WEDNESDAY 2/14
Parkland 41, Easton 28
Coach Ed Ohlson has said defense is the key to Parkland’s success all season long. That was once again the key for a Trojans win at the PPL Center. The two teams played a nearly even first half. Aneri McGalla got the start and hit a first quarter triple with 3:07 left, while Madi Siggins had eight first half points. She was matched by Evalyse Cole’s eight, coming on four close range makes. Parkland went into the halftime break leading 21-19, but could have had more, if not for three missed layups. Coming out in the third quarter, Parkland’s pressure defense turned it up a notch and turned Easton over four times in the first two minutes. Siggins, McGalla, and Delaney Chilcote all hit once from downtown, and a Cole bucket was the only scoring of the quarter for the Rovers. When the dust settled, it was a 15-2 quarter and the Trojans were up 36-21. Parkland kept the pressure on and turned Easton over 23 times on the game. Limiting the Rovers to nine points in the second half and coming away with the semifinal victory. “We saw each other very well tonight,” said Madi Siggins, commenting on her team’s offensive gameplan. When asked about the defensive keys to turning Easton over, she said “Overcommunication and pressuring the ball. Getting them on their toes a little more. I can’t wait to play for the championship game just to be able to do it with my teammates.”
Emmaus 59, Liberty 56
Rarely has the ‘tale of two halves’ trope been so incredibly accurate for a game. Emmaus got out to an 8-0 lead against Liberty’s man-to-man defense. Mya Cooper got things going less than a minute into the action with a layup, and Cassie Doemling cleaned up on the boards with two putbacks and a couple free throws. Kayla Snyder and Gabby DeVita kicked in a 3-pointer each and it was 20-9 after a quarter. The Hurricanes switched to a zone in the second quarter, but the Hornets’ domination continued. As they forced 12 turnovers. Snyder and DeVita hit from downtown again and Emmaus cruised to a 35-14 halftime lead. Liberty came out of the locker room hot in the third quarter. Ava Kopetskie, who was taken out of the equation in the first half with just two points, scored seven in the quarter, while Emma Pukszyn and Ruby Miller eached added four. Liberty scored more field goals(six) in the third quarter than they did in the first half(five). Liberty took much better care of the ball and had no turnovers in the quarter. After three, the deficit was cut to 41-34. Kopetskie kept her team on her back into the fourth quarter, as the comeback attempt intensified. It was still a seven point Emmaus advantage with 1:20 to go, but that was quickly cut to three. Kopetskie had a chance at the game-tying triple that would’ve sent the two teams to their second overtime game of the season, but Mya Cooper was able to alter the shot as time expired, allowing Emmaus to hold on. Kayla Snyder scored a career high 22 points, including going 9/11 from the charity stripe. When asked about Snyder’s performance, Kelsey Gallagher had this to say: ““Kayla’s been great for us. She’s been our floor general and our point guard. She breaks presses and she’s able to get us into our offense. She also plays with a lot of composure and you don’t see that out of freshmen very often. Kayla was huge for us.”
Colonial League Semifinals
Northwestern Lehigh 29, Palmerton 37
With an extra day of rest following a snow day and the moving of this game from Catasauqua to Whitehall, Palmerton showed they were once again ready to play anybody, anywhere, anytime. The Blue Bombers cruised to a 10-2 first quarter lead, with six points by Megan Matsko and four from Courtney Connell. Shooting remained at a premium in the second stanza, with Emma Freeman providing a spark for Northwestern Lehigh on her 3-pointer. Palmerton played a physical game once again, and was able to draw 18 trips to the foul line, where they made 10 of their free throws. The difference was made there, as Northwestern was 0/3 on the game. Matsko would go on to lead all scorers with 10 points. Courtney Connell finished with eight. Emma Freeman added two more long shots in the second half to finish with nine, but Cara Thomas and Brook Balliet were held to seven in defeat.
Pen Argyl 43, Notre Dame Green Pond 51
Pen Argyl rode a 15 game winning streak into their semifinal matchup with Notre Dame Green Pond. The Green Knights had defeated the Crusaders just 11 days prior, though NDGP was not at full strength for that game. The Crusaders came prepared for Colonial League MVP Ellie Wallbillich this time. In the last meeting, she scored 27, but this time around, she was limited to four points by halftime. Green Pond got major bench production in that half, with two triples by Brenna Hammerstone and one from Ava Shonk. Trailing 25-19 at the half, Pen Argyl was able to get within one by the end of the third. Wallbillich scored six in the third, while defensively, they held the Crusaders to just seven points. However, Notre Dame finished strong on the back of their free throw shooting. In the final quarter, NDGP was 12/19. Olvia Schweitzer finished the game with 10 points, despite scoring just once from the field. She was matched by teammate Carly Campbell. In the loss, Wallbillich finished with 15, as did Julia Vargo.
THURSDAY 2/15
EPC Championship
Emmaus 35, Parkland 55
Parkland’s defense that had allowed 29 points per game in the first two games of the tournament was right on cue once again. One of Ed Ohlson Sr.’s points of emphasis for the game was to not leave Kayla Snyder unguarded in the corner for any long balls. “We don’t want to leave her lonely,” he stated before the game. After her 22 point career high night against Liberty, the Trojans were able to shut her down. Meanwhile, Kelsey Gallagher knew that Madi Siggins and Talia Zurinskas combined for 37 in the teams’ last meeting, a 60-52 Parkland victory. The plan for Emmaus was to limit those two and make Parkland’s other athletes win the game. This time around, Siggins and Zurinskas combined for 39. The Trojans, with their speed and transition game, were able to do to the Hornets what they also did to Easton. After turning the Rovers over 23 times, they forced Emmaus into 19 turnovers. And after holding Easton to nine second half points, Emmaus scored just 13 in the second half. Meanwhile, Parkland went 16/17 from the charity striple in the second half and shot 5/12 from the field.Kayla Snyder kept to six points on the night, while Cassie Doemling led the Hornets with 12. Talia Zurinskas commented on keys to victory and her team’s chemistry: “I like this group a lot. We’re close knit. I knew they[Emmaus] were going to be overaggressive on me and Madi; that was going to leave the lane wide open, so that’s what I tried to attack early on and get some easy points.”
She continued on her relationship with Madi Siggins. “We’ve played since six years old, so we’ve always been super close and always had that connection throughout our entire lives on and off the court, so I think it translated tonight.”
Coach Ohlson had this to say on his team’s second half: “I think we just played a little bit better. We made an adjustment at halftime. I think we were giving them a downhill run to the basket. We brought it back in a little bit.” He continued on the title win: “It’s huge for them. First time doing it in a long time and they worked really hard to get it.”
On limiting Kayla Snyder: “It was huge. I thought Talia especially did a great job controlling where she was and making sure we wee on top of that the whole time.” On his team’s defensive effort: “We’re getting better and better. Our communication is unbelievable.” He remarked of Siggins: “she came in as a high-energy kid with some good skills and she just continues to refine it as she goes on. East Stroudsburg University is getting a really special player, because she’s not just great on the court, she’s fantastic off the court. She organizes everything for these girls.” When coach Ohlson was asked about the free throw shooting by his team, he noted that at practice, girls don’t go home until they make seven in a row.
FRIDAY 2/16
Colonial League Championship
Notre Dame Green Pond 20, Palmerton 34
The Crusaders and Blue Bombers played a very physical, defensive title game at Freedom High School. What looked like football at times translated to a combined 41 attempts at the free throw line and resulted in both Ava Shonk and Emily Lessig fouling out, while Courtney Connell and Megan Matsko had four fouls a piece.
Sydney Frantz got the scoring started with 4:22 left in the opening quarter on a layup. She was answered by Emily Lessig just over a minute later at the other end. Olivia Schweitzer hit a wing 3 with 1:10 left to put NDGP up 6-2 after one.
Frantz and Hannah Barry were key in the second quarter, hitting two triples a minute apart in the middle portion. Free throws from Megan Matsko and Barry put Palmerton up 12-10 at the half.
The third quarter saw the Bombers take over for good, outscoring the Crusaders 13-4. Seven of those points came at the charity stripe, while Barry hit from the field late in the quarter. Lessig and Schweitzer were the only two to score in the third frame for the Crusaders.
The Bombers put the game away at the line, shooting 5/8 in the fourth quarter, while Notre Dame was just 7/16 for the game. Skyler Howlett was held scoreless, along with Sarah Zambo and other typical contributors like Emma Hammerstone and Ava Shonk. The championship was the first conference title for Palmerton since 1998, their first in 26 years.
When asked about her team’s performance, Frantz had this to say: “Our defense was pretty strong, but offense not too strong. We definitely showed up in the third quarter and definitely executed very well.” On winning the first league title in 26 years: “It doesn’t feel real, honestly. But I’m just super proud and excited. She also added, in regards to the low-scoring defensive play, “We need more movement of the ball and seeing who’s really open and patience to get an open shot.”
DXI PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
Class A
2/28
#4 Nativity BVM @ #1 Mountain View, 7:00
#3 Susquehanna Community v #2 Bethlehem Christian; TBD
Class AA
2/23
#7 Panther Valley v #2 Minersville; Martz Hall 5:00
#6 Lincoln Leadership Academy v #3 Schuylkill Haven; Blue Mountain 8:00
#5 Williams Valley v #4 Northern Lehigh; Blue Mountain 6:30
2/27
#1 Marian Catholic v WV/NWL; TBD
Class AAA
2/23
#5 Executive Education v #4 Catasauqua, Whitehall 5:00
2/27
#3 Pen Argyl v #2 Notre Dame Green Pond; TBD
#1 Palmerton v EE/Catty; TBD
Class AAAA
2/21
#6 Lehighton v #3 Allentown Central Catholic; Catasauqua 8:00
#5 Tamaqua v #4 Northwestern Lehigh; Catasauqua 6:30
2/24
#2 North Schuylkill v LEH/ACC; Blue Mountain 1:00
#1 Blue Mountain v TAM/NWL; Martz Hall 1:00
Class AAAAA
2/28
#4 East Stroudsburg South v Bethlehem Catholic; TBD
#3 Whitehall v #2 Bangor; TBD
Class AAAAAA
2/23
#8 Stroudsburg @ #1 Parkland; William Allen 6:00
#7 Dieruff @ #2 Easton; Whitehall 8:00
#6 Liberty @ #3 Nazareth; Whitehall 6:30
#5 Emmaus @ #4 Pocono Mountain West; Pleasant Valley 6:00
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: Kendra Morgan
EPC: Lianna Cole
LSV Sports 
Leave a comment