Inside Lehigh Valley Girls Hoops Week 10

MONDAY 1/29

• Palmerton extended its win streak to nine against an injury-laden Bangor squad. The Blue Bombers outscored the Slaters 27-7 in the first half on their way to a 50-21 win. Hannah Barry led all scorers with 12, while Mikayla Pengelly added 10.
• Tessa Seagreaves and her Southern Lehigh Spartans gave Northwestern Lehigh a stiff test. It was the Tigers who prevailed, 60-48, behind seven triples for Emma Freeman and 19 from Cara Thomas(11 on free throws). Brook Balliet also hit double figures with 11 and added two treys. Seagreaves had 23 in defeat, knocking down five shots from beyond the arc.
• Emmaus clinched a district playoff berth on the road at Pocono Mountain East, outscoring the Cardinals 62-36. Gabby DeVita continued her hot scoring streak, leading her team with 16. Kayla Snyder added 11 as the Hornets opened up a 35-13 halftime lead. Emmaus will make its third consecutive trip to the district tournament.
• Ten Crusaders scored in Notre Dame Green Pond’s 62-26 rout of Palisades. Olivia Schweitzer led all scoers with 18, hitting seven field goals along the way. Off the bench, Addison Ryan scored eight and Carly Campbell contributed 10.
• Ellie Wallbillich became Pen Argyl’s all-time leading scorer in the Green Knights’ 53-31 victory over Wilson Area. She ended the night with 24 points and 14 of those came in a 22 point first quarter. She also knocked down four 3-pointers, while teammate Julia Vargo added 15 points.   

TUESDAY 1/30

Emmaus 43, Central Catholic 41

A rivalry was renewed at Rockne Hall, as the Green Hornets came in to face a rejuvenated Vikettes team with Molly Driscoll back at the point. It was a defensive first quarter, but Sofie Laird came off the bench and hit a big left-wing three for Emmaus to give them an 11-6 lead after one. The Vikettes turned up the tempo for the rest of the half, nailing five transition layups. Three of those came from Milly Wolf. Armani Brickhouse added a top of the key triple and the Vikettes seemed to be on their way with a 24-18 halftime lead. Central Catholic kept the lead after three, with 3-pointers by Wolf and Driscoll separated by just over 90 seconds. In the final stanza, Sofie Laird hit another big three off the bench, followed by two layups from Gabby DeVita and one from Kayla Snyder off of late turnovers by the Vikettes. The transition game that had worked for Central Catholc in the first half was thwarted by Emmaus sending two girls back. The DeVita layup with 3:22 left gave Emmaus their first lead of the second half. An Armani Brickhouse layup with 2:22 left tied the game at 40 and Milly Wolf hit one of two free throws to put Central back on top 41-40 with 50 seconds left. Emmaus dribbled into the front court and a held ball was called. The possession stayed with Emmaus and a shot was missed. Armani Brickhouse was whistled for a oul, giving Emmaus one final opportunity with seven seconds left. The inbound pass went to  Kayla Snyder and she set herself for an open wing three point shot. It connected with four seconds left. The long heave for the Vikettes nearly also hit, but rimmed out, giving Emmaus the victory. “These kids deserve it. We’ve been through it. We worked so hard. This is a good win for the Emmaus program overall. The girls really dialed in. They stuck to the gameplan and trusted in one another,” were coach Kelsey Gallagher’s thoughts following the victory. Kayla Snyder on her game winning shot: “Mya got a rebound before that and Sofie set a hard screen for me to hit the three. It’s a really big win for me and for the team. It’s really good to hit the winning shot and it was a big team effort for everybody.”

Other notes from Tuesday

• Bethlehem Catholic poured it on against Freedom, winning 75-26. Nine different Hawks got involved in the scoring, as Aliyah Brame led the way with 16 points. Akasha Santos scored 10. The Hawks nailed 11 3-pointers and the win was their eighth in a row.
• Stroudsburg won 59-19 over East Stroudsburg Stroudsburg was led by Mckayla Strunk who scored a career high 25 points and Ella Henritzy who also scored a career high 17 points. Ayla Hashway scored a team high 9 points for East Stroudsburg North.  Stroudsburg is now 11-7 on the season and secured a district playoff berth for the 8th time in the last ten years. 
• Three Cavaliers made it into double figures in East Stroudsburg South’s 50-34 win over Pocono Mountain East.  Cynindie Gray led the team with 15 points, while Oliana Cole poured in 14 and Rylee Davis netted 12. Despite struggles at the free throw line, going 15/32, South built a 30-8 halftime lead and PM East was unable to close the gap.
• Easton used a 25-2 first quarter to blow by Liberty 65-27. Mallory Elias returned to action, draining seven 3-pointers for her game-leading 21 points. Evalyse Cole knocked down four more treys and went for 19.
• Nazareth got its revenge against Dieruff in a dominant win, 58-35. Sam Baker and Renee Wells combined for 34 points and Peyton Long added nine. In the loss, Jayla Rosario hit three from downtown and finished with 13. Aniya Holder followed her closely with 12.
• Northampton led Parkland 23-21 at the half. However, the Troians came out in the third quarter and outscored the Konkrete Kids 23-8 on their way to a 41 point second half and 62-46 victory. In that quarter, Parkland hit nine times from the field, including two Aneri McGalla shots from beyond the arc. Delaney Chilcote led all scorers with 15, while Madi Siggins had 14 and Sophie Frank added 10. Dalani Petties led all scorers with 16 and Anne Beenders added 14.
• Pocono Mountain West took care of business on the road at Pleasant Valley as they look to hold on to a top-4 seed in the EPC tournament and District XI playoffs. The 59-15 drubbing saw the Panthers rack up 40 first half points and hold the Bears to just eight. Alyssa Ford had another sensational night with 18 points and Anai’sah Malone scored all 16 of hers in the first half.
• William Allen, in an effort to continue their run towards a district playoff berth, got by Whitehall 55-47. A strong fourth quarter effort allowed the Canaries to outlast the Zephyrs, as the game had been tied at halftime at 26 and was just a one point Allen lead entering the fourth. Layla Sweatte scored nine of her 23 in the final act and Kaley Martin got eight of her 16. The Canaries made 10/16 fourth quarter free throws to ice the game.
• Saucon Valley picked up its fourth win of the year with a 34-19 defeat of Salisbury. The Falcons were held scoreless in the first quarter and Maggie Gorman led all scorers with 12.  

WEDNESDAY 1/31

• Amelia Smith notched a career high 19 points in Palisades upset win at Bangor, 43-31. Following teammate Bri Hunter’s career high 23 on Saturday vs Kutztown, the Green Knights picked up their second consecutive win, holding the Slaters to just 20 points through three quarters. The shorthanded Slaters dropped their third game in a row, and sit on the outside of the Colonial League tournament.
• Catasauqua took a step closer to securing a Colonial League playoff berth with their 52-30 victory over Wilson. Only four Rough Riders scored, but three of them were the usual suspects: Sophia Becker led them all with 20, while Hailey Jenkins dropped in 13 and Delaney Troxell added 14. Becker hit seven field goals in the third quarter.
• Pen Argyl extended its winning streak to 12, as they beat Moravian 53-30. Ellie Wallbillich, in what has become a routine occurrence, scored 22. Julia Vargo scored 13 of her 14 points in the second half and Macy Kotulka netted 10 on the night. In defeat, Luna Lopez continued to show her talents, knocking down four triples and scoring 17.
• Ten Hawks scored in Bethlehem Catholic’s 65-4 rout of Pleasant Valley. Much like previous games, Bethlehem Catholic made the long ball look easy, sinking 10 treys. Kendal Nickisher was the only player to hit double figures, sinking 10 points. Brooklyn Lewis was next with nine.
• Northwestern Lehigh blew past Salisbury 65-19. Cara Thomas netted 20 points and was the only player to hit double figures in the game. Olivia Reinhart was next with eight points. This was the final tune-up game for Northwestern Lehigh as they prepared to face rival Northern Lehigh on Friday night.
• Notre Dame Green Pond won its fifth consecutive game by rolling over Saucon Valley 58-16. Ten Crusaders broke into the scoring column and Brenna Hammerstone was the only player to reach double figures, with 11.
• Hannah Barry led the Blue Bombers with 22 points as Palmerton rolled over Southern Lehigh 59-26. Barry banged home four shots from range and Courtney Connell added 10 first half points. Tessa Seagreaves once again led the Spartans in defeat, scoring 15 of her team’s points.

THURSDAY 2/1

• In a thrilling game, Stroudsburg held on to beat Freedom 48-42. For Stroudsburg, McKayla Strunk scored a game high 16 points and Zoe Brown added 12 points. Freedom’s Alexus McNeil scored 13 and Ronee Brodie had 11 points. Stroudsburg shot 10/17 from the charity stripe in the final quarter to hold off the Patriots and improve their chances of making the EPC tournament.
• The Cavaliers beat back the Timberwolves 54-23 in the rivalry between East Stroudsburg North and South. South cruised out to a 24-5 first quarter lead and kept the pedal to the metal from there. Oliana Cole led all scorers with 15, while both Raylee Davis and Cynindia Gray added 10.
• Northampton ended William Allen’s district playoff berth hopes via a 57-35 score. Rachel Yost knocked down six triples on the night for her 18 points. Dalani Petties added 12, with eight of those coming in the first quarter alone. Layla Sweatte continued her high-effort season with a 20 point output.
• Easton continued its winning ways with a 52-36 defeat of Nazareth. While the Blue Eagles stayed within shouting distance early, Mallory Elias helped ensure the Red Rovers would pull away by scoring four times from beyond the arc. She ended the night with 16 points. Evalyse Cole added another 12 and Kourin Carew led her teammates with 17 points and shooting 6/6 on her free throws.  
  

FRIDAY 2/2

Northern Lehigh 65, Northwestern Lehigh 47

It had been 24 games and 13 years since the last time the Bulldogs defeated the Tigers. Not only did Northern Lehigh end that streak, they ended it with an exclamation point.

At the outset, the game was very back and forth. The first quarter ended with the teams tied at 16. Teegan Simms banged home two triples, as the freshman continued her sensational debut season. The second quarter opened with a 5-0 Bulldogs run. Aubrey Pollard got inside for a layup and was fouled, scoring her 1,000^th point as a Bulldog. She had previously celebrated her career 1,000^th point this season and surpassed her career 1,300^th on the night. Following an Emma Freeman top of the key three that tied the game at 25, Northern Lehigh began its run. They would close the half on an 8-0 run, highlighted by a Pollard layup and long balls from Simms and Dekota Barthold. By the start of the fourth quarter, that run was 28-7. Sophia Schaffer’s three ball was the only field goal for Northwestern, ending a nearly 11 minute drought. Katelyn Barthold had a strong second half, scoring 13 of her 16 points. She remarked on their second half takeover of the game: “Our coach had us play man and it allowed us to not let them shoot as much.” On the difference between the first meeting and this game: “Our team chemistry is very high. We work way better as a team together. No one is selfish and we look for the easy shot and the good shot, not the first shot.”

Emmaus 42, Parkland 50

Coming off an emotional last-second victory on the road at Central Catholic, Emmaus found themselves in another tightly contested game against a quality opponent.

Talia Zurinskas started strong in the game, scoring eight in the first quarter, propelling Parkland to a 17-11 lead after one. She would extend that lead to 24-13 midway through the second with her first of two treys. With 2:14 to go in the half, however, Madi Siggins would pick up her third foul and be forced to sit for the remainder of the half. Behind a steal and foul shot from Kayla Snyder, Emmaus was able to cut the lead to 27-21 and nearly got closer, but the Trojans got an Isabella Hallal bucket before the buzzer to lead 29-21 at the break.

As was the case against Central Catholic, Emmaus came out strong in the third quarter, notching four combined layups from Mya Cooper and Gabby DeVita. Zurinskas hit from long range to keep the Hornets at bay, but Emmaus would end up leading 35-34 late in the third on another Cooper layup. Siggins returned in the third and her layup along with two Delaney Chilcote free throws would have Parkland leading 39-35 after three. Fouls began to mount against Emmaus as shooting ran cold. In the fourth quarter, Parkland went 10/12 from the charity stripe, while Emmaus received no free throw opportunities in the second half. Fouls in the second half ended 12-3 in favor of the Trojans. Zurinskas and Siggins finished with 19 and 18 points respectively, while both Gabby DeVita and Mya Cooper had 14 for the Hornets. The loss for Emmaus could ultimately mean they will miss the EPC tournament, pending results Monday night. When asked about the Emmaus comeback attempt and how Parkland handled it, Madi Siggins said, “Stay with it. Sometimes we get a little frantic, but once we stay together and stay with it, we can handle any pressure that comes towards us. Emmaus played us really well tonight. It was a great win—a lot of energy and a lot of heart on the court tonight and those are the kind of games you want to play in.”

Other notes from Friday

• Central Catholic got back to business with a 55-44 win over William Allen. Molly Driscoll scored 14 points in her second game back from injury, hitting seven times from the field and going 6/6 from the free throw line. While Layla Sweatte scored 20 on the night, she was held to two in a third quarter that the Vikettes won 15-7, which ballooned the lead to 39-25 at the time.
• The Hawks flexed their muscle again, defeating Dieruff 53-23. Cici Hernandez put up 12 first half points and 15 overall, while Leah Ault reached double figures with 10 in the first half. The Huskies were held to just two field goals and six points combined through the middle frames.
• The Blue Bombers took it to Salisbury 51-24, as Palmerton moved to just two games from an unbeaten conference season. Salisbury was held to four points combined over the second and third quarters, while Sydney Frantz scored 10 of her game high 15 in the third. Hannah Barry added nine first half points and both Ella Baumgardt and Mikayla Pengelly scored seven.
• Stroudsburg defeated Pleasant Valley 70-37 on Senior Night. Stroudsburg was led by a game high 19 points and 10 rebounds from Mckayla Strunk.  Zoe Brown scored a career high 18 points, and Emily Bozena also scored a career high 17 points for Stroudsburg. Katelyn Hornadel scored a team high 14 points for Pleasant Valley.
• Alyssa Ford and Anai’sah Malone nearly did it all for the Panthers, combining for 40 of PM West’s 48 points in a 48-16 victory over the rival Cardinals of PM East. The Panthers will look to hold on to a top four seed in the EPC and district XI tournaments when they face Stroudsburg Monday night.

SATURDAY 2/3

• Liberty guaranteed itself a .500 season with a 59-19 drubbing of East Stroudsburg South. Three Hurricanes hit double figures, with Iysis Nickens leading the way at 12 points and both Ruby Miller and Anijah Davis adding 10. Five players combined to knock down eight shots from beyond the arc.
• The Dieruff Huskies clinched their first district playoff berth in 23 years by way of a dominant 57-31 performance against Pocono Mountain East. Aniya Holder scored 10 of her game high 15 in the second half to slam the door on the Cardinals and send Dieruff to the postseason. Marisa Price also had a strong second half, scoring seven of her 11 points.
• Palmerton was strong once again in their tune-up 45-8 victory over Palisades before facing off with Northern Lehigh Tuesday night. Hannah Barry led the way with 18 points and four triples. The Blue Bombers are now just one game away from running the table in the Colonial league.
• Bangor snapped a three game losing skid with a 45-36 win over Saucon Valley at home. Avery Nelson hit four shots from range on her way to a 24 point night. In defeat, Maggie Gorman and Brooke Davis scored 13 and 12 points respectively.
• Pen Argyl continues to pique at the right time, turning heads with a 52-36 defeat of Notre Dame Green Pond. Ellie Wallbillich once again exploded for 27 points and Julia Vargo contributed 11. For the Crusaders, Olivia Schweitzer did not play, and Carly Campbell did not play beyond the first quarter.

NEXT WEEK’S BIG GAMES:

2/5: Parkland @ Central Catholic

2/5: Bethlehem Catholic @ Easton

2/5: Liberty @ Nazareth

2/5: PM West @ Stroudsburg

2/5: Whitehall @ Emmaus

2/6: Palmerton @ Northern Lehigh

2/6: Catasauqua @ Northwestern Lehigh

2/6: Bangor @ Pen Argyl

2/9: EPC Quarterfinals

2/10: Colonial Quarterfinals

Catch the weekly SCBL HS Hoops Podcast every week on EasternPASportsNetwork.com, featuring Ed Jennings and Scott Johnston on a boys edition, as well as Cody Brady and Scott on a girls edition. Each week, they review the best games, look forward to the week ahead, break down top teams and players, and name a player of the week!

Congratulations to last week’s players of the week:

Colonial League: Luna Lopez

EPC: Evalyse Cole

EPC Standngs

East	Conference	Overall
Bethlehem Catholic	15-0	18-3
Easton	14-1	20-1
Nazareth	10-5	14-7
Liberty	10-5	11-10
Dieruff	6-10	11-10
Freedom	3-12	5-16
North
Pocono Mountain West	11-4	14-7
Stroudsburg	10-5	13-7
East Stroudsburg South	5-11	5-16
Pocono Mountain East	2-13	3-17
Pleasant Valley	2-15	2-19
East Stroudsburg North	1-14	1-19
West
Parkland	14-1	19-2
Allentown Central Catholic	10-5	14-7
Emmaus	9-6	12-9
Whitehall	5-10	6-15
Northampton	5-10	6-15
William Allen	4-11	8-12

Colonial Standings

East	Conference	Overall
Notre Dame Green Pond	15-2	17-4
Pen Argyl	14-3	17-4
Bangor	10-7	13-8
Moravian Academy	5-13	5-14
Wilson Area	4-13	6-14
Palisades	4-13	5-14
Saucon Valley	3-14	4-16
West
Palmerton	16-0	20-1
Northwestern Lehigh	11-5	16-5
Northern Lehigh	11-5	14-7
Catasauqua	10-6	14-7
Southern Lehigh	4-12	5-16
Salisbury	1-15	3-17

* – All standings current through 2/4/24