It will be an all Susquehanna County affair in the PIAA District II AA girls basketball final Friday afternoon at 4:00 at the Mohegan Sun Arena as the Lady Warriors and the Lady Eagles square off in the rematch we've all been waiting for, with district gold at stake.

Lady Eagles head coach Corey Gesford hit the nail on the head stating, "I think a lot of local fans were hoping to get the third installment of the series and glad we were both able to accomplish that."

While many of us thought the rematch was a foregone conclusion, both teams were tested in their respective semifinal games.

Mountain View won a 45-38 overtime thriller at home over Wyoming Seminary, while Elk Lake held on late to defeat Holy Cross 46-40.

With the semifinals taking place last Friday, there will be a full week in between games, a change in the norm and something both coaches echoed.

Mountain View Coach Corey Gesford said, "waiting a week to play takes you off the routine you've had for over two months of two games every week."

Elk Lake Coach Meghan Casselbury pointed out the change of pace as well, "the biggest challenge is keeping the girls engaged. We're so use to going twice a week with games, but we tried to fill the week up with some different things for bonding."

Despite the layoff Coach Casselbury loves the intensity her girls still bring to practice, "We are still conditioning and working hard on skills. The girls still go hard scrimmaging against each other, they are competitive."

Coach Gesford admits, "we mixed things up a little this week, we came in and practiced Sunday and Monday and did not practice Tuesday, we just attended media day at the Arena. We resumed practice today and will practice Thursday and we followed our late season routine. We kept up with our strength, speed and conditioning program and got a lot of shots up."

For the Lady Eagles this is familiar territory as they play in their third consecutive district final, looking to pull of what Mahomes couldn't, a three peat.

The Lady Eagles have a quartet of seniors Ryleigh Kilmer, Riley Turner, Brooklyn Anderson and Mimi Sedlak that have led the Lady Eagles to unprecedented success capturing back to back district titles and a silver medal in the PIAA state tournament.

Senior captain Ryleigh Kilmer is no stranger to big games and is looking forward to another shot at district gold and playing at the Arena.

"I'm grateful to be on a team and competing with this group of girls. We've had players step up in big ways to allow for some of the success we've experienced, and I couldn't be more proud of them. We're all excited for another chance at playing for the district title in an environment like the Arena."

Coach Gesford credited Kilmer's hustle forcing a big turnover late and fellow senior Riley Turner hit the game winning three in the semifinal victory, Turner shares the same sentiment as Kilmer.

"Having the experience to play in the Arena once is incredible, but having the chance for a third district championship is a great opportunity for us and we worked really hard for it. The past couple years, we have had great team chemistry and it's super special to be able to share that success with an amazing group of girls."

For the Elk Lake seniors this will be there second trip to the Arena for a district final, though they were just freshman on the previous trip.

Unfortunately for Elk Lake they were mired in a tough AAA division the past few seasons, but newest member of the 1,000 point club Leah Traver looks forward to getting back to the finals.

"It means a lot for my whole team and especially the seniors who have gotten a taste of it our freshman year, especially since we didn't get much playing time there. We have great team chemistry when playing and everyone treats each other like family when we are together. Coaches do a lot to help us with the team activities outside of basketball to really create a good bond. Playing with these girls since fourth grade, it's amazing to see how far we've come."

Fellow senior Marissa Horn, who hit some big free throws down the stretch in their semifinal win over Holy Cross, relishes another chance to play at the arena.

"Getting back to the arena for me is an honor and I am so grateful. Playing with this group of girls has truly been a blessing. When we lost our freshmen year we knew we wanted to get back and win it."

Both teams have qualified for the state tournament regardless of the outcome Friday afternoon, however with the state tournament slated to start next Friday Mar 7, the teams will have another week to prepare.

The winner of the game Friday will host the District IV third place finisher, while the loser will travel to play the District IV champion.