HS Girls’ BB: Spartans speed up game, race past Haven in Division I showdown
North Schuylkill's Mya Conti shoots a free throw during Tuesday's Schuylkill League Division I clash against Schuylkill Haven at the Cesari-Hope Gymnasium (Photo by Dominic Zembas).
North Schuylkill’s defense steals show in 58-41 win
FOUNTAIN SPRINGS — A slow-paced, poor-shooting first quarter left North Schuylkill in a five-point hole.
The Spartans responded by doing what they do best — play tough defense and speed up the game.
North Schuylkill used an aggressive, attacking defense to force 21 turnovers over the final three periods to down Schuylkill Haven 58-41 in a Schuylkill League Division I girls’ basketball showdown Tuesday at the Cesari-Hope Gymnasium.
Mya Conti scored a game-high 23 points and Gianna Capone added 14 points and 10 rebounds as the Spartans (7-3, 6-0 D-I) snapped a three-game losing streak to remain the only unbeaten team in Division I play.
“We talk about perseverance all the time and that’s perseverance,” North Schuylkill coach Rich Wetzel said. “We don’t hang our heads. It’s 32 minutes.
“You have to be able to withstand what we do for 32 minutes. We want to get after you, we want to pressure you.”
In a rematch of last year’s Schuylkill League championship game, Schuylkill Haven dictated the tempo in the first quarter en route to an 11-6 lead after one frame.
The defending league champion Hurricanes (8-4, 5-1) made the game a half-court, possession-type contest over the first eight minutes, getting scoring from five different players. Haven’s defense was stout, forcing North Schuylkill into a 2-for-16 shooting effort from the floor while outrebounding the Spartans 15-11.
Ava Terefencko slashed her way to the free-throw line three times while Mckenna Runkle scored on a scoop shot and pulled down five of her 10 rebounds as Haven controlled the game early.
North Schuylkill countered by tweaking its full-court press, being more aggressive on the boards and getting Conti into the open floor. The game plan worked.
“We weren’t getting enough denials right away,” Wetzel said. “When we were getting our denials, we were getting caught too much in front. They were able to throw the ball over (us).
“We were getting ourselves full-fronted, so when the inbound pass came, they were in front of us, which let them run a little bit. All we did was pinch a little bit more.
“Once we got them going up the sideline, and when the ball got into the middle we fanned back out, we were fine. We started to turn the ball over.”
Conti scored eight of her points in the second quarter as North Schuylkill closed the first half on a 13-5 run to take a 26-21 lead into intermission.
With her team trailing 16-13 midway through the period, Monica Selgrade sparked the rally with a big block on a fast-break layup attempt by Terefencko.
Addisyn Balicki tallied five of her nine points in the spurt, while Capone dominated the glass with six rebounds.
Defensively, North Schuylkill forced eight turnovers in the second quarter as the Hurricanes had trouble breaking the Spartans’ press and getting good looks when they finally did get the ball into the frontcourt. Haven finished with 25 turnovers.
Offensively, the Spartans started getting Conti out in front of the defense in transition, which led to several easy scoring opportunities.
“We started pressuring a little more because we realized they couldn’t handle the pressure as much as we thought they’d be able to,” Conti said. “Instead of dropping back to deny passes, we got up in their faces to force turnovers and get some open floor runs and get some points.
“Big help to my team for keeping their heads up and getting the ball up when they see the open pass.”
Added Wetzel: “Speed them up, make them take bad shots. Every time we forced them to take a quick, bad shot, Mya was loose.”
Schuylkill Haven didn’t go quietly, with Runkle scoring six of her 13 points early in the third quarter. With 4:22 remaining in the third, North Schuylkill’s lead sat at 30-27.
Runkle, however, picked up her fourth foul moments later and North Schuylkill took advantage, going on a 13-4 run with Runkle on the bench.
Balicki started the run with a layup, Capone hit two free throws and Conti scored off a fast-break layup. Selgrade had a steal and a free throw, Ella Digris buried a 3-pointer, Balicki hit two free throws and Conti netted one.
The outburst upped North Schuylkill’s lead to 43-31 after three frames. The Hurricanes got no closer than seven points the rest of the way.
“We knew that coming in … that they were going to try and speed us up,” Schuylkill Haven coach Tony Sanders said. “We just turned the ball over too many times for us to win.”
Audrey Hutchinson tried to keep Haven in it, scoring 10 of her team-high 14 points in the fourth quarter. Runkle fouled out with 5:28 remaining, however, and North Schuylkill scored the game’s final 10 points.
Jadelin Stitzer added 10 rebounds for the Spartans, while Selgrade had six points and eight rebounds and Balicki corralled eight rebounds.
After suffering non-league losses to Class 6A powers Downingtown West and State College and unbeaten District 4 power Central Columbia, getting a win in a key Schuylkill League clash was key, Conti said.
“It felt great,” Conti said. “Coming off the three-game losing streak, it was kind of rough. We had (some long) practices getting ready for tonight.
“Those three teams were good. They were out of our league. That just makes us better to play those type of teams.”
Game Summary
SCHUYLKILL HAVEN (41) — Hutchinson 7 0-1 14, Siket 3 0-0 7, Runkle 4 4-4 13, Terefencko 0 3-8 3, Strenkoski 1 0-0 2, Wade 1 0-0 2, Bayer 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 7-12 41.
NORTH SCHUYLKILL (58) — Selgrade 2 2-5 6, Conti 9 5-7 23, Capone 3 6-8 14, Balicki 3 2-3 9, Ja. Stitzer 0 0-0 0, Digris 2 0-0 6. Totals 19 15-23 58.
| Team | 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q | Final |
| SH (8-4, 5-1) | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 41 |
| NS (7-3, 6-0) | 6 | 20 | 17 | 15 | 58 |
