POSTSEASON AWARDS
EPC Player of the Year: Evalyse Cole, Easton
Colonial League Player of the Year: Ellie Wallbillich, Pen Argyl
EPC Coach of the Year: Ed Ohlson Sr., Parkland
Colonial League Coach of the Year: Jeremy Coleman, Palmerton
EPC Rookie of the Year: Kayla Snyder, Emmaus
Colonial League Rookie of the Year: Luna Lopez, Moravian Academy
WEDNESDAY 2/21
#4 Northwestern Lehigh 47, #5 Tamaqua 29
The DXI 4A bracket opened with a battle between two very hungry teams. Northwestern Lehigh, in the Colonial League tournament, was coming off a big overtime victory over Northern Lehigh and then being held to 29 points against Palmerton, losing in the semifinals. Tamaqua was coming off a very impressive run in the Schuylkill League. The Blue Raiders first won a tiebreaker game 39-31 against Panther Valley to get into the league quarterfinals. From there, they upset Minersville 48-42, handing the Miners just their fourth loss of the year, before finally falling in the semifinals to North Schuylkill by five.
The two teams seemed evenly matched at first. Tamaqua led 10-8 after one. Emma Freeman made an early deep shot and both Brook Balliet and Cara Thomas scored in the paint. After that, the Tigers began to take over. Thomas got inside for three more buckets and hit a 3-pointer. Emma Freeman added another from outside. By halftime, it was 22-16. Northwestern completely took over from there, dominating the Blue Raiders 15-1 in the third quarter and ultimately winning comfortably. Perhaps what was most impressive was the Tigers’ defensive effort. Lauren Ligenza averaged 10 points per game and was held scoreless from the field, sinking 4 of 10 from the charity stripe. Sarah Hope was limited to just one made field goal and did not convert any of her three free throw shots. As a team, the Blue Bombers didn’t hit a 3-pointer and went just 11/28(39%) at the foul line. Conversely, the Tigers hit six times from beyond the arc and converted 10 of 18 free throws in the victory.
#3 Allentown Central Catholic 61, #6 Lehighton 32
Many across the Lehigh Valley would have expected Central Catholic to defeat Lehighton in the first round of districts. However, it’s doubtful anyone expected them to come out just as purely dominant as they did. Coach Kathy Davidowich before the game had noted that her team seemed to be gelling again with the return of Molly Driscoll after learning to play without her for half of the season. Despite this, the Vikettes entered the game losing three of their last four. Central came out in this game with something to prove to themselves. Armani Brickhouse quickly hit twice from beyond the arc, while Driscoll got inside twice for athletic jumpers over her defenders. The Vikettes swarmed on defense, turning the Indians over a handful of times. By the end of the opening quarter, it was 18-1 ACC. That lead would balloon to 26-1 in the second, with Driscoll hitting from 3-point land and the team making five of eight free throws. Off the bench for Lehighton, Morgan Costenbader finally broke the drought with her triple from the top of the key with 3:20 to play In the half. One of the Indians’ two stars in Emma Repsher began to find her groove and scored twice, but by halftime, the Indians stared down a 32-10 deficit. The Indians shot 3/20 in the first half, while the Vikettes were 12/22. Repsher added eight points in the second half, but it was far too late to make any significant dent. The closest Lehighton came was 36-18. Driscoll finished the night with 17 points, while Sammy Rother added 13 and Armani Brickhouse had 11. Coach Davidowich was very pleased with her team’s complete effort: “I felt like tonight we were back. Everyone was in sync this week. We had this week to work together, have that time off and use the practice time. I think defensively today, the press got us going. I think the last couple games of execution that we’ve been struggling with—tonight I thought we executed very well—good communication among them and they just seemed to be in sync.” She continued, commenting on the importance of the district tournament following struggles down the stretch and in the EPC tournament, “It’s a whole new season. Districts is what gets you into the state playoffs, so let’s regroup and look forward to where we need to go and that’s what we did this past week. When you’re getting seven points and seven points from other people(besides Molly), that’s what I need—balanced scoring.”
Driscoll had similar feelings, adding, “the effort was all around pretty balanced. We definitely had to refocus, but with this group of seniors, knowing that every single game could be our last game together, just makes us want to win even more and puts the focus at an all-time high. We play our best when we get everyone going and contributing in one way or another. When we focus on what we’re good at, [when] we all contribute to scoring, we all look for each other for open passes, we’re very hard to beat.”
FRIDAY 2/23
#5 Executive Education 36, #4 Catasauqua 47
Catasauqua’s season opened with a 44-36 come from behind victory against Executive Education on a neutral court at Tamaqua. In that game, the Raptors built an 18-1 lead but could only score 16 the rest of the way. It was a bit of déjà vu in the rematch and this time it have Catasauqua its first district playoff victory in 16 years.
Executive quickly marched out to a 7-0 lead, started off with an inside bucket from Neoshe Perez at the 7:00 mark. Tiana Carey scored from beyond the arc at the 4:47 mark and Executive seemed to be off to the races. Delaney Troxell broke the ice for the Rough Riders with 4:00 left in the quarter, scoring in the paint. The first half stayed fairly even, as both teams turned the ball over in transition and played a very physical match. By the end of the night, the teams would combine for 41 fouls, sending Catasauqua to the line 27 times, and resulting in three Raptors fouling out. Early on, Executive also had a significant advantage on the offensive glass, snagging numerous second chance opportunities, but converting few. Speaking of converting few, Catasauqua did not help themselves either in the first half, making just two of their ten free throws.
That all changed in the second half for coach Mike Seremula’s team, as they’d outscore Executive 30-16 and take home the win. The turning point came with just four seconds left in the third quarter when Olivia Bear connected from the far corner on a three, putting the Rough Riders up 29-28.
Coach Mike Seremula took a lot of positives away from his team’s win: “We missed free throws in the first half, but that shot by Bear at the end of the third quarter was huge and the two jump shots in the fourth from the short corner by Delaney and Olivia—big shots. I told Haley when she was on the line, we all knew she missed a bunch, I looked her in the eyes and said ‘big players make big shots when it matters’ and that’s what she did. I challenged Sophia Becker at halftime. I said you’ve got two points—we need something from you, and she finished the game with 12 points, that’s why she was 2nd team all-league.
Haley Jenkins talked about her game and recomposing herself for key free throws in the second half: “In the first half, I was missing a lot of free throws. I was getting frustrated. Second half I had to focus on my free throws and I think all of our free throws at the end helped us win.” When asked if she felt any pressure in the game, she said, “I don’t get bothered by the pressure because I have so much support by my teammates and my coaches. We have a lot of chemistry on and off the court and I think that helps us when it comes to games.”
On falling behind early and coming back: “I don’t think we were worried. We were just stressed before this game and really wanted this win because all of our varsity players are basically seniors so that could’ve been their last game.”
#6 Liberty 43, #3 Nazareth 35
Ava Kopetsie in recent games has either willed or nearly willed her team to victory and put her team squarely on her back. In the teams’ most recent meeting to end the regular season, she was did not play in the overtime Hurricane victory, so she was eager to make her mark in districts.
Both teams started off patiently, feeling each other out and going scoreless over the first three minutes. Peyton Long got Nazareth on the board first with a layup and was answered less than a minute later by Iysis Nickens. Kopetskie and Sam Baker traded triples and the first quarter ended with Liberty up 7-6.
Alexa Davis and Renee Wells each hit from downtown in the second quarter to put the Blue Eagles on top 16-14 at halftime. Liberty began to light it up in the third quarter, as Kopetskie hit from range with six minutes to play. Emma Pukszyn, who was scoreless in the first half, scored four in the quarter and 10 in the second half, providing Liberty with more balanced scoring. The defense also came alive, holding Nazareth to four field goals in the second half and turning them over 18 times on the game.
“Our defense was amazing. Our full court pressure was really good. We were able to get stops and get boards on the defensive and offensive end getting easy shots. I think we just realize we have to turn it on and we’re playing win or go home so I think just the energy and the drive to win fuels us. Emma played amazing. Her defense was awesome. She was everywhere getting steals, getting deflections, making easy baskets, making great passes.
#7 Dieruff 21, #2 Easton 60
While the Huskies were not able to upset powerhouse Easton on, they were able to accomplish quite a bit this year. Coach Cathy Piston and her girls qualified for districts for the first time in 23 years, galvanizing a student body and Allentown fanbase that was vocal to the very end Friday night. Even better for Dieruff is that they will only lose one senior in Brianna McKelvey next season, so odds are this year was not just lightning in a bottle, but moreso a showing of things to come.
The night ultimately belonged to the Red Rovers, however, as they got their district run started in a big way. Evalyse Cole hit from beyond the arc three times in the opening quarter, and it was immediately apparent that Easton was going to shoot the long ball often. Megan Elias also hit from range and the Red Rovers were off and running. Imposing their will all night long, Easton shot 10/29 from 3, racked up 15 offensive rebounds, and turned Dieruff over 26 times. Bright spots for Dieruff included a Jada Culbreath 3 in the second quarter and another from McKelvey late in the third.
Other games Friday
- Northern Lehigh used an 18-5 fourth quarter to pull away from Williams Valley for a 53-35 victory. Aubrey Pollard led the way with 17 points, 17 boards, four assists, and four steals. Katelyn Barthold had 15 points. Tegan Simms scored eight in the first half, hitting twice from beyond the arc. Williams Valley in the loss hit eight 3-pointers, but only mustered 13 points in the second half. Mallory Miller led Williams Valley with 11 points.
- Kelsey Gallagher’s Green Hornets went up on the mountain and brought back a 45-43 victory at Pocono Mountain West. Despite giving up 20 points to Anai’sah Malone, trailing by four entering the fourth quarter, and going 13/22 on free throws, Emmaus found ways to win another close contest. Taylor Griffith hit from range down the stretch, while Kayla Snyder and Mya Cooper combined to go 6/8 at the line in the fourth quarter. The victory earns Emmaus a fourth meeting with archrival Parkland. Read more about this game at EmmausSports.com
- Parkland opened up strong in district play, tuning up with a 54-28 victory over Stroudsburg. By halftime, this one was 40-9. Both Madi Siggins and Talia Zurinskas scored 12, with Delaney Chilcote adding nine. Aneri McGalla also had seven first half points. The Strunk sisters combined to score 26 of Stroudsburg’s 28 points in defeat.
SATURDAY 2/24
- The last time Central Catholic and Blue Mountain met, the Vikettes won a hard-fought 52-44 game and Molly Driscoll scored 26. This time, the recent theme of balanced scoring remained true for Central as they continued their tear through Schuylkill League opposition. The Spartans found themselves on the short end of a 51-33 final score. Driscoll scored 16, with 14 of those coming in the second half. Sammy Roth provided a spark out of the gate with eight in the first quarter and 11 on the afternoon. Abbey Kofroth and Armani Brickhouse spread their contributions across all four quarters, finishing with ten and eight respectively.
- Northwestern Lehigh saw an 11 point third quarter lead slip from their hands against a game, physical Blue Mountain squad. Playing without Hannah Gober, the Tigers struggled on the boards, allowing 14 offensive rebounds to go back to the Eagles. Further compounding issues was Olivia Reinhart picking up her third and fourth fouls in the first minute of the third quarter. Despite that, Northwestern led 36-25 late in the quarter. However, 11 fourth quarter turnovers would allow Blue Mountain to take the lead late and hold on at the free throw line. Cara Thomas earned her 1,000th career point on a free throw in the third quarter, becoming the first Northwestern Lehigh female athlete to reach the mark. The Blue Mountain comeback effort was led by senior Kylie Conway, who scored 10 of her 14 points in the second half, and Makayla Keck, scoring 10 of her 15 also in the second half. Struggling early from the charity stripe, Blue Mountain closed out 10/13 on their free throws in the fourth quarter to advance to the DXI 4A title game where they will meet Central Catholic Wednesday night. Northwestern Lehigh will face North Schuylkill in a consolation game, with the winner advancing to states.
DXI PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
Class A
2/28
#4 Nativity BVM @ #1 Mountain View, 5:30
#3 Susquehanna Community v #2 Bethlehem Christian; Northern Lehigh 7:00
Class AA
2/27
#1 Marian Catholic v Northern Lehigh; Martz Hall 6:00
#3 Schuylkill Haven v #2 Minersville; Blue Mountain 7:00
Class AAA
2/27
#3 Pen Argyl v #2 Notre Dame Green Pond; Easton 7:30
#1 Palmerton v #4 Catasauqua; Pleasant Valley 6:00
Class AAAA
2/28
#1 Blue Mountain v #3 Central Catholic; Martz Hall 6:00
#2 North Schuylkill v #4 Northwestern Lehigh; Blue Mountain 6:00
Class AAAAA
2/28
#4 East Stroudsburg South v Bethlehem Catholic; Easton 7:30
#3 Whitehall v #2 Bangor; Easton 6:00
Class AAAAAA
2/27
#2 Easton v #6 Liberty; Allen 6:00
#5 Emmaus v #1 Parkland; Allen 7:30
LSV Sports 
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