Marian head coach Jeff Onushco talks with his team during a timeout (Photo by Leroy Boyer).

Blue Knights score final 4 points in 46-43 victory

BERWICK — Sixteen lead changes, clutch plays and big moments.

District 11 No. 2 seed Marian and District 2 No. 2 seed Wyoming Seminary played their hearts out and left everything on the floor in their PIAA Class AA second-round matchup Tuesday night at Berwick High School.

When the dust settled, it was the Blue Knights that were able to make a few more plays in the fourth quarter to capture a 46-43 victory over the Fillies.

Marian (15-12) set the tone early, jumping out to a 13-5 lead. A 9-0 run aided by DeAnna Pugh’s aggressive takes to the rim got the Fillies the early advantage. Pugh scored nine of her 16 points in the first period.

Wyoming Seminary battled back to end the first, though, going on a 7-0 run of its own to make it a 13-12 game going into the second. Two 3-pointers from Seminary’s Ella Stambaugh, a 6-foot-2 junior committed to play college ball at Richmond, fueled the rally.

“Deanna was really aggressive tonight,” Marian coach Jeff Onushco said. “She did a great job against their pressure and their pressure was something that we were worried about. They actually had to get out of their press because of DeAnna.

“We changed up our press offense a little bit to try and get DeAnna in space more and we were able to get her in some space early and she took advantage of that for sure.”

The second frame was an absolute slugfest with the Fillies and Blue Knights exchanging the lead seven times in the session. An Addy Marek three with 1:12 to go in the half made it 22-21 in favor of Marian, but a huge make from beyond the arc to end the second by Ellie Kersey gave Wyoming Seminary momentum and a 26-24 lead at the break.

Marek and Stambaugh went head-to-head in the second. Marek scored seven in the quarter and Stambaugh tallied nine. Stambaugh finished with 20 points and nine rebounds.

The third quarter was the best of the night for Marian. The Fillies’ defense locked down the Blue Knights, allowing just one field goal.

A Brooke Hannis-Miskar triple to start the third put the Fillies up one and a deuce from Pugh later in the quarter extended the lead to three, which is the advantage Marian would hold going into the fourth.

“We didn’t get Ella Stambaugh as many touches as we would’ve liked to in the third, but again that’s a credit to them, because they had a great defensive game plan,” Wyoming Seminary coach C.J. Kersey said. “And they have really improved. We saw them earlier in the season and I don’t think I’ve seen a team improve more than they have from the beginning of the season to now.

“Ella then did a great job as the game went on of realizing that she was getting doubled and made some great passes late in the game for us. I thought her unselfishness was a key for us down the stretch.”

The Blue Knights looked like they were going to take control after back-to-back buckets from Natalina DeNaples made it a 42-36 contest at the 2:48 mark. That’s when Stambaugh went into distribution mode late in the game running the point, getting several of her teammates good looks at the rim.

The Fillies, however, would fight back. Two made free throws and a drive and finish from Marek, who went 4-for-4 from the line in the fourth, closed the gap to two with 1:04 to play.

Hannis-Miskar followed with a clutch corner 3-pointer and just like that, Marian was up 43-42.

Wyoming Seminary regained the lead with a head’s-up play. The Blue Knights inbounded the ball quickly after Hannis-Miskar’s bucket, getting it down the floor into Olivia Evans’ hands for a wide-open layup with 27.9 seconds to play.

The Fillies had a few chances to either tie or take the lead, but couldn’t get a shot to drop. After two pressure free throws from Seminary’s Stella Ruiz, Marian’s desperation three with five seconds remaining was deflected, falling short of the rim.

Pugh led Marian in scoring with 16 points, while Marek added 15 points and 10 rebounds and Hannis-Miskar hit a trio of 3-pointers for nine points.

“I thought we did a great job in the third quarter defensively,” Onushco said. “We threw some different defenses in there to try and limit Stambaugh’s touches. Addy Marek did a great job on her and got some blocks on her.

“Stambaugh is a Division 1 player and the way Addy played tonight against her, I think she needs to start getting some looks there as well.

“I’m just extremely proud of these girls. To be as young as we are and to start the season the way we started … I’ve said this multiple times that I’m just so proud of our growth. All of our girls that got in there stepped up tonight and played very well.”

Game Summary

PIAA Class AA Second Round

At Berwick High School

MARIAN (43) — Pugh 7 0-0 16, Minzola 1 1-2 3, Hannis-Miskar 3 0-0 9, Knock 0 0-0 0, DeCosmo 0 0-0 0, Marek 4 6-6 15. Totals 15 7-8 43.

WYOMING SEMINARY (46) — Ruiz 1 3-4 6, DeNaples 5 0-0 10, Evans 2 0-0 4, K. Dougherty 0 0-0 0, Stambaugh 7 2-3 20, Kersey 2 2-3 6, Gross 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 7-10 46.

3-point FGs: Hannis-Miskar 3, Pugh 2, Marek, Stambaugh 4, Ruiz