Accolades and Milestones:
We want to give a big shoutout to a few players who reached some program milestones before we get into this week’s edition.
Congratulations to Natalie Vermillion from Panther Valley! She recently set a school record by making nine three pointers in a game against Notre Dame East Stroudsburg. She also eclipsed the 100 three pointers in a career mark agaInst Salisbury.
Congratulations to Cara Thomas on becoming the all-time leading scorer in Northwestern Lehigh program history! She surpassed Paige Sevrain and as of January 10 has scored 1,302 points in her career!
Congratulations again to Avery Nelson! She becomes the all-time 3-point leader in Bangor history, now with 172 made triples in her career!
Monday, 1/6:
Notre Dame Green Pond 40, Palmerton 37(Photo Gallery)
Coming off a 20 point loss to Northwestern Lehigh on Friday, the Crusaders found themselves right back in a key Colinial League contest and in need of a big win.
“I give our kids a tremendous amount of credit. I’m just really excited we were able to win a close game, one where we maintained a lead; we had to fight back and got some key contributions from people late in the game.”
After some early rust was shaken off, Ava Shonk and Cate Morgan exchanged 3-balls to open the scoring, scoring within 20 seconds of each other. Physicality matched the up-tempo nature of the game, and both Morgan and Lessig drew and-one opportunities. Ava Shonk got inside to close out scoring in the first quarter with a sweet hook shot moving away from the basket. After eight minutes, the Blue Bombers led 9-8.
Palmerton kept momentum going in the second quarter. After an Ava Hobbie missed corner three, Ella Baumgardt took it the distance, finishing and drawing a foul. She did not convert, but her team held an 11-10 lead midway through the second quarter. Just prior to that, the teams combined to turn the ball over four times, prompting a timeout by Josh Kopp and the Crusaders to reset the pace of the game and rally his troops.
Out of that timeout, the Crusaders went on a 7-2 run, taking their second largest lead of the night when Emily Lessig drove in the lane for a made basket.
Palmerton fired back with help from some Crusaders fouls. Courtney Connell went 4/4 from the charity stripe in the corner and the final scoring of the quarter came when Addison Ryan hit a wing three from the left side, keeping Notre Dame on top 22-21 at the half.
The third quarter saw the Crusaders start on a 6-2 run, running their lead to five points. Lessig capped that run by moving right down the lane and laying one in.
Courtney Connell scored the final four of the half for Palmerton, keeping the Bombers within 31-29. She cleaned up a Baumgardt miss at the third quarter buzzer, providing some momentum entering the final eight minutes.
The razor-thin margin would disappear in the fourth quarter. The Crusaders held a 33-29 lead through the first five minutes of the fourth, but Palmerton was not through. Ella Baumgardt got in the paint and drew a foul with 2:57 to go, cutting the lead to 33-32. Cate Morgan then hit from the corner off an inbounds play, giving Palmerton a momentary 37-34 lead. Lessig responded at the other end with a long ball, tying the game at 37 with 1:16 to play in regulation.
Lessig hit with :19.5 left in regulation, putting Notre Dame up 39-37. On the ensuing possession, she was able to steal the ball away under her own basket and drew an immediate foul. She made one of two free throws. On the miss, Sarah Zambo got the rebound and was fouled. She missed both shots, but Palmerton was left with two tenths of a second left.
“It was the type of game I wanted to see from our team where we have multiple contributions and multiple people contributing to our success.”
“In a close game like this, every possession matters. There’s been some moments where we’ve been too careless and reckless with the ball and that showed tonight, but we persevered through it. That, hopefully, will be something that propels us moving forward,” added Kopp.
“[Emily Lessig] is asked to do so much…she wants to win. She wants to lead by example and by performance and she did a tremendous job defensively and hitting some key shots.”
Lessig commented on the game winner: “It was tight the whole way and I wasn’t thinking much during the shot, just kind of went up with it and it was really good to get the win tonight.”
Other notes from Monday:
- Bangor used a 22-4 second half, including a third quarter shutout, to defeat Jim Thorpe 54-26. Avery Nelson amassed a 20 point night, hitting four of her team’s five shots from beyond the arc. The victory moved the Slaters to above .500 at 6-5.
- Cara Thomas and Natalie Conner had another great night, as Northwestern Lehigh beat Wilson 55-35. Strong starts from Thomas and Brook Balliet built a 19-3 first quarter lead. Both of the aforementioned scored 8 in the quarter and Conner scored all 12 of hers over the second and third. Thomas finished her night with 19. Starting on Thursday, the Tigers will play five games in seven nights. In the loss, freshman Juliana Bonham had 14 points and 13 rebounds. Kiera Hartzell-Ham pulled down 14 boards.
- Pen Argyl locked up a District XI 3A playoff berth by way of a 47-22 victory over Saucon Valley. Julia Vargo was again the sparkplug for the Green Knights, scoring 17. Sophomore Kayla Gloth hit two triples in the first quarter, helping her team get out to a 25-7 lead. Pen Argyl now faces the meat of their schedule, as they will take on Northwestern Lehigh, Palmerton, Notre Dame, and Wilson over the next week.
Tuesday, 1/7:
Emmaus 42, Parkland 36(Photo Gallery)
Any contest between the two Cedar Crest Boulevard rivals is intense. That was amplified Tuesday night, as two of the top contenders in the EPC battled at Parkland High School.
Emmaus controlled the opening tip and Sylvia Sokolofski got in the paint for the first points of the night. Delaney Chilcote showed signs of things to come for Parkland, as she responded with a runner in the lane. The first quarter was characterized by numerous turnovers on each side, 17 in total. Good defense was the cause of many. Kayla Snyder scored her only bucket of the night on a steal and finish at the other end. After one, Parkland led 8-6.
Parkland went on a run in the second quarter, venturing out to a nine point lead twice at 18-9 and 21-12. Chilcote capped the run with a triple from the left side. Olive Whitney subbed in and hit a long shot to get it back to 21-15 and with :48 left in the half, Gabby DeVita hit from the top of the arc to make the deficit three. 21-18 remained the halftime score. The slew of turnovers continued, as the teams combined for 29 at the break.
Olive Whitney spurred her team on in the opening stages of the third quarter, hitting one from straight on. She then drained an even longer trey a few steps to the left that rolled around and down to put Emmaus on top 24-21. Despite that, Parkland persisted. Sarah Car hit from range and Chilcote scored with 1:15 left in the quarter to finish off a 6-0 run. Sofie Laird stole a ball away and laid it in with :30 left to put Emmaus back within a point.
Gabby DeVita scored the first points of the fourth on another Hornets steal and finish on the other end. With seven minutes left in regulation, Emmaus was up one again in the see-saw affair.
Emmaus scored the next four, building their largest lead of the night at 32-27. Delaney Chilcote, though, determined to put her team on her back, hit from the left wing and drew the Trojans within 34-33 with 4:09 to play. Cassie Doemling hit a jumper from the right side of the basket to push the Hornets lead back to three.
With another stop and the lead, head coach Avon Mack’s team did not think about slowing the game down. Fortunately for the Hornets, they pulled down two consecutive offensive boards and Gabby DeVita was finally able to finish off the possession with a bucket to again make the lead five points.
Delaney Chilcote again responded with a long shot from the left wing and suddenly, Parkland was within 38-36 with :58.2 to play. However, Cassie Doemling got a putback on the other end and Parkland had the ball taken away. Sierra Stevens nailed both of her free throws with 22 seconds left for the final score of 42-36.
Emmaus benefited from numerous contributions, a staple of the season so far. Gabby DeVita finished with 11 points, while Cassie Doemling and Olive Whitney scored nine a piece. Emmaus got 13 points from its bench, while Parkland’s was held scoreless.
In the losing effort, Delaney Chilcote scored 17 and Sarah Car had a nice night with ten points.
Other notes from Tuesday:
- Milly Wolf continues to lead the Vikettes, scoring 15 points in Central Catholic’s 54-27 defeat of Whitehall. A slow start saw the game tied at 6 after a quarter, but a 24-5 breakout second put the game away for Central. The win gets the Vikettes to 6-6 on the season, as they have now won three of their last four. Against the Zephyrs, Morgan Seagreaves and Shamiya Roberts each scored ten and Annika Spinosa added eight, part of a balanced effort.
- Bethlehem Catholic turned a 14-12 first quarter lead into a 49-25 rout of Northampton. Palin Coleman led the Hawks with 12 points and Mikaila Brooks had another great night, throwing down ten. Over the middle two quarters, the Hawks outscored the Kids 29-6. Anne Beenders scored 13 for Northampton in the defeat.
- Callie Peel led Blue Mountain with 11 points in the Eagles’ 43-30 win over Pine Grove. The victory snaps a four game losing streak and moves Blue Mountain to 4-7.
- The Stroudsburg Lady Mounties were on fire from beyond the arc, hitting a season-high 10 three-pointers in a commanding 71-27 victory over Pleasant Valley in EPC Mountain division girls’ basketball on Tuesday night. McKayla Strunk delivered a stellar performance, scoring a career-high 33 points, connecting on six three-point field goals. Teagan Strunk added 14 points on the night. Pleasant Valley’s Peyton Shillady battled hard, scoring a team high nine points.
- Despite attempting 24 3-pointers, East Stroudsburg North fell to rival ES South 53-46. The Cavaliers trailed by five at the half, but scored 38 in the second half to pull away. Freshman Gianna DeJesus led all scorers with 19 points; 14 of those came in the second half. Krissena Huntley added 13.
- Nazareth came back from down eight to beat Easton 45-36. The Eagles trailed 14-6 after one and by three at the half before taking over in the final two quarters. Renee Wells had another great night, scoring 18 points. Alexa Davis joined her in double figures with ten. Kourin Carew led the Rovers with 11. Despite making six 3-pointers on the night, Easton was held to 16 points in the second half.
- Liberty dominated Freedom in the battle of Bethlehem rivals, 55-22. Anijah Davis scored 13 of her 17 points in the first quarter, as the Hurricanes built a 21-2 lead to open the game. Liberty sank six treys.
- Tamaqua clinched a district playoff berth, getting past Panther Valley 49-43. The Raiders built a 12 point halftime lead behind a double-double from Lauren Ligenza(17 points, 14 rebounds).
- Pocono Mountain East rolled by their West rivals 50-20. Hallie Insinga led all scorers with 19 points, making nine field goals and a free throw. Shaheem Farrah added nine points.
Wednesday, 1/8:
- Dieruff got a balanced scoring attack and numerous contributions in their 54-22 rout of Panther Valley. The Huskies held their opponent to just one field goal in the first half, racking up a 39-4 lead. Jayla Rosario led all players with 13 points. Aniyah Holder added nine; Destiny Rosa contributed seven.
- There was no letdown from Tamaqua one night after clinching a district playoff berth, surpassing winless Minersville 43-20. Lauren Ligenza led all scorers with 14. Millie Black had 10 rebounds and Kolbe Robb 6 steals.
Thursday 1/9:
- Hailey Jenkins put up another outstanding number, scoring 27 in Catasauqua’s victory over Palisades. Jenkins hit ten field goals on the night, including her team’s only 3-pointer. The win moves the Rough Riders to 3-6. Palisades continues to look for their first win of the season.
- Southern Lehigh survived a furious comeback attempt from Jim Thorpe, prevailing 32-29. The Spartans led 30-19 after three quarters and appeared well on their way to a win, but a Ryah Confer five point fourth spurred on a late rally from the Olympians. Jim Thorpe came up short at the free throw line, going just 9/21 on free chances. Samantha Fontanez led the Spartans with nine points. Piper Gluck scored eight.
- Northwestern Lehigh continues to show dominance in the Colonial League. The Tigers dispatched of Pen Argyl 72-33, throwing down 33 points in the second quarter alone. Northwestern hit ten triples, and Natalie Conner had four of those. Cara Thomas became the all-time leading scorer at the school, now standing alone with 1,279 points and many more to come this year. She had 26 on the night. In the loss, Julia Vargo scored 20.
- A strong fourth quarter lifted Palmerton past Wilson Area 44-32. Cate Morgan led all scorers with 14 points, while Ella Baumgardt scored eight and held Juliana Bonham to five points, defending one of Wilson’s best players. Abymarie Colon scored 12 for the Warriors.
Friday, 1/10:
Liberty 64, Nazareth 62(2OT) (Photo Gallery)
“It was crazy…right now, I’m literally winded still, because it was so intense. I’m happy we got the win.” Ava Kopetskie was still out of breath following her 27-point effort and Liberty’s thrilling double overtime victory over Nazareth Friday night on the road.
Alexa Davis scored all 11 points for Nazareth in the first quarter. Her first two three-balls made it 6-0 before Liberty went on a 10-0 run of their own to pull back into the contest and take a 13-9 lead. Davis scored off of an inbound play to end the quarter. After one, the Hurricanes led 13-11. Tulsa Sobrinski scored from range twice in the quarter, including a key transition shot from the corner.
Kendall Medina scored twice in the second quarter, with her runner in the lane extending Liberty’s lead to 19-16 with 4:00 left. Alexa Davis would be held scoreless in the quarter, but Peyton Long spurred along the Blue Eagles with eight points. Her layup as the half expired capped a 6-0 Blue Eagles run, putting Nazareth ahead 26-23 at the break.
The teams traded long shots in the third. After being held to four points at half, Kopetskie opened scoring in the third quarter with a top of the key 3-ball with 6:55 left, knotting the score at 26 all. Later in the quarter, Karly Lezsczynski hit from the same spot for Nazareth and Kopetskie responded with another deep shot of her own. Tula Sobrinski added her third shot from beyond the arc, but Alexa Davis hit one of her own at the buzzer. After three, Nazareth retained a 39-34 lead.
Nazareth continued to keep Liberty at bay through the middle of the fourth. Anijah Davis Anijah Davis’ jumper from the right side kept the Hurricanes with in four. She later had a nice steal and finish on the other end. With the lead cut to 40-38, Renee Wells hit her first trey of the game to make it 43-38 with 4:36 to play.
The Blue Eagles kept a 43-30 lead with 90 seconds left and had the ball. With 1:10 left, Ava Kopetskie sped into the path of a pass intended for Alexa Davis and forced the held ball. The possession arrow gave it to the Hurricanes.
On the ensuing possession, Tula Sobrinski banged home her fourth long ball of the night, tying the game with :45 to play. Nazareth got the ball back, but Wells had her shot attempt tipped away by Medina into the arms of Nayaly Torres. The home run pass to Medina and subsequent shot from the right side would not go and we were headed to overtime tied at 43.
Liberty gained further momentum in overtime, as Kopetskie and Sobrinski quickly added two triples, sandwiched around a couple of Blue Eagles free throw makes. Kopetskie went to the line late in the first extra session and hit one of her two free throws to put Liberty up 50-46 and nearly close the door for good. However, Alexa Davis would not be denied, as she hit a 3-ball with :16 left to cut the deficit to just a point. Kopetskie was again fouled and with :14.6 left, she missed the first, but made the second. Liberty was ahead 51-49.
Nazareth brought the ball up the court and Peyton Long got the ball to the Blue Eagles top playmaker in Wells. Wells, from the top of the key, drove the lane and her desperation layup went in with two seconds left, forcing double overtime.
Liberty kept the pressure on to start the next four minutes, winning the opening tip and working the ball inside to Sobrinski for the score. Kopetskie followed that up with her fourth long ball of the evening to give Liberty its first two-possession lead since the first quarter.
Sobrinski and Kopetskie continued going back and forth for Liberty. Tula nailed a 3 and Ava zipped into the lane for a quick score, moving the lead to six points with under a minute to go.
Alexa Davis replied with :40 left and hit from deep, bringing the Blue Eagles back within 61-58. As double overtime wound down, Nazareth would get one more crack. Trailing 64-62 with 4.6, the Blue Eagles inbounded to a leaping Peyton Long. She initially had the ball, but as she came down, the ball dribbled away and right into the hands of Kopetskie who dribbled out the remaining seconds for the victory.
Kopetskie commented on the overtime sessions, “”I made a three and then she made a three and then I made a three and then she made a three and I was so excited. It was so intense and awesome.”
Tulsa Sobrinski added, “I feel like as a team we brought a lot of energy. I think we played good team ball today and played some critical defense. We’ve just been connecting more and more and every game keep improving.”
Other notes from Friday:
- Central Catholic continues to heat up, winning their fourth in five games by defeating East Stroudsburg South 56-19. Following a close first quarter, the Vikettes laid on a 24-1 second quarter to speed past the Timberwolves. Milly Wolf led her team with 18 points, accounting for 11 in that second quarter surge. Also of note, Skylar Taylor, a freshman off the bench, scored 14, making her presence known.
- Northern Lehigh’s Tegan Simms hit a game-tying three at the buzzer to force overtime against Bangor. She finished the night with 22 points.Katelyn Barthold added 16. Kaylee Snyder hit four shots in overtime to push the Bulldogs to a 54-50 victory. In the loss, Avery Nelson became the all-time leading 3-point scorer in Bangor school history, now with 172 3-pointers to her name.
- After losing three of their last four, Easton got back on track in a major way, holding down Bethlehem Catholic in a 40-26 victory. Elena Brunetti, Kourin Carew, and Lianna Cole all hit double figures. Nat Amato hit two long balls in the second quarter, helping propel the Rovers to a 24-8 halftime lead. Defensively, Easton held the Hawks to five points in the fourth quarter and no Beca players reached double figures.
- Blue Mountain picked up its second consecutive win, getting by Minersville 50-42. Despite a 20 point lead at the half, the Battlin’ Miners came back in the fourth quarter, but landed short. Mila Fleagle led all scorers with 15 points. Ruby Henninger hit all three long balls for the Blue Eagles and finished with nine. Minersville remains winless, but showed major fight.
- Emmaus made it nine wins in a row, stinging Pocono Mountain East 62-17. Gabby DeVita netted 19 points, hitting three of her team’s eight 3-pointers. Olive Whitney reached double figures with ten points and two triples.
- The Dieruff Huskies continue to bring pride to Allentown, taking a bite out of Pocono Mountain West 69-42. Jayla Rosario led all scorers with 16 points and Justyce McChristian scored 13. Dieruff separated themselves in the game with a 20-2 third quarter run.
- North Schuylkill snapped Tamaqua’s ten game winning streak, 61-45. The Raiders suffered just their second loss of the year as the Spartans clinched a district playoff berth on their home court. Mya Conti threw down 20 points and Gianna Capone added 17. The Spartans notched nine 3-point shots on the night. Millie Black scored ten points and pulled down 20 rebounds in the loss.
- Northwestern Lehigh ran its winning streak to 14 on Friday night, rolling over Salisbury 56-19. Cara Thomas(23) and Natalie Conner(18) combined for 41 of those points. Kendra Morgan scored all but two of her team’s points in the loss.
- Panther Valley saw a slim two point halftime lead slip away, as Pottsville emerged victorious 53-42. Jes Siminitus scored 16 points and Keirra Jones added 15.
- Parkland stormed by Pleasant Valley 68-6. Delaney Chilcote scored 14, Carly Spang 13, and Isabella Hallal 10. In all, twelve different players scored for the Trojans, as they improved their record to 10-4, one win shy of clinching a district playoff berth.
- Stroudsburg beat William Allen 53-41 in EPC basketball Friday evening. McKayla Strunk scored a game high 16 points, Adriana Borzio scored a career high 15 points and Teagan Strunk added 12 points for the Lady Mounties. Kayla Martin scored a team high 14 points for William Allen.
Saturday, 1/11:
- Gabby DeVita netted a 20 point afternoon in an Emmaus 58-21 rout of Blue Mountain. The Hornets got numerous contributions from their bench, including 9 on three more treys by Olive Whitney and 13 from Sierra Stevens. Blue Mountain was held without a 3-point bucket, while Emmaus sank eight.
- Catasauqua won its second straight, getting by Jim Thorpe 54-40. Hailey Jenkins exploded for a 26 point effort, knocking down 11 field goals for the Rough Riders. In the loss, Ryah Confer scored 19.
- Lehighton powered by Southern Lehigh 49-29, led by three Indians scoring in double figures. Leah Uyvari scored 17, including three from beyond the arc. Ryleigh Trotman and Emma Repsher each added ten.
- Dieruff went on the road in a non-conference contest against Berwick from District 4. The Huskies emerged with the 54-42 win, despite a 21 point performance by freshman Abby Calarco for the Bulldogs. Jayla Rosario had another great effort, knocking down 17 points; Aniyah Holder and Marisa Price scored ten a piece. The Huskies survived a 3-point onslaught from Berwick–the Bulldogs ended the day with ten triples.
- Fresh off a double overtime defeat, Nazareth hit the road to Swiftwater to face Pocono Mountain East. The Eagles returned home victorious, 54-34. Nazareth went to the free throw line 26 times and converted on 23 of those chances. Renee Wells ended up with a 16 point afternoon to lead all scorers as Nazareth is now just one win from clinching a district playoff berth.
- Despite another outstanding performance by freshman Julianna Bonham and her 22 point day, Notre Dame Green Pond corralled Wilson 50-36. Emily Lessig and Addison Ryan combined for 25 points, while five other Crusaders found the scoring column. Notre Dame built a 25-11 halftime lead and led 39-18 after three.
- The Blue Bombers took care of Pen Argyl 58-37 in an intriguing Colonial League matchup. Palmerton’s defense held Julia Vargo and company to 13 points at the half, outscoring Pen Argyl by 18 through two quarters. Courtney Connell had a 20 point afternoon and Mikayla Pengelly scored 11.
- Panther Valley rolled over a shorthanded Nativity BVM squad 52-10. Lucy Kocha scored 16 and Morgan Orsulak contributed 14 in the win. Panther Valley shot 8/16 from 3-point range and four of those belonged to Kocha.
- Dallas overpowered Pocno Mountain West in non-conference play 62-43. Odessa Kanton scored 23 for the Mountaineers, sinking nine shots from the field. Jodi Bowen led the Panthers with 15.
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