RIMERSBURG — Trent Corle sat in the stands at Clarion University's Tippin Gym four years ago and watched his sister, Tiffany, win a District 9 Class A girls basketball title.

It was then that Trent Corle decided he wanted a district championship of his own.

“We all watched our sisters play and win district titles,” Corle said. “I thought it would be neat to do that, too.”

He's not alone. Six current Union boys basketball players have older sisters who either played in a district title game or won a championship with the school's girls team.

Forget six degrees of separation. In Rimersburg, a town with a population of less than 1,000 and at a high school with a typical graduation class of 50, many family trees have intertwining branches.

“It's crazy,” said junior guard Taylor Smith, whose sister, Torri, played for the Damsels from 2005-08 and was on three district title teams. “We were all talking about that the other day, about how we all have sisters who have won D-9 championships. It's pretty special.”

The girls basketball program has long been something special.

The Damsels average 19 wins per season over 40 years and have won seven district championships.

The Golden Knights make their first appearance in the district final in nearly 20 years Saturday when they play Elk County Catholic at 8 p.m. at Tippin Gym.

Union hasn't won a title since 1981.

It wasn't from lack of trying — or motivation from their older sisters.

Torri Smith said she doesn't let up when it comes to giving Taylor advice.

“I'm always on him about stuff — constantly,” said Torri.

Now Taylor is one of the Knights best defenders.

“She helped me out a lot,” Taylor said. “She was a bit older — I was only in the seventh or eighth grade back then — and she was one of the better players.”

Taylor said he didn't always enjoy the beatdowns his sister put on him in their one-on-one matchups.

“I always got pretty upset about it,” Taylor said. “But it drove me to be better.”

For senior guard Shawn Booth, winning a district title would complete a Booth family sweep.

His eldest sister, Cara, won a the District 9 crown with the Damsels in 2000. His twin sisters, Meagan and Heather, won three each before they graduated in 2007.

The brothers showed support when the sisters were playing and now the roles have been reversed.

Torri Smith never misses a game plays and neither do most of the other older sisters.

They usually can be found in the same section of bleachers, screaming and yelling and offering their support.

It's not lost on their brothers.

“It's great walking out on the court before a game, looking up in the stands and seeing your sister there,” Taylor Smith said. “She always gives me pre-game pep talks. She knows what she's talking about because she's been there before. She'll tell me, ‘Play your game. Don't worry.'”

UNION FAMILY TREE

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Six members of the Union boys basketball team have older sisters who played for the girls team at the school and won a district title. The years the sisters graduated are in parenthesis:

Brother - Sister Shawn Booth Meagan & Heather Booth (2007);Cara Booth (2000)Trent Corle Tiffany Corle (2007)Austin Davis Penny Summerville (1993)Brody Pollock Brooke Pollock (2010)Derek Shirey Mackenzie Shirey (2007)Taylor Smith Torri Smith (2008)