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WILKES-BARRE — As far as the list of accomplishments go, Nanticoke Area has finished it.
Maybe it’s time for the Trojanettes to start a new one.
Kayla Aufiero scored her 1,000th career point, Riley Klepadlo scored 15 and Nanticoke wiggled past West Perry, 52-46 in a PIAA Class 4A girls basketball tournament opener at Wilkes University’s Marts Center that gave the Trojanettes their first state win in five years.
“It means a lot, my team’s helped me achieve that goal,” Aufiero said of her career scoring milestone, which came during her team-high 17-point night. “But I wasn’t really worried about that. I was worried about winning the game. We’re setting goals for ourselves. The last one is to make it to Hershey.”
The Trojanettes, who moved to 26-1 and will face Gwynedd Mercy in a second-round state game Tuesday, actually checked off the last item on their original chalkboard from the preseason.
They won the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2, won the District 2 Class 4A championship and avenged a four-point defeat suffered in last season’s Class 3A PIAA opener.
“They set all these goals before the season,” Nanticoke coach Alan Yendrzeiwski said. “They pretty much achieved every single one of them. Now they get to go and chase the dream.
“And that’s going to be an exciting dream to chase.”
The undersized Trojanettes — who feature the 5-foot-9 Klepadlo as their tallest starter in a lineup of all guards — chased away a much taller West Perry team that kept things interesting, but never quite caught Nanticoke after the game’s early moments.
Aufiero scored four points in the opening period — the last being her career 1,000th — as the Trojanettes grabbed a 12-8 lead and nursed it throughout.
West Perry’s 6-4 center Gracie Stauffer finished with a game-high 21 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots but couldn’t put the Mustangs over the top.
When West Perry pulled within two points in the second quarter, 5-2 Lisa Radziak popped a 3-pointer and the Trojanettes took a 24-21 lead into halftime.
Aufiero hit a key 3-pointer in the third period for a seven-point Nanticoke lead and Radziak converted a couple of buckets as the lead grew to 11 near the end of the period.
“It felt good,” said Aufiero, who helped key a press defense that gave the Trojanettes a fairly comfortable lead in the second half. “When I would make a shot, they’d get close on me, and then Lisa would make a shot. We went back and forth.”
Klepadlo made sure West Perry didn’t come all the way back, hitting four foul shots in the final 2:04 to protect Nanticoke’s first state win since 2012.
“The turning point was in the third quarter,” Yendrzeiwski said, “when we started getting some steals and some stops off the press. I think everybody looks to them (Aufiero and Klepadlo) as our leaders, for being there before, for being seniors, for being good players. You need them to step up and make plays in a game like that.
“They made enough.”
PIAA Class 4A first round
Nanticoke Area 52, West Perry 46
WEST PERRY (46) — Haylee Reisinger 1 0-0 2, Meredith Brown 5 4-4 14, Savannah Urich 0 0-0 0, Margrett Brown 2 0-0 4, Gracie Stauffer 9 3-4 21, Tiara Johnson 2 0-0 5, Kaylin Kimmel 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 7-8 46.
NANTICOKE AREA (52) — Riley Klepadlo 5 4-6 15, Kayla Aufiero 5 4-7 17, Alexis Pyzia 0 0-0 0, Lisa Radziak 4 0-0 9, Katie Butczynski 3 0-0 6, Alyssa Lewis 2 1-2 5, Amiah Lukowski 0 0-0 0, Maddy Grilz 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 9-15 52.
West Perry`8`13`10`15`—`46
Nanticoke`12`12`16`12`—`52
Three-point goals — WP 1 (Johnson); NAN 5 (Aufiero 3, Klepadlo, Radziak).
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