The EPC and Colonial leagues got underway Friday night. We also covered games in the Schuylkill League boys and girls tournament, with highlights on X: @LSVSports
Girls EPC Tournament
Nazareth 48, Liberty 40
Earlier this week, Liberty got out to a 17-4 start and never let Nazareth back in a 48-38 game. Friday night certainly looked similar, until it didn’t.
Ava Kopetskie kicked things off with a triple and then a steal and layup made it 5-0 early. Sobrinski mirrored her teammate with a bucket, followed by a steal and score. Anijah Davis hit a pair of free throws and Liberty was out to an 11-0 lead.
“We had them the first time at home and let that one get away. The other night we just played almost as bad as we played tonight in the first quarter. I thought it was a repeat of the other night– i said to myself ‘what are we doing?’ I sat on the bench and didn’t know what to do so we told them the same stuff we did the other night…they adjusted and kept fighting. If we execute, we’re OK.” Rich Bickert gave his thoughts on the game.
And fight they did. Down 11, the Blue Eagles would score the next 11, spurred on none other than their star power in Renee Wells. She hit two late free throws and finally the team’s first field goal with :25 to play in the first. She continued pulling her team back into the game with a 3-ball to open the second. Suddenly, the deficit was only 11-7.
A pass under the basket to Maddie Ott and lay-in tied the game two minutes later. Kopetskie responded with a 3-ball and later made one of two on a foul opportunity. Sobrinski scored on a wild sequence where the Hurricanes pulled down three offensive boards. By halftime, Liberty was still in front, but the margin was 19-15. The Eagles turned it over eight times in the opening half to just four for Liberty.
The opening minutes of the third again went to the team from Bethlehem. Kendall Medina, who missed the previous meeting earlier in the week due to illness, made her presence known with a big 3-ball to extend the lead to 24-16 with 6:30 to play in the quarter.
The next run went to Nazareth. The 7-2 spurt included an Alexa Davis trey, her first points of the night. Kendall Medina hit her second triple of the period to push the Hurricanes lead back to 29-23. The margin remained six with a minute to go. Carly Brown’s corner long ball got Nazareth to within a point, the closest it had been all night.
Early in the fourth quarter, Peyton Long took a pass in the paint and shot over Sobrinski to give the Eagles their first lead of the night, 32-31. That bucket was part of a 10-3 run that culminated with a Renee Wells righ-wing three. Now the Eagles had a two possession lead.
Nazareth finished strong for the win, outscoring Liberty 18-9 in the fourth quarter and limiting themselves to five turnovers in the half. Renee Wells ended her night with 15 points. Peyton Long had 14. In the loss, Ava Kopetskie led all scorers with 20.
Renee Wells talked about the keys to victory on the night, “I think our rebounding. Peyton did a great job on the boards. It was awesome to see her get big rebounds for us.”
She added of playing at the PPL Center this coming week and the mindset going into the new environment, “This is our first time being [at the PPL Center], so it’s going to be pretty exciting, so we just have to stay calm.”
“I always had confidence in us, but it’s our defense that keeps us in these games.”
Nazareth takes on Bethlehem Catholic Monday night at the PPL Center. Tip is set for 6:00.
Bethlehem Catholic 50, Easton 40
For the first time in four years, the PPL Center girls basketball field will not include the Easton Red Rovers. Easton hoped for better in a quick turnaround against a team they had lost to three days prior, but home court advantage and a stronger effort still did not thwart a determined Bethlehem Catholic squad.
The Golden Hawks trailed at halftime of this one, 22-20. Easton was cranking away from beyond the arc, as Nat Amato banged home two and Gabby Wismer hit one.
The game turned on a 20-10 Hawks third quarter. DJ Jones and Palin Coleman came alive in the big spot, hitting from range, while the team was 6/9 from the charity stripe. Overall, the Golden Hawks converted on 15 of 21 free throws.
The Golden Hawks return to the PPL Center after a one year hiatus. They will face Nazareth. In two regular season meetings, Beca won 57-47 and 59-46.
Parkland 58, Stroudsburg 28
Parkland began its EPC tournament title defense by taking care of a game Mounties squad. McKayla Strunk, recent 1,000-point scorer, was limited to just seven points on the night, as the Trojans blitzed early and took a 19-9 first quarter lead. That lead increased to an insurmountable 34-15 by halftime. Aneri McGalla scored 14 points, Delaney Chilcote had 12, and Isabella Hallal added ten. The Parkland girls combined for nine triples, a season high.
Parkland returns to the PPL Center to face rival Emmaus. The two met last year in the title game and Parkland won 55-35. Emmaus has won both regular season meetings this year by margins of six and three.
Emmaus 54, Central Catholic 35
Emmaus stormed out to a 21-4 first quarter lead in their home victory against the Vikettes. Gabby DeVita hit four times from distance, finishing with a 22-point night as the only Hornet in double figures. Milly Wolf and Morgan Seagreaves combined to score 19 for Central Catholic, but the early deficit would not be overcome.
The Hornets now turn their attention to familiar rival Parkland. Kayla Snyder and Gabby DeVita combined for 28 points in the team’s 53-49 victory over the Trojans. However, Parkland got the better of Emmaus twice in the postseason last year.
Boys EPC Tournament
Liberty 50, PM East 46
The top boys teams in the Monroe County division have been making a big splash once again this season. Pocono Mountain East entered the EPC tournament as the seventh seed, despite being 17-5 and the 4th seed in the upcoming district playoffs.
The matchup on the floor followed suit, in that this wasn’t your typical 7/2 kind of game.
Dom McManus helped his Cardinals out to an 8-3 early lead, following a missed shot and offensive rebound. Liberty did climb back in pretty quickly, with Will Palmer and Jarrell Teague both hitting 3s. After one the Hurricanes trailed 12-8.
Pocono Mountain kept the pressure up and went on a 10-0 run over the first five minutes of the second quarter. McManus dropped in two more long balls. Stephon Bethea added one and scored his first five points of the evening. Liberty again fought back, going on their own 8-0 run to pull within 22-16. Jahsi Cole got a steal and finish, drawing the foul and converting the three-point play. Jake Pukszyn, scoreless in the first, scored five points.
At the half, Pocono Mountain East led 27-16. Bethea scored the first points of the third quarter on a layup, making the lead 13 once again. From there, Liberty went on a scoring barrage.
Teague went off for 12 points in the third, hitting twice from beyond the arc. Will Palmer added another and a Teague layup prompted a Cardinals timeout. The Hurricanes trailed by four, 31-27. Off a turnover, Palmer laid it in at the third quarter buzzer, and we were all knotted at 36.
The fourth quarter was a back-and-forth affair in a sprint to the finish. Aiden Pierre put the Cardinals up 40-38, scoring his second bucket of the night with 4:53 to play. Pukszyn took control for the Hurricanes, scoring eight in the final stanza and putting his team up 41-40 ten seconds later. With 7.8 seconds left, the Cardinals had the ball, down 48-46. Rayshawn Harris took the ball across midcourt and fired a top of the key three that wouldn’t go. Jahsi Cole hit two free throws with half a second remaining to ice the win.
Liberty advances to take on upset winners Northampton Tuesday night at the PPL Center. After losing by 20 a couple weeks ago to Central Catholic, Northampton won 61-50.
Girls Colonial Tournament
Palmerton 50, Catasauqua 24
Catasauqua entered the Colonial tournament on a seven game winning streak. The possible dark horse contender was quickly dispatched by a Palmerton team that is now undefeated at home for two years straight. The Bombers held the Rough Riders to seven total field goals, only three of which came in the second half. Hailey Jenkins was shut down for most of the contest, ending up with ten points. Six of those came at the free throw line. Palmerton now faces off against Notre Dame Green Pond. The two played to a 40-37 NDGP victory back on January 6th in Easton.
Notre Dame Green Pond 50, Wilson 45
Wilson head coach Meagan Eripret has turned around a Warriors program that totaled twelve wins over the last two years into a team that has very high upside. For three quarters, Wilson played the Crusaders very tough, taking a 41-39 lead to the final eight minutes. That’s where NDGP took over, outscoring the Warriors 12-4 and winning the game. Emily Lessig scored nine of her 19 game-leading points in the second half. Brenna Hammerstone chipped in two first quarter triples. In defeat, Aby Colon scored 14 and Juliana Bonham added 12.
Pen Argyl 69, Northern Lehigh 62
Points were not at a premium in this barnburner. Senior Julia Vargo exploded for 36 points, firing off 23 in the first half. Meanwhile, Dekota Barthold and Tegan Simms combined for 40 points and six triples. The Green Knights took revenge for an early December 68-36 Bulldogs victory. Pen Argyl led 40-34 at halftime and the scoring kept coming, as Bell Whitman added 10 points and eight more came from Callia Wilgus. The Knights now prepare to face a Northwestern Lehigh squad that drubbed them 72-33 back in early January.
Northwestern Lehigh 66, Bangor 35
Another game, another Tigers blowout. Northwestern Lehigh got right back on its feet following a regular season finale loss to Palmerton by beating up on the Slaters. Natalie Conner went off for 26 points; 18 of those came in a 38-point first half. It was a complete team effort, as Brook Balliet scored 9, Cara Thomas had 12 and Hannah Gober put up seven. The Tigers sank seven balls from beyond the arc, as well.
EPC Girls All-Stars
1st Team
Photos by Ryan Scipio
2nd Team
Anne Beenders – Northampton
Delaney Chilcote – Parkland
Jayla Rosario – Dieruff
Kayla Snyder – Emmaus
Milly Wolf – Central Catholic
3rd Team
Natalie Amato – Easton
Aliyah Brame – Bethlehem Catholic
Palin Coleman – Bethlehem Catholic
Anijah Davis – Liberty
Lexi Davis – Nazareth
Colonial League All-Stars
1st Team
Photos of Lessig, Vargo, Thomas by Ryan Scipio
Tegan Simms’ photo will be added shortly.
2nd Team
Juliana Bonham – Wilson
Courtney Connell – Palmerton
Natalie Conner – NW Lehigh
Kendra Morgan – Salisbury
Mikayla Pengelly – Palmerton
Honorable Mentions
Brook Balliet – NW Lehigh; Hailey Barry – Palmerton; Ella Baumgardt – Palmerton; Abymarie Colon – Wilson; Grayson Domzalski – Moravian Academy; Samantha Fontanez – Southern Lehigh; Maggie Gorman – Saucon Valley; Aubrie Labar – Bangor; Mackenzie Leonhardt – Palisades; Eliana Marques – Southern Lehigh; Taylor McDonald – Southern Lehigh; Emma Repsher – Lehighton; Ava Shonl – NDGP; Kaylin Stewart – Catasauqua; Leah Uyvari – Lehighton
We’ll be at the PPL Center Monday night for the EPC semifinals and on the air with Eastern PA Sports Network for Emmaus v Parkland! Listen to the game live, with pregame beginning at 7:40 HERE
LSV Sports 
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