Lourdes' Hannah Lokitis, left, and Marian's Addy Marek, right, get set to tip off Tuesday's Schuylkill League Division II game as referee John Cooper tosses the ball. Looking on is Lourdes' Onaleigh Barnes (14) (Photo by Leroy Boyer).

Red Raiders roll past Fillies

HOMETOWN — When you talk about the Lourdes’ girls’ basketball team, the conversation usually starts with the Red Raiders’ trio of big girls in the paint.

That talk should also mention that Lourdes has some great guards, too.

The Red Raiders’ guard play was on display at both ends of the floor Tuesday in a 51-18 rout of Marian in a Schuylkill League Division II game at Jack Malarkey Gymnasium.

Kylla Sandri led all scorers with 13 points, Onaleigh Barnes led a stifling full-court press and freshman Karmen Schroyer came off the bench to dish out five assists as Lourdes (7-1, 4-0 D-II) remained unbeaten in Division II play.

“We have to do our best to get down and set up the offense and run it through and execute our plays,” Sandri said. “That’s what we’ve been focusing on in practice and I think we’ve been doing really good at that.

“We also have to focus on driving and shooting as guards.”

Sandri did a lot of that early, scoring six of Lourdes’ first eight points on a driving layup, a short jumper and two free throws.

Up 8-5 with 2:40 left in the first quarter, Lourdes took control with a 19-0 run during which all five Red Raider starters got involved.

Hannah Lokitis, a 6-foot-1 junior center, dominated the paint during the run, scoring seven of her nine points, pulling down seven of her nine rebounds and blocking four shots.

Barnes hit a pair of 3-pointers, Vivian Reiprish scored off a layup, Sandri hit a short jumper and Sophia Karlovich hit a pair of free throws.

The run gave Lourdes a commanding 27-5 lead. The Red Raiders led 30-7 at halftime and were never threatened the rest of the way.

“I think our youth and inexperience showed up at times tonight,” Marian coach Jeff Onushco said. “We didn’t play with the same intensity that we have been. I don’t know if it was nerves, if it was the opponent, maybe being a little intimidated, I don’t know what it was. We just didn’t play with the same fire.

“We didn’t do things defensively that we did the other night. Lourdes is a much better team. They’re very well coached, they run their stuff very well. They have good guards, they have good big kids.”

The catalyst for Lourdes’ first-half run was a full-court trap defense that prevented Marian (5-4, 3-2) from ever getting into a flow offensively.

The Fillies committed 12 of their 21 turnovers in the first half and shot 3-for-23 from the field in the opening 16 minutes. Lourdes held Marian scoreless for a stretch of 9 minutes, 24 seconds.

Over the first 6:42 of the second quarter, Marian was 0-for-8 from the field and turned it over six times.

“We use it almost every game,” Lourdes coach Mike Klembara Sr. said of his press. “Even though we practice it against our second team, it’s still not the best look that we get as we do on the floor.

“They’re beginning to read and anticipate the opposition’s passes and they’re cutting off lanes. That’s very, very productive from our standpoint.”

Barnes serves as the point in Lourdes’ press. Her pressure on the ball, plus the Red Raiders’ ability to cut off the passing lanes and trap along the sidelines, confused the Marian guards into countless mistakes.

Addy Marek scored 12 of Marian’s points, while Haley Minzola added four. Standout guard DeAnna Pugh was held scoreless.

It’s the fifth time in eight games that Lourdes has held its opponent under 20 points.

“We try our best to be as aggressive as we can,” Sandri said of the press. “We try to create turnovers. That’s the main thing we try to do with our press and I feel we did really good with that tonight.”

Karlovich finished with 12 points and eight rebounds, while Lokitis had nine points and nine rebounds, Reiprish tallied seven points and Barnes had six.

Klembara was very pleased with his team’s effort, which came one night after Lourdes suffered its first loss of the season, 38-36 to Class 5A Shikellamy and All-State guard Lily Fatool.

The victory is also a momentum builder heading into a Schuylkill League Division II first-place showdown Jan. 6 at Mahanoy Area (7-1, 5-0).

“I just complimented our girls because it’s a 24-hour turnaround and that was our first loss,” Klembara said. “You never know which way they’re going to react … they’re still teenage young ladies.

“I challenged them. That’s all there is to it. As a coach you’re going to challenge them to have a great performance, which they did.”

Game Summary

LOURDES (51) — Sandri 5 3-6 13, Barnes 2 0-0 6, Lokitis 3 3-4 9, Karlovich 4 4-4 12, Reiprish 3 0-0 7, Shingara 0 0-0 0, Schroyer 0 0-0 0, Schu 1 0-0 2, Albert 1 0-0 2, Bunch 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 10-14 51.

MARIAN (18) — Pugh 0 0-2 0, Minzola 1 2-2 4, Hannis-Miskar 0 0-0 0, Knock 1 0-0 2, Marek 4 2-2 12, Decosmo 0 0-0 0, Kwon 0 0-0 0, Bushati 0 0-0 0. Totals 6 4-6 18.

3-point FGs: Barnes 2, Reiprish, Marek 2

Officials: Cooper, Bulka, Jones

JV Score: No game