D-11 Girls’ Hoops: Weatherly falls to Bethlehem Christian in A final

Weatherly's Kelly Reiner shoots a free throw during Saturday's District 11 Class A championship game against Bethlehem Christian at Easton Middle School (Photo by Leroy Boyer).
EASTON — This one was like riding in the bumper cars at an amusement park.
Weatherly and Bethlehem Christian fought inside, outside, down the floor, wherever there was a body during Saturday’s District 11 Class A championship game at the Easton Middle School.
When the bodies stopped banging into each other, it was the Panthers emerging with a 28-18 victory over the Wreckers.
“I was proud of the way they fought, the hustle was there,” Weatherly coach Jason Kane said. “They could have gave up, they hung in.”
Grit may not win a lot of games, but it helps this team in terms of the exposure and another game to play. The Wreckers will compete in next weekend’s PIAA Tournament in Philadelphia against the District 12 champion.
Kane said the challenge Saturday was keeping the score under 30 points.
“My goal was to hold them under 30, which we did,” Kane said. “But when only score (18) you are not going to win many games that way.”
Where the Wreckers came up groggy was their inability to get the ball to fall through the hoop. Weatherly shot just 7-for-50 from the floor. Bethlehem Christian wasn’t much better, shooting 10-for-50.
“We accomplished what we wanted,” said Bethlehem Christian coach Greg Duff, whose team lost to Notre Dame-East Stroudsburg in last year’s district final. “We’ve been here the last two years, and I’m so proud of these girls they worked so hard, they wanted it.”
The Panthers never trailed, zipping in front 8-3 after eight minutes. Paige Kreidler scored all eight points for the Panthers … she finished with 12. Elyse Khachadourian added nine.
Weatherly was relying on the sparkplug efforts of senior Kelly Reiner and freshman Macie Kane, who each netted seven points. In addition, they were the highlights off the glass, with Kane snagging 11 rebounds, Reiner eight.
A Kane bucket midway through the second quarter sliced Bethlehem Christian’s lead to 12-8, but the Panthers added three more points to lead 15-8 at intermission.
Bethlehem Christian slowly pulled away in the second half, extending the lead to double digits and capturing the victory.
“You know they got momentum, then we couldn’t score,” Jason Kane said. “There were a number of reasons that we didn’t score. Coming in we knew it was going to be a (tough) task.
“Hey, we get one more game out of it. It’s great for the seniors and the younger players to gain some experience.”
Game Summary
District 11 Class A Championship
At Easton Middle School
WEATHERLY (18) — Marasco 1 0-0 2, Kane 3 1-6 7, Kehler 0 0-0 0, Way-Heffner 1 0-0 2, Reiner 2 3-6 7, Weston 0 0-0 0, Synder 0 0-0 0. Totals 7 4-12 18.
BETHLEHEM CHRISTIAN (28) — Kreidler 5 2-4 12, Morea 0 0-0 0, Debner 1 0-0 2, Merisca 2 0-2 4, Khachadourian 3 2-2 9, Wilson 0 1-2 1, Yarnell 0 0-0 0, Quarmont 0 0-0 0. Totals 10 5-12 28.
| Team | 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q | Final |
| Wea (8-16) | 3 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 18 |
| BC (18-3) | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 28 |
3-point FGs: Khachadourian
Officials: Gerchak, Wood, Brown

