web1_swoyersville.jpg

Swoyersville police investigating hit-and-run accident

When will Luzerne County conduct the next reassessment?

<p>Fresh faces are in the starting lineup now.</p><p>The gameplan is much different.</p><p>Even the attitude has been adjusted.</p><p>A lot has changed for Holy Redeemer since its frustrating first loss of the 2015-16 girls basketball season against Holy Cross way back in December.</p><p>One thing remains the same.</p><p>The Royals are rallying together to prove they can win an elusive district championship they never attained when Wyoming Valley Conference all-time leading scorer and current Iona freshman standout Alexis Lewis was with them.</p><p>&#8220;I think it&#8217;s kind of motivated these girls,&#8221; Holy Redeemer coach Chris Parker said. &#8220;We had the best player to probably ever come out of this area and we didn&#8217;t win a district championship with Alexis Lewis. Nobody picked us to win a district championship this year.</p><p>&#8220;That goal means a lot to these kids and obviously would be special.&#8221;</p><p>The 22-3 Royals will get a chance to accomplish it at 4:30 p.m. Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena against 24-2 Holy Cross &#8212; a team Redeemer is very familiar with.</p><p>Holy Cross won a Dec. 10 meeting between the two, 61-53, mainly by taking advantage of lopsided foul-shooting numbers.</p><p>Despite holding a distinct height advantage, Holy Redeemer attempted 12 free throws in that defeat, while Holy Cross took 42 shots from the foul line. And the whistle-filled game left the Royals, who chopped a 10-point second-half deficit to four late in the fourth quarter, with three starters who fouled out entering the game&#8217;s final two minutes.</p><p>&#8220;That&#8217;s tough to overcome against any team,&#8221; Parker said of the free-throw disparity. &#8220;I don&#8217;t think we did a good job of moving our feet. I think we have to play smart. We have to move our feet. They play great man-to-man defense.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re going to have to play well. But we&#8217;re a different team now than we were in the second game of the season.&#8221;</p><p>With different faces, too.</p><p>Samantha Rajza and Talia Kosierowski entered Redeemer&#8217;s starting lineup in January, and both provide a dangerous presence from 3-point range. They also gave the Royals increased intensity during traps on their press defense, which they like to run from the opening tip to the final horn.</p><p>And 6-foot center Rebecca Prociak blossomed as a scoring machine and inside presence through the Wyoming Valley Conference season, leading the Royals to their second straight Division 3 title while leading the league with an average of 24.5 points through 13 games.</p><p>That gives Redeemer hope, especially since Prociak scored a game-high 30 points in the first meeting between the teams.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s going to be a really good game,&#8221; predicted Holy Redeemer forward Meghan Corridoni, who scored 10 points in the Royals&#8217; 66-26 win over Mid Valley in the district semifinals. &#8220;We need to come out strong. We know we let that one go against Holy Cross. We need to stay confident, shoot the ball well, talk on defense. It&#8217;s just a rivalry. We want to beat them.&#8221;</p><p>It won&#8217;t be easy.</p><p>Led by junior forward Abby Anderson (19 ppg) and smooth 3-point-shooting guard Lexi Walsh (12 ppg), the Crusaders split four games with powerful Dunmore &#8212; the team that downed Redeemer in last year&#8217;s District 2 Class 2A title game &#8212; while losing the Lackawanna League championship game but beating the Bucks 35-30 in the district semifinals.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re confident, but respectful,&#8221; Parker said. &#8220;We believe we should beat this team. I&#8217;m sure they&#8217;re very confident because they already beat us. The girls are excited about this game, excited about having an opportunity to play Holy Cross again.&#8221;</p><p>They&#8217;ll be playing in an unfamiliar venue.</p><p>With all boys and girls District 2 title games moving to the Mohegan Sun Arena this season, the wide-open, double-deck venue that seats 15,000 fans could present a challenging depth perception to high school players unfamiliar with shooting at rims surrounded with a wide-open background.</p><p>&#8220;Most of our girls have never shot at an NBA portable basket,&#8221; Parker said. &#8220;There&#8217;s a huge difference. It is a concern. Are the kids going to be overwhelmed by the atmosphere and the depth perception? But Holy Cross has to deal with it, too. It&#8217;s just going to be a matter of who&#8217;s going to put the ball in the basket.&#8221;</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_TTL012616GBBNWRedeemer4-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Holy Redeemer&#8217;s Rebecca Prociak (left) scored 30 points in an early-season loss to Holy Cross, then led the 22-3 Royals into Friday&#8217;s rematch with the Crusaders with the district title on the line. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_TTL012616GBBNWRedeemer4-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Holy Redeemer&#8217;s Rebecca Prociak (left) scored 30 points in an early-season loss to Holy Cross, then led the 22-3 Royals into Friday&#8217;s rematch with the Crusaders with the district title on the line. </caption0><photoCredit0>Sean McKeag file photo | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Paul Sokoloski</p><p>psokoloski@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>District 2 Class 2A</strong></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Girls Basketball Championship</strong></p><p>Holy Redeemer vs. Holy Cross</p><p>4:30 p.m. Friday, Mohegan Sun Arena</p><p>Admission: $7 adults, $4 students</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Paul Sokoloski at 570-991-6392 or on Twitter @TLPaulSokoloski</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Holy Redeemer girls basketball looking for a Royal night