You don’t need to go through the six degrees of separation to find the connections between the Warren and Chartiers Valley girls basketball teams.

The defending state champion Colts, winners of 55-straight games, take on the Dragons today in the first round of the PIAA Class 5A championships.

Warren sophomore Emma Ruhlman has become one of the best players in District 10. She also plays for the Western PA Bruins, a premier AAU program based out of the Pittsburgh area that competes on the Under Armour Circuit.

Two of her teammates on that team are Helene and Hallie Cowan.

Today, they will be opponents, as the Cowan twins are both starters for the unbeaten Colts.

“This will be Emma’s third year playing with the twins,” her mom, Warren head coach Lisa LaVan said about the upcoming AAU season. “They’re good kids … great kids, actually. They’re sweet. I enjoy being around them. It will be fun coaching against them. They’re little jokesters.”

Both Ruhlman and the Cowans come by their love of the game naturally.

LaVan was a standout player in her own right at Bradford High and then at Penn State Behrend.

Jeff Cowan, Helene and Hallie’s dad, was a former star in his own right.

During his senior season at Sheffield, the 1987-88 season, he scored 530 points on his way to first-team all-conference honors. He led the Wolverines to a third-place finish in District 10 and a trip to the state playoffs.

“It’s neat that we ended up drawing Warren in the first round,” he said. “It had been mentioned a couple times – CV v. Warren could happen in state playoffs. Now it’s here .. it will be nice to see Warren’s team and how they play. We do know a few of the girls. And, yes, it’s also nice for those who’ll make the journey from Warren to see my daughters play. I’m proud of their growth as players.

“Basketball is so different now — not the fundamentals, just the opportunity. In the ’80s, there was no AAU. Now, these kids play all year. I taught them fundamentals early and turned (them) over to the coaches, but still give advice.”

He also enjoys the relationship that his family has built with Emma and Lisa.

“We do get up to Warren a few times a year, at least to visit family… my niece (Meredith Morrison) is on the Warren volleyball team and we’ve gone to some games. My mom just moved into Warren so it’ll be more Warren visits than Sheffield. My daughters are happier about the Warren move since they can workout at the YMCA.

“As for Emma and Lisa, yes, we know them pretty well. Now I don’t get to as many games, but my daughters are with Emma two nights a week, every week for the most part from April through July.

“Yes, it’s a small town, but today with opportunities out there we didn’t have. If you’re good, they’ll take you and you can go places from a small town, too.

“It’s just fun watching this group of girls play ball and with Warren coming it’ll be a little extra fun seeing some familiar faces across the bleachers I’m sure.”

Megan McConnell, the lone senior starter for the Colts, played for the Bruins top team last season.

“We watched Megan play all summer with the top team there across the UA circuit. That was fun to watch her,” LaVan said. “She’s a great little basketball player.”

And for both mother and daughter alike, Saturday will have a familiar feel.

“Emma and I joke, we drive to Pittsburgh a lot, so this is a drop in the hat for us,” LaVan said. “I’m not driving and she’s not trying to keep me awake, that’s the only difference. Over the past couple years, being around that group, it’s good basketball. That’s why we go down there. Penn Hills, North Catholic we played in a league in September. And it was exactly what we needed. I’m embracing it for sure.”