ILVGH: Conference Tournaments and More

EPC Tournament:

• In a Wednesday night play-in game at Northampton, Liberty outscored Dieruff 68-61. All the stars were shining bright in a back-and-forth affair that Liberty led 25-23 at the half. Ava Kopetskie had ten first half points, while Chloe Rummelhart had six. Emma Miller hit her first of three triples. Smith caught fire in the third, hitting three more times from distance to go with another from Kopetskie. The Hurricanes won the frame 20-10 to put some separation between the squads. Meanwhile for the Huskies, Aniya Holder and Jayla Rosario combined for 32 of their 44 points in the second half. Rosario had 15 in the fourth quarter alone as Dieruff scored 28 points in the final eight minutes. An 8-2 run brought the Huskies within six points, 47-41 with 5:59 to play, but Liberty pulled away behind a strong effort at the foul line by Kopetskie. She finished 9 of 12 on free throws and Emma Miller hit two more triples. Delaney Foster also hit a fourth quarter long ball to propel Liberty to a date with Easton Friday night. See highlights of this game on our IG: LSVsports1
• Nazareth jumped out to a 25-3 lead over Parkland on the Trojans’ home court Friday night. Alexa Davis popped off ten quick points on two triples and Karly Leszcynski hit another. Parkland’s only first quarter bucket came at the 1:07 mark from Carly Spang. But as it turned out, the Lady Trojans don’t much care for liver and onions as a dinner choice. “I told them–if we win, we get ice cream. If we lose, we get liver and onions. They like ice cream a lot more than liver and onions,” coach Ed Ohlson commented. The same Trojans team that appeared down and out after just nine minutes or so is the same team that climbed one heck of a mountain and got it done in a dramatic 43-42 victory. As the second quarter wore on, Parkland’s team effort came to life. Isabella Hallal, Cheryllana Cunningham and Aneri McGalla all hit. By half, Parkland still trailed by 15 at 33-18. As the third quarter opened, Maddie Ott knocked down a trey to push the lead back up to 36-18. But that would be the last made shot from the field for the Blue Eagles until Leszcynski hit a 3-pointer with 2:26 to go in the fourth. Meanwhile, Parkland kept cutting into the deficit. They still trailed 37-29 after 24 minutes, but the crowd could feel the tide turning. And then it did. Cunningham blasted home two more 3-pointers, and McGalla also hit. Nazareth went ice cold on offense, opting mostly for quick shots, rather than to hold the ball and try to waste away the fourth frame. Leszcynski’s triple put the Eagles ahead 40-34 with 2:26 left, but Cunningham countered to pull Parkland within 41-40 at 1:29 to go. As time wound down, Nazareth had no answers down the stretch and with ten seconds left in regulation, Cunningham took a shot from the near wing. The 3-pointer hit and Cunningham even got back to defend the final shot from Nazareth. She was promptly mobbed by her teammates as the Trojans celebrated. Catch the full interview with her, coach, and all the highlights on our IG: LSVSports1
• Bethlehem Catholic had no trouble in their quarterfinal against Pocono Mountain West, rolling to a 65-13 win. Nine different Hawks scored, led by 14 from Brookyln Lewis. Leah Ault scored 11 and both Aliyah Brame and Alayla Davis had ten. Kam Gallis and Ayva Radande sat out the contest. Brame, Davis and Ault combined for seven 3-pointers in the game.
• Emmaus will be Bethlehem Catholic’s opponent Tuesday night at the PPL Center, blasting past Central Catholic 74-36. The Vikettes stuck with the Hornets for the first quarter, playing to a 20-17 Emmaus lead. But then the home team took over, outscoring Central 17-2 to run away and hide with this one. Gabby DeVita was once again the leading scorer for Emmaus, bringing home 22 points. Olive Whitney remained comfortable as ever from beyond the arc, hitting four times. Gracie Ervin hit inside six times for her 12 point performance. In the loss, Morgan Seagreaves had 13 and Shamiya Roberts scored 12.
• Three Red Rovers reached double figures in Easton’s 54-40 win over Liberty. Gabby Wismer led the way with 18 points, including hitting seven of her ten free throws. Nat Amato hit three triples as part of her 11 point effort and Melina Cole also had 11. Liberty cut the Easton lead to four points in the second half, but Easton was able to pull away late. Ava Kopetskie was limited to 11 points. Liberty only went to the foul line six times, compared to 26 chances for Easton. The Red Rovers will now take on Parkland at 8:00 on Tuesday night at the PPL Center.

Colonial Tournament

• After picking up program win #1,000 against Southern Lehigh just a week ago, Notre Dame Green Pond secured victory over the Spartans one more time in the conference quarterfinals 64-33. Ava Shonk exploded for five 3-pointers in a 20-point night, as the Crusaders hit eleven times from range. NDGP buried Solehi 43-18 by halftime. Riley Boyle scored 12 and eight different Crusaders found their way to the scoring column.
• Catasauqua will be NDGP’s opponent at Whitehall Wednesday night, as they powered past Palmerton 52-37. The Rough Riders took a 14-7 first quarter lead behind seven points from Sarina Sankari and Kaylin Stewart each. Hailey Jenkins only had two buckets in the first half, but she put up 15 in the second half, including a seven for nine effort at the foul line. Kaylin Stewart finished with 18. Cate Morgan led the Blue Bombers with 15 points, all scored over the final three frames. Catty will take on NDGP Wednesday night at Whitehall.
• Northwestern Lehigh got a pretty good test from #8 seed Saucon Valley, but advanced 49-38. Natalie Conner scored 14 of her 16 points in the first half. Combined with eight points from Hannah Gober in the first quarter, the Tigers built a 28-15 halftime lead. Gober hit two more treys in the fourth. Grace Donahue hit for seven points in the third quarter, as the Panthers pulled within 37-29, but 13 from her and 15 from Maggie Gorman was not enough. Saucon Valley will next be in action against Blue Mountain in a district first round contest.
• Lehighton and Wilson Area had their all of their stars out in their quarterfinal battle. Juliana Bonham put up 24 for the Warriors, but Lehighton emerged victorious 55-48. Olivia Serfass hit for 23, while her sister Ava added 15. Ryleigh Trotman contributed 13. After playing two one-point heart-stopping contests, Lehighton and Northwestern Lehigh will meet for a third time on the neutral court at Whitehall Wednesday night.

Schuylkill League Tournament

• Tamaqua went bucket for bucket with Mahanoy Area most of the way, but fell just short 44-40. Lauren Ligenza put up 18 points and Kendle Miller had 11. Tamaqua was hampered by poor free throw shooting at Martz Hall, missing eight times in eleven tries. Mahanoy Area advances to face Schuylkill Haven, while Tamaqua will now await a first round district playoff game.

Monday, 2/2:

• Two early 3-balls by Kendall Medina helped Executive Education build a 13-2 first quarter lead and defeat Pope John Paul II 39-30. Medina finished with 16 points, eight more coming in the fourth quarter. Ashley Hunter-Ali scored six of her seven points in the first half. This was the third straight win for the Raptors and fourth in five games. With four games remaining, while other teams have moved to conference tournaments, Executive could take the top seed in 3A.
• Central Catholic trailed William Allen 17-15 after a quarter, but proceeded to outscore the Canaries 40-12 the rest of the way for a 55-29 victory. It was a balanced effort for the Vikettes, with Morgan Seagreaves scoring 15, Skylar Taylor adding ten, and eight more coming from Annika Spinosa. Central will open EPC tournament play Friday night at Emmaus.
• Bethlehem Catholic won a battle of titans at Easton 43-35. Easton led 23-15 at the half, behind seven points from Ava Muhammad and five from Melina Cole. The Golden Hawks, however, plowed ahead for 28 points in the second half, 14 of those coming from Aliyah Brame. Defensively, Beca held the Rovers to four second half field goals, even holding Natalie Amato out of the scoring column completely. Muhammad finished with 11 and Elena Brunetti had ten in the loss for Easton. You can find much more on this game, including video highlights and postgame interviews on our IG: LSVsports1. Despite the loss, Easton retained the top seed in the EPC tournament and faces Liberty at home Friday night. Bethlehem Catholic hosts Pocono Mountain West.
• Blue Mountain locked up the eighth seed in District XI 4A by defeating Minersville 52-32. The Eagles got 18 from Hailey place, 16 from Karly Koch, and ten from Mila Fleagle. Delaney Walborn also contributed two 3-pointers. Blue Mountain will take on Saucon Valley in an opening round district playoff game, unless the Panthers win their conference tournament.
• Pocono Mountain East closed out its season with a 48-32 win over East Stroudsburg North. Molly Gafner put up a 15 point performance in her final game as a freshman. Junior Alayla Green picked up nine points, as did sophomore Kathryn Devos. The young Cardinals look to turn the page on a six win season and have a big upside in the Monroe County division of the EPC.
• Pleasant Valley ended its year with a 42-30 victory against East Stroudsburg South. The Bears are another young squad that shows promise. Sophomores Amaya and Kylie Fuentes combined for 21 points, while freshman Noelle Wolff threw down 15. Brianna Rasmussen, another sophomore up North, scored 11 for the Cavaliers in the loss.
• Emmaus slammed the door on the regular season with a 61-14 rout of Whitehall. Gabby DeVita knocked down three treys and 13 total points. Olive Whitney added two 3-pointers and Eva Glover finished with 11 points. Sierra Stevens also put up nine points. Jaylene Wilson led the Zephyrs with seven. Emmaus now prepares for the EPC tounament, where they will host Central Catholic in the quarterfinal round.
• Perhaps one of the hottest teams in the EPC right now, Nazareth blasted Liberty 63-21. Sarah Deily scored ten points, joining Alexa Davis(18) and Karly Leszcynski(10) in double figures. The Blue Eagles sank eight 3-balls and limited the Hurricanes to three. They also held Ava Kopetskie to nine points, only the fourth time she has been held to single digits since her junior season. Nazareth travels to Parkland Friday night in the EPC quarterfinals, and as it stands currently, would host Dieruff in the first round of districts. Liberty got back on track with a play-in victory over Dieruff and now has its work cut out traveling to Easton Friday night.
• North Schuylkill’s Mya Conti blazed a 27-point trail in the Spartans’ 51-28 win over Tamaqua. Conti knocked down four triples and ten field goals overall. Monica Selgrade added 12. For the Raiders, Millie Black had nine points and pulled down 14 rebounds. Lauren Ligenza scored 11. Both teams open up Schuylkill League play Saturday at Martz Hall–Tamaqua against Mahanoy Area and North Schuylkill versus Marian Catholic.
• Pottsville and Panther Valley exploded in the final eight minutes of a 48-42 Crimson Tide victory. The two teams had been knotted at 26-26 after three frames, but Pottsville went on a 22 point tear to hold off the Panthers. The Tide hit 14 free throws in 24 attempts down the stretch, accompanied by 3-pointers from Myla Fegley and Jo Barnhart. Barnhart finished the night with 15 points and Laren Brennan contributed 11. Morgan Orsulak put up 22 points, 12 rebounds and blocked four shots in her penultimate high school game.
• The Pocono Mountain West Panthers tuned up for the EPCs and districts with a 46-12 domination of Stroudsburg. Jodi Bowen led the way with 13 points, followed by ten from Emma Campusano. The Panthers cruised out to a 25-6 halftime lead and never looked back. The Panthers face a tough task Friday night in the EPCs at Bethlehem Catholic.
• Saucon Valley won in an overtime thriller against non-conference opponent Kutztown 38-35. With four seconds left in overime and the score tied at 35-35, Maggie Gorman got open under the basket for a shot and was fouled. She made the foul shot and the Panthers secured victory. Grace Donahue led the Panthers with 19 points. Marin Bowers added nine points and five of those came in the second half. Saucon now competes in the Colinial League tournament and is in line to play Blue Mountain in a district first round contest.
• Northwestern Lehigh slammed home seven triples in their next to last regular season 52-24 drubbing of Jim Thorpe. Natalie Conner scored 13 of her game high 20 in the first half, including three treys. Emma Freeman helped kick things off with two 3-pointers in the first quarter. Northwestern Lehigh now hosts Saucon Valley on Friday night in the first round of the Colonial League tournament.

Tuesday, 2/3:

• Northwestern Lehigh made it two wins in two days to setup Colonial League tournament play, driving past Freedom 50-23. Natalie Conner again went off, this time for 26 points. She hit six times from beyond the arc and single-handedly outscored the Patriots. The Tigers hit nine 3-pointers in all.
• Pen Argyl closed out a 9-13 season with a 45-28 win over Bangor. Gianna Martini nearly outpointed the Slaters solo, scoring 22 points. Leah Apostol added 13 more and the two combined for four of the team’s five 3-balls.
• Despite a significant advantage on the offensive boards, Southern Lehigh fell to Catasauqua 52-38 in the teams’ final league game of the season. The victory secured a home league tournament game for the Rough Riders. Catt got balanced scoring, with Hailey Jenkins hitting for 15, Kaylin Stewart 11, and Jess Mankos adding ten. You can catch highlights from this one and postgame interviews with Stewart and Jenkins on our IG: LSVSports1
• Lehighton closed out a 20-2 season, toppling Jim Thorpe 51-27. Brielle Parliman, Olivia Serfass, and Ryleigh Trotman led the charge, with ten, twelve, and eleven points respectively. Leah Uyvari hit twice from distance, as did Parliman. The Indians host Wilson in the Colonial quarterfinals Friday night.
• Palmerton put itself in good position for a home district playoff berth by getting past Northern Lehigh 49-36. Cate Morgan lit it up with 26 points, knocking down all 11 of her free throws along the way. Emma Rex added 12 points, hitting three times from beyond the arc. Their output helped overcome 25 from Tegan Simms. Northern Lehigh’s season comes to a close, but the Bulldogs will be back again next year, building around Simms one more time. The Blue Bombers travel to Catasauqua Friday night for the Colonial quarterfinals.
• Notre Dame Green Pond built a 21-7 halftime lead at Wilson Area, but needed to hang on when the Warriors offense came alive for a 36-30 escape. Riley Boyle scored eight in that first half and Ava Shonk contributed six. Shonk finished with 15 points and Boyle had ten. Juliana Bonham was held to two points at halftime, but did get it going with nine in the final two quarters. Both teams now enter the Colonial tournament. Wilson travels to Lehighton, while the Crusaders host Southern Lehigh.
• A 20-6 second half led Saucon Valley to their 30-13 win over Palisades to finish out the regular season. Marin Bowers scored all seven of her points in that second half and Maggie Gorman and Brooke Davies both added four. Grace Donahue finished with six points and was held scoreless in that second half. Saucon Valley now travels to Northwestern Lehigh in the Colonial quarterfinals.

Wednesday, 2/4:

• Morgan Orsulak took the court for the final time as a Panther, putting up 25 points in Panther Valley’s 55-49 victory over Pocono Mountain West. She hit ten times from the field and four times in the fourth quarter to lead the Panthers in a comeback charge. Junior Ajete Gjoca scored seven in the final frame, as well, as PV came back from down seven. Orsulak moves on to play volleyball at Arcadia and the Panthers also say goodbye to Caroline Breslin and Ava Alabovitz.
• Olivia Protheroe went off with a 42-point bang as Notre Dame East Stroudsburg beat East Stroudsburg North 65-44. Protheroe owns the NDES record with a 50-point game last year. She went 18/40 from the field in this one and will soon close out one of the most impressive careers in the area.
• Bethlehem Catholic traveled to Imhotep Charter for a postseason tune-up game. Imhotep won it 56-53 with two 23-point scorers. Four Hawks reached double figures, including 18 from Leah Ault. Aliyah Brame and Brooklyn Lewis both added 11 and Kendall Nickischer put up ten.

Saturday, 2/7:

• Executive Education went on the road at Penn Wood in search of moving up the 3A rankings with a late season schedule boost. Penn Wood took the victory 63-59 despite a 25-point outing from Kendall Medina.

Sunday, 2/8:

• The Raptors followed up their Saturday road trip with a Sunday home game against another powerhouse in Lansdale Catholic. Mariyah Hargrove led the way with 14 and Kendall Medina added nine.