (19-8) are very similar teams.

Both rely on a stingy defense and neither team has a big-time scorer — Allyson Kepple's 12.5 points per game leads KC while Shady Side is paced by Katie Sheerer's 12.7 average.

Both squads have several other players who can score points in the clutch.

"They're about the same size as us, and they're a scrappy team with some good shooters who can penetrate," said Shady Side coach Amy Szlachetka.

"They remind me a lot of us," she added.

The Indians enter the state playoffs having won 15 of their last 17 games. Their latest loss was a 59-42 setback to Greensburg Central Catholic in the WPIAL quarterfinals.

The Gremlins have put together an impressive streak on the defensive end of the court.

Karns City has not surrendered more than 50 points in any of the last 13 games.

"I think we've got the best team defense in (District 9)," said Gremlins coach Dave Kerschbaumer. "If everybody is doing their job, it's very tough to score on us."

The winner will face the Ford City-Girard survivor on Tuesday.

PIAA Class AAA Boys Grove City (23-4) vs. Chartiers Valley (23-5)Chartiers Valley is coming off a heartbreaking 62-58 double-overtime loss to West Allegheny in the WPIAL Class AAA championship game, but that doesn't tell the whole story.The Colts entered the season with the loss of all-section point guard Adam Braithwaite to a knee injury suffered during soccer season and another starter, Anthony Poletti, who missed the first 14 games for disciplinary reasons.Then, in the first round of the playoffs, point guard Eli Maravich injured his wrist and hasn't played since.They also lost their sixth man from last year when he moved to North Carolina."If you told me we'd reach the WPIAL finals, I'd say you were crazy," said Chartiers Valley coach Tim McConnell.The Colts are led by senior guard Mike Sherry, who averages 25 points per game. Senior forward Brandon Fischbach and senior swingman Brian Castello average eight points and junior guards Poletti and T.J. McConnell seven and six points, respectively.Under McConnell's guidance, the Colts won WPIALtitles in Class AAA in 1997 and 1998 and in Quad A in 2001 and 2004 before dropping back to Class AAA this year."They're a very disciplined team," said Grove City coach Don Fee. "They pass it well, shoot it well, handle it well. Fundamentally, they're very sound."Their three guards, they all shoot it out there. It makes the dribble penetration tougher. They're not big in size, but they have a very potent offense," Fee added.Still, despite the recent wave of success, McConnell does not know how his team will react to its loss."I'm hoping they're ready," said McConnell, whose team defeated Hopewell, Blackhawk and Valley to reach the WPIAL finals. "They're young kids and they're still feeling the effect of that loss. When you lose in the finals, that still hurts."Grove City can certainly relate. The Eagles lost to General McLane 62-41 in the District 10 title game, its third District 10 finals loss in the past four years.Grove City had eked out wins against Meadville (40-39 in overtime) and Warren (49-45) to reach the district championship."(The loss) stung for a day or two, but the kids got it out of their minds," said Fee. "They know they still have a game to play."Grove City's starting five is senior guard Jordan Fee, who is averaging 13.3 points per game, followed by Ben Liebling (12.4), Dan Keil (10.9), Maxx Stutz (7.5) and Kyle Perrine (7.4).The winner will face the Ambridge-Bradford winner next Tuesday.

PIAA Class A Girls Union (26-3) vs. Ferndale (20-8)The Union Damsels will put a 20-game winning streak on the line when they take on the Yellowjackets, the fourth-place team out of District 6.Union is undefeated against Class A competition after beating Coudersport, 67-55 in the District 9 title game last Saturday.The Damsels are led by senior guard Tiffany Corle, who is averaging 17 points per game along with 8.5 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 3.7 steals."Tiffany's one of those players who I always knew had the capability of having a season like this," said Damsels coach Josh Meeker.Ferndale defeated Harmony (55-31) and Conemaugh Valley (38-35) in the District 6 playoffs before bowing to eventual champion Bishop Guilfoyle in the semifinals, 46-31.The team then dropped a 63-52 decision to Claysburg-Kimmel in the consolation game, handing Ferndale the fourth and final state playoff berth from the district.The Yellowjackets qualified for the playoffs for the third time in Mike Crisafulli's five years as head coach of the team."We're a young team, with three seniors, one junior, eight sophomores and two freshmen," said Crisafulli. "But we were hoping to do well this season."Ferndale has averaged 54.7 points per game this season and is giving up 42.5 points every contest.The Union-Ferndale winner will face the survivor of the Mount Alvernia-Berlin Brothersvalley game next Wednesday.

<b>GirlsClass A</b>Union (26-3) vs. Ferndale (20-8) at Clarion University, 3 p.m. Saturday<b>Class AA</b>Karns City (21-5) vs. Shady Side Academy (19-8) at Clarion University, 5 p.m. Friday<b>Class AAA</b>Mars (24-3) vs. Slippery Rock (18-9) at Slippery Rock University, 4:30 p.m. Saturday<b>BoysClass AAA</b>Grove City (23-4) vs. Chartiers Valley (23-5) at Butler High, 7:30 p.m. Friday