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All season long, they concentrated on making stops.
And that mindset started a state run that could get even more exciting for four Wyoming Valley Conference girls basketball teams who plan to keep making the offenses of opponents look pretty boring.
Wyoming Valley West, Nanticoke, Holy Redeemer and Berwick all advanced to the second round of the PIAA playoffs by relying on defense.
And for some, that trend started long ago.
“Freshman year,” Valley West defensive senior stalwart Gabby Smicherko said, “we played in the (freshman) district championship. They put me on their best girl. I think it just followed through the next grades.”
Smicherko and her fellow Valley West guards including Erin Gibbons and Natalie Gruver — who Spartans coach Gary Ferenchick calls ‘The secretary of defense” — followed Twin Valley shooters up and down the floor at Wilkes University during a convincing 41-27 PIAA Class 5A victory last Saturday that gave the program its first states win in five tries.
“We held them to 27 points,” Smicherko smiled. “If we’re shooting well, we can definitely score more than 27 points in a game.”
The game before that, the Spartans lost the District 2 championship to Abington Heights — but held the Comets to 32 points.
“You can’t shake a stick at only giving up 32 points to Abington,” Ferenchick said. “We’ve been switching up defenses. We’ve been working hard on man defense and zone. It’s something we’ve been trying to do all year. All year, I tell them, ‘defense.’ If we play good defense, and we can get our offense going, then we can win a lot of basketball games.
“These kids know how to play defense.”
That may not always translate to championships, as both Valley West and Berwick finished as a District 2 runners-up.
But a strong day of defensive work can definitely cause frustration for opponents and keep teams in the game.
Just ask Berwick, which won an opening-round Class 4A state game at the final buzzer in a low-scoring 37-36 opener.
Berwick, which hadn’t won a PIAA tournament game since 1998, held Jersey Shore to 13 points in the first half and 23 through three quarters as the Bulldogs gave themselves a chance for a victory that came on Tori Talanca’s buzzer-beating layup.
In another Class 4A state opener, Nanticoke used a blitzing press defense to hold a much taller West Perry team and 6-foot-4 center Gracie Stauffer to 31 points through three quarters and secured a 52-46 victory, the school’s first in the PIAA tournament since 2012.
“The turning point came in the third quarter,” Nanticoke Area coach Alan Yendrzeiwski said, “when we started to get some steals, some stops, off our press.”
Teams would be hard-pressed to find a defense more destructive than the press Holy Redeemer used to beat down Bodine, 65-33 in a PIAA Class 3A opener for the school’s fifth straight first-round win in state play.
Bodine managed just seven points while falling behind by 11 in the opening quarter, and scored just 14 points in the second half.
“We had a lot of confidence and played together,” Holy Redeemer guard Irelyn Jannuzzi said.
Here’s a look at the second-round state games involving WVC teams, and the opponents they’ll be trying t hold down.
CLASS 5A
Wyoming Valley West (21-5) vs.
Springfield Delco (24-4)
5 p.m., Easton Middle School
The Spartans play some dogged defense, and they’ll need it against stop-and-pop Springfield Delco, the District 1 champion.
Cougars sophomore guard Jordan D’Ambrosio isn’t just the team’s top scorer, she’s a clutch shooter — as evidenced by her winning, last-second shot to beat Notre Dame earlier this season.
Amanda Hopkins and Belle Mastropietro are nice players capable of hitting double figures, and Alyssa Long and Maggie O’Connell help fuel a pressing, fast-break attack that isn’t shy about shooting and plays at a sometimes-frenetic pace.
Springfield Delco doesn’t have much size, so Valley West could have a distinct advantage with 6-foot center Colleen Cwalina and 5-8 Smicherko.
The Spartans lean on leading scorer Erin Gibbons, but Smicherko and sophomore Andi Blaski are proving valuable second options when Valley West needs points.
CLASS 4A
Nanticoke (26-1) vs.
Gwynedd Mercy (18-8)
5 p.m., Parkland HS
The Trojanettes won their last 10 games much the way they won their first 16, with a press defense and a fast-paced offense that’s fueled by the cutting and pure shooting of star scorers Kayla Aufiero and Riley Klepadlo.
Lisa Radziak’s always an outside shooting threat for Nanticoke, but defensive-minded Katie Butczynski’s been scoring more consistently over the past couple weeks and Alyssa Lewis continues to provide energy and a spark off the bench.
They’ll see a Gwynedd Mercy team that drives and shoots equally well.
The smallish Trojanettes won’t have to worry about as much size as they faced in the first round against West Perry, but the challenge of stoppoing 5-10 Gwynedd Mercy seniors Danielle Sevour and Megan Dougherty could be formidable. Maura Conavy is also a threat for Gwynedd Mercy, which was the top seed in the District 1 playoffs but lost a 10-point first-half lead and eventually fell to Lower Moreland in the district title game.
Berwick (17-9) vs.
Lower Moreland (18-7)
8 p.m., Hamburg HS
Lower Moreland features dangerous scorers Rachael Millan and Ceili Corduff, who fueled an upset win for the Lions in the District 1 championship game before they put away Carver in the opening state round.
Once again, Berwick will lean on its height, with 5-11 Tori Talanca, 6-1 starting center Roni Isenberg and 6-foot Megan Dalo off the bench to push an opponent to the perimeter. Berwick leading scorer Reese Mensinger continues to come through when the team needs points most. It was her third 3-pointer of the game with two seconds to play that set up Talanca’s winner against Jersey Shore, and it was Mensinger who helped force a turnover on the inbounds play that brought the ball back to the Bulldogs for the frantic finish.
CLASS 3A
Holy Redeemer (22-5) vs.
Mount Carmel (27-1)
8 p.m., Hazleton Area HS
The Royals coasted to their 21st win in 23 games during a 22-point win against Bodine, but could be preparing for a dangerous storm against the District 4 champion Red Tornadoes.
Mount Carmel’s done an admirable job of remaining consistent through the season, despite losing their top player and 1,000-point scorer Maria Fiamoncini — who decided to concentrate on track and field for her senior year after accepting a scholarship to Bucknell.
Red Tornadoes 5-7 senior Amanda Arellano has stepped in nicely as the team’s scoring leader, and she’s capable of 20-point nights, like the one she had in Mount Carmel’s district title victory.
Forwards Nicole Varano and Emily Wasilewski, a pair of 5-8 juniors, provide inside and outside scoring punch while keying a difficult defense.
Redeemer will try to beat it by spreading the ball around, with senior guard Maya Kornfeld leading a drive-and-kick attack that has points flowing from everywhere.
Don’t discount the importance of Royals 5-7 senior guard Talia Kosierowski, who could be back in the starting lineup after giving way to 6-foot freshman center Sam Yencha during the team’s past two games.
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