Monday, 12/30:
Imhotep Charter 42, Bethlehem Catholic 29
It was a tough night for the Lady Hawks on their home court Monday night. Without Aliyah Brame, out due to injury, the Imhotep Charter Panthers took full advantage of facing a younger Hawks squad.
Geren Hawthorne got the Panthers scoring going in earnest, sinking a 3-ball with 6:10 to go in the first quarter. Imhotep Charter built a 10-1 lead, forcing eight Hawks turnovers. Bethlehem Catholic was under constant pressure in the paint and ended up going 0/3 from range in the first, as well. Mikaila Brooks provided the Hawks lone field goal in the first quarter on an athletic hook shot.
Turnabout was fair play in the second quarter, as Imhotep was held to just four points. Ashlee Boykin hit one from beyond the arc, but the Hawks turned up their intensity and forced nine turnovers. Brooks turned three of those into buckets, as she got hot in the second quarter and had eight points by halftime. At the break, Bethlehem Catholic had cut the score to 14-12 in a physical, tight contest.
However, the offense sputtered again in the third for Beca. Brooks had the only points once again, as Imhotep outscored the Hawks 13-2 and led 27-14. A Calista Gaymon trey capped the scoring in the quarter.
Sabrie Mann closed the door midway through the fourth quarter when she hit a wide open corner 3. She then followed it up with a steal and layup for five straight points, pushing the lead to 36-20.
Mikaila Brooks finished her night with 13 points and Makayla Britt scored six of her seven in the fourth, but it was not enough as the Hawks fell to 6-4 against a brutal schedule.
Other notes from Monday:
- In a very intriguing non-conference matchup, Tamaqua got by Dieruff 41-31. Lauren Ligenza had a double-double, scoring 19 points and racking up 11 boards. Kendle Miller also added 8 rebounds. Jayla Rosario scored 10 for the Huskies, but Tamaqua was able to take an early 10-2 lead and hold the lead from there. Tamaqua improves to 9-1 to keep pace in a very top-heavy District XI 4A field. The loss marked Dieruff’s third in a row.
- The Lady Mounties defeated Pen Argyl 53-34 in a non-conference matchup. Stroudsburg drained 9 three-pointers in the game. McKayla Strunk led the way with a game-high 22 points, while Emily Bozena contributed 18 points in the victory. For Pen Argyl, Julia Vargo had a team high 13 points. Stroudsburg improved to 7-3 on the season, while Pen Argyl fell to 9-2.
- Blue Mountain dropped a non-conference matchup against Middletown 50-12. Journee Stover scored ten, while Jayla Koser led her team with 16.
Friday 1/3:
Northwestern Lehigh 55, Notre Dame Green Pond 35(PHOTO GALLERY)
The battle of two unbeaten Colonial League foes went the way of the Tigers Friday night. Stifling defense and 3-point shooting were too much for the Crusaders, as the Tigers clinched a District XI playoff berth in style.
The Tigers held the Crusaders scoreless late into the first quarter, jumping out to an 8-0 lead. Brook Balliet sparked the early run with a three from the near corner with 4:52 to play. Emily Lessig scored the first points of the night for the Crusaders with 2:08 left, earning a three point play opportunity and converting the free throw. Green Pond turned it over six times in the early going, but was able to cut the deficit to 11-8 after one as Lessig and Ava Shonk both scored in the final minute of the quarter.
Lessig scored the opening bucket of the second, pulling Notre Dame within 11-10, but the Crusaders would never lead. The Tigers took over from there and went on an 18-4 run to close the half. The Crusaders turned the ball over 11 times in the first half, while Northwestern Lehigh only lost four possessions on turnovers.
The second half saw some significant fight from Notre Dame. An intense game picked up to a fever pitch as Brenna Hammerstone sank two long balls and Ava Shonk added another. But the physicality for the Crusaders put the Tigers on the line six times in the quarter. Freshman Natalie Conner hit on all three free throws of an old-school three-point play, along with five more points in the third.
Cara Thomas would go on to finish her night with 17 points, with Conner snagging 15. Northwestern Lehigh took care of the ball most of the night, turning it over just 12 times. The Tigers shot 6/11 from range and converted on 13 of 22 free throw opportunities.
Northwestern Lehigh head coach Chris Deutsch talked at extensive length about his team’s performance and the season so far: “I didn’t know what to expect. After the Pottsville game, we had 11 games and 17 practices. It was nice to get five practices in over the break. I thought, considering we hadn’t played since the 23rd, we came out with good energy, especially on the defensive end. I thought our bench was productive.”
On Natalie Conner taking, and making, some tough shots: “Sometimes she makes it look easy. Some of those shots she hits are not easy, but she makes them look easy.”
On Cara Thomas’ performance, Deutsch added, “She’s really good in our pressure defense. She’s the anchor of that.” – on Cara Thomas.
He talked about the game plan against Notre Dame: “We were trying to take away their three point shooting. The concern going into tonight was their size–they’re a little taller than us. I thought we did a good job on the boards competing.” Last year when we played them, we had 25 turnovers. I thought we took better care of the ball. Last year, we don’t even get shots off when we turn it over 25 times, and being able to take better care of the ball is the best thing for our defense.”
On qualifying for districts: “I forgot to tell the girls, with the win tonight, we qualified for districts. To qualify halfway through the season is a great accomplishment.”
Natalie Conner talked about her performance: “We did a really good job defensively, just hustling with our press.”
“I really work on those[tough shots], because I know those are the hardest shots to make in a game. If I practice that, then I feel super comfortable taking those shots as long as my team’s confidence in me and coach’s confidence in me to take those shots, because they trust me taking them.”
She added of Cara Thomas, “She really helps me out. I think we work really well together. She can drive, and then if she needs to kick to me, I’m right there for her and I can do the same thing as well. She’s just a really good person.”
Other notes from Friday:
- Central Catholic got by Pocono Mountain West 37-30 behind a 15 point day from Milly Wolf. Despite making just eight shots from the field on the entire game, the Vikettes shot 20/32 from the free throw line, including 8/12 in the fourth quarter. Jodi Bowen led the Panthers with 13 points. PM West made just three of thirteen free throws.
- Bethlehem Catholic returned to form, sinking nine treys in a 61-29 victory over Freedom. Mikaila Brooks scored 14, while Palin Coleman added 12 and Daviana Jones hit double figures with 10. A 19-13 first quarter lead turned to a 40-18 halftime blowout for the Hawks, as six of those triples went down in the first half.
- Julia Vargo continued to impress for Pen Argyl, scoring 17, as the Green Knights dominated Catasauqua 48-23. Vargo hit five shots from the field and was 7/8 from the charity stripe. Grace Weaver poured in 11 more to help move the team to 10-2 and one win away from clinching a district playoff berth. The big win came despite no 3-pointers made–instead, Pen Argyl hit 17 2-pointers and was 14/25 from the line.
- Parkland rebounded off a tournament final loss to Abington Heights by beating up on East Stroudsburg South 51-8. Twelve Troians made it into the scoring column and none reached double figures, being led by eight from Delaney Chilcote. The win moved Parkland to 9-3 before they face fellow powerhouse and rival Emmaus on Tuesday night.
- Ava Kopetskie dropped 20 points in a 42-32 Liberty victory over Easton. The loss was Easton’s second in a row during a very difficult stretch on their schedule. Tulsa Sobrinski sank three 3-pointers and Kopetskie added two more. Anijah Davis also added nine points. The win for the Hurricanes snapped a two game losing streak.
- Emmaus traveled to Stroudsburg, coming away with a 56-24 victory. The Hornets were without the services of Kayla Snyder, but Gabby DeVita led all scorers with 15 points. Cassie Doemling added 12. The team also got its usual, and significant, contributions from Sylvia Sokolofski, Sofie Laird, and Olive Whitney. The Hornets hit 6 3-pointers and made 10/12 free throws. Stroudsburg’s McKayla and Teagan Strunk were held to a combined 11 points.
- Three players scored in double figures for Tamaqua in a 50-33 win over Executive Education. Millie Black led the team with 12 and Lauren Ligenza and Kendle Miller eached scored ten. An 18-5 fourth quarter put the finishing touches on what had been a four point contest. Kolbe Robb had nine steals and five assists to go along with her eight points. Tamaqua has now run its win streak to eight.
- Tegan Simms set a new career high, as the sophomore amassed 30 points in Northern Lehigh’s 62-21 win over Lehighton. Katelyn Barthold scored her 1,000th point in the game as well and finished with 18 points. Dekota Barthold also added ten points.
- Dieruff snapped a three game skid, blasting Pleasant Valley 61-9. The Huskies knocked down 28 field goals, including 25 2-pointers, as ten different players scored. Jayla Rosario scored ten, leading her team, and was followed closely by Justyce McChristian and her nine points.
- Renee Wells had a 24 point effort in Nazareth’s 59-34 defeat of Northampton. Wells knocked down six shots from beyond the arc, while Karly Leszcynski hit three. The Blue Eagles sank 11 3-pointers in total, as the barrage buried the Konkrete Kids by halftime. Peyton Long also had a ten point effort.
- Southern Lehigh picked up their second win of the year, cruising by Salisbury 47-25. Eliana Marques notched a career high 23 points. The sophomore hit four shots from deep, all in the fourth quarter, blowing a six point game wide open.
- William Allen picked up its fifth win of the season, defeating East Stroudsburg North 66-27. Arianna Rosario led all scorers with a 19 point effort, including hitting 3 shots from deep. Kaley Martin had two triples as part of her 15 points.
Saturday, 1/4:
- Bangor evened its record at 5-5 and kept Palisades winless via a 45-31 win. Avery Nelson continued her role as the high-scoring producer for the Slaters, securing a 24 point game and banging home three triples. The win marked three in four games for the Slaters, as they look to keep pace with Bethlehem Catholic in the 5A playoff field.
- Three players hit double figures as Easton rallied for a 60-57 much needed win over Trinity. Kourin Carew led all scorers with 18 points, and Natalie Amato trailed closely with 16(8/8 FTs). Lianna Cole added 11. The Red Rovers overcame a 20 point effort by Abby Stair, as the Shamrocks saw a three point halftime lead slip away. View the PHOTO GALLERY for this game.
- Northampton enjoyed seeing a team other than Nazareth, defeating Blue Mountain 45-31. Anne Beenders was on top of her game, scoring 21 to lead all players. Jenna Raysley had a 12 point effort. The Konkrete Kids opened up a 26-10 halftime lead and never looked back, improving their record to 6-6 in the ultra-competitive 6A field.
- In a battle of teams atop the EPC, Parkland surpassed Nazareth in a tightly-contested 37-32 affair. Delaney Chilcote put up 14 points, while Aneri McGalla and Sarah Car each added eight. The team were tied at halftime and after three quarters, coming down to the wire.
- Only four Liberty players scored, but all were in double figures, as the Hurricanes slipped by Gwynedd Mercy Academy 54-52 for a key non-conference victory. Tulsa Sobrinski(16), Kendall Medina(14), Ava Kopetskie(14), and Anijah Davis(10) combined for 11 3-pointers. Kopetskie was 8/10 from the charity stripe. The Hurricanes hung on, despite leading 25-17 after a quarter and by ten at the break. A furious rally by the Monarchs, spurred on by Bailey Balkir’s ten fourth quarter points came up just short.
Sunday, 1/5:
- Bethlehem Catholic fell to Neumann-Goretti 60-49 in the Jefferson College Blue Star Showcase. Palin Coleman impressed again with 18 points, while Leah Ault added 14 and Kendall Nickisher had 12. The Hawks only trailed 24-21 at the half, but the Saints put up 24 in the third. Sophomore Reggina Baker had a 22 point day and Carryn Easley contributed 16.
LSV Sports 
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