ILVGH: Early Upsets and Wild Finishes

District playoffs have arrived once again and have produced some incredible comebacks, upsets, and huge performances. Let’s go! Find extensive video highlights and interviews on IG: @LSVSports1 and X: @LSVSports. Follow Dan DiEdwardo and John Fox as well as coverage continues.

Class AAA

• Executive Education entered districts without the talents of Ashley Hunter-Ali and Kendall Medina due to transfer rules. In fact, the Raptors only played six girls against Mahanoy Area, a team they defeated 56-45 earlier this season. This became the time to shine for Mariyah Hargrove, who finished her afternoon with 23 points as part of a 43-40 Raptors victory. Savanna Henry added four points in the first half as part of her seven. The two teams entered the final quarter tied up at 39 all. Henry and Aiyana Riddick each hit a triple in the fourth, matching the efforts of Felicia Bro and Ella Connolly. Hargrove hit four of her final five free throws and was seven of eight overall. For the Bears, Naomi Kowalick led the way with 15 points, while Connolly and Bro each had 11.
• Notre Dame Green Pond rebounded nicely off a 44-26 loss to Lehighton in the Colonial title game, defeating Northern Lehigh 44-37. The final score was closer than it was, as the Crusaders led 36-19 going to the final eight minutes. Green Pond got hot from outside, as four players combined to hit six times from beyond the arc. Riley Boyle and Brenna Hammerstone both sank two. The team also improved at the foul line. After going 1/18 against Lehighton, they turned it around to convert 14/28. Brenna Hammerstone and Ella Schweitzer each finished with ten points, with seventeen of those coming in the final three quarters. A big factor for Josh Kopp’s defense was holding Bulldogs standout Teagan Simms scoreless in the first half and to 11 for the game. Northern Lehigh managed only two points in the second quarter. Ella Tosh finished with 16 to lead Nolehi.
• Pine Grove upset #3 seed Catasauqua 36-31 despite an 18-point night for Colonial League player of the year Hailey Jenkins. Catty was outdone 13-2 in the third quarter, allowing the Cardinals to snag an eight point lead. Hollynn Sampson scored 20 on the night, including ten in that third.
• Schuylkill Haven blew away MaST Community Charter 55-16, as McKenna Runkle erupted for a 32-point night and scored the 1,000th point of her career.

Class AAAA

• Blue Mountain hosted Saucon Valley in a pigtail game Tuesday night, coming away with a 39-36 victory. Delaney Walborn gave the early spark, hitting three treys in the second quarter to finish with nine points. Despite this, the Panthers took a third quarter lead, holding the Eagles to four points in the frame. Sierra Skoda made two buckets and finished with 17 points. Grace Donahue notched a 3-ball in the quarter and finished with seven points. Over the final eight minutes, though, Mila Fleagle swished home two buckets and Callie Peel sank five of eight free throws. Skoda made the only bucket from the field in the fourth quarter for Saucon as Blue Mountain completed the comeback.
• Blue Mountain advanced to face top-seeded and Colonial League champions Lehighton. Despite going up against a full Indians squad, including Olivia and Ava Serfass, Leah Uyvari, Ryleigh Trotman and Brielle Parliman, the Eagles weren’t phased and immediately took a 19-11 first quarter lead. Callie Peel put up eight and Walborn had an early five. Despite the Eagles only scoring five points in the second quarter, Lehighton was never able to get the offense going. Parliman would finish scoreless after having numerous big performances in recent weeks. After two early buckets, Ryleigh Trotman was also held to nothing for the rest of the game. Olivia Serfass and Uyvari scored the only buckets of the third, both finishing with 12. Down the stretch, Blue Mountain nailed nine of its eleven free throws. Peel put up 15 points in the second half for a game high 26. Hailey Place had ten.
• North Schuylkill and Tamaqua split their regular season meetings, most recently a 51-28 victory for the Spartans. This one was the classic tale of two halves. Tamaqua moved out to a 29-20 lead at the break, putting up 20 in the second quarter. Millie Black led the Raiders with 18, joined by ten from Kendle Miller and eight from Lauren Ligenza. But the second half went the opposite direction. Tamaqua managed only three points in the third and 11 for the half, while The Spartans exploded for 25 and won the third 16-3. The #8 seed upended the top seed behind 20 from Mya Conti and ten by Gianna Capone.
• Palmerton has had its share of ups and downs. Having lost one of their key pieces in Courtney Connell back in December, the Bombers found themselves in some tough spots. However, in the quarterfinal round, head coach Jeremy Coleman got a big team effort as his Blue Bombers came together and outscored Wilson Area 21-7 over the middle frames and hung on for a 41-39 victory. Off to a hot start, four different players scored in the opening stanza, with five coming from Hailey Barry. She knocked down two 3-pointers in the second quarter and Leah Rumfield added another as Palmerton built a 24-19 lead at halftime. Julianna Bonham was very active for the Warriors, scoring nine in the first half to lead her squad. But in the final sixteen minutes, she was locked down, scoring just four more. Cate Morgan remained consistent in the third, hitting her fourth and fifth times from the field. Leading 32-22, Palmerton still had work to do because Wilson was not going to go away easily. Emma Dalpe went to work, scoring seven in the fourth. Palmerton had mixed results at the foul line, hitting on just five of ten chances. But it was just enough to survive the late rally.
• Central Catholic rallied from 14 down to upend #2 seed Northwestern Lehigh 46-42. The Vikettes needed a fair amount of time to recover from the loss of Milly Wolf and establish new leadership within the team. But down the stretch, head coach Kathy Davidowich and her staff have helped this team realize its potential and instill a work ethic that has led to a lot of success at the right time. ACC won seven of its last nine regular season games before ultimately falling in the EPC quarters. This time, they needed another team effort to escape a very challenging first round opponent. Northwestern Lehigh came out firing, as they normally do. Emma Freeman blasted home a couple of threes and both Conner sisters were on a tear. The Vikettes managed six of their twelve points at the foul line and trailed 17-12 after one. The second quarter only got worse for Central, with the only two points coming at the foul line. Natalie Conner hit a 3-pointer and Hannah Gober added three points. The Tigers were in the driver seat at halftime, leading 26-14. Central started to cut into the lead at the end of the third, but still trailed 36-25 going to the fourth. But then the Vikettes came alive and took over. Alyssa Hursh exploded from deep, knocking down three from downtown to spark the team. In the waning minutes, the Tigers were forced to play the foul game, as their shots would not fall. The Vikettes converted on 9 of 16 in the fourth to secure the comeback win. Shamiya Roberts scored eight points on the game and was a perfect 6/6 at the foul line. Morgan Seagreaves had 13 and Skylar Taylor added 11. Natalie Conner ended the day with 16 points and Emma Freeman contributed 11 in defeat for the Tigers.

Class AAAAAA

• Emmaus had little trouble with Liberty, zooming past them 65-37. Despite seven 3-pointers sank by the Hurricanes, including two from Ava Kopetskie, the Green Hornets hit eight of their own and got plenty of production in the paint. Gabby DeVita led all scorers with 19, followed by 15 from Olive Whitney, which included four 3-balls. Gracie Ervin and Sierra Stevens both added nine. Ava Kopetskie notched 14 points, but it wouldn’t be enough. Emmaus outscored Liberty 37-10 over the middle two frames to take full control of this one and invoke the mercy rule.
• Easton got a first quarter challenge, and possibly even a slight scare, from Pocono Mountain West. But they turned on the jets and controlled things the rest of the way for a 67-22 win. The Panthers’ Michaela Smith was an early story, scoring the first seven for West and helping them stay even early. With twenty seconds left in the first, Easton’s lead was a narrow one at 12-9. But leading 15-9 after one full, the usual standouts and the usual full team effort Rover fans are used to seeing completely took over. Elene Brunetti notched a three from the left wing to push the lead to 20-9. Near the half, Nat Amato hit another to bring the lead to 33-11. Easton embarked on a 27-0 run to bury the Panthers. Melina Cole finished with 18 points, while Amato provided 12. Gabby Wismer added nine and Brunetti finished with eight.
• Nazareth took down Dieruff 58-30 behind a 19-point performance by Alexa Davis and a 17-2 first quarter that rocketed the Blue Eagles to a victory. Nazareth dominated on the glass most of the evening, pulling down ten offensive rebounds for second chance opportunities. The fast-break defense was on full display, as even when the Huskies had transition opportunities, defenders were there in time to thwart easy chances. Nazareth was last in action when they blew a 22 point lead against Parkland in the EPC quarterfinals. Despite Dieruff coming alive in the second quarter and cutting the deficit to seven, coach Rich Bickert’s team was not about to see a repeat performance of the previous Friday. The Eagles outscored the Huskies 32-11 in the second half. Jayla Rosario was held to six points over the final two quarters and Aniya Holder only scored once. Carly Brown and Karly Leszcynski each contributed nine points to go with the 19 from Davis; six Blue Eagles scored overall in the second half. Prior to the game, Dieruff head coach Cathy Piston put to bed any rumors of her retirement, stating, “I’m not retiring. Some people think I will because five seniors are graduating, but players behind them want to be great too.”
• Parkland took down Freedom 53-18. The Patriots were held to five field goals for the game, as eight of their points came at the foul line. Parkland put ten players in the scoring column, led by 12 from Cherryllana Cunningham and 8 each from Isabella Hallal and Carly Spang. This one was a no-doubter, as Parkland cruised out to a 13-6 first quarter and lead and led 33-12 at halftime. The mercy rule came in to play in the third and the Trojans advanced to the semifinal round Tuesday night against bitter rival Emmaus.