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Our Opinion: Pennsylvania’s new tourism slogan brings a smile; let’s hope it also brings visitors

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Barry Isett & Associates’s Campbell honored

<p>An injured Lydia Lawson played through her pain, limped to the line and swished a foul shot.</p><p>Then she darted down the court to help protect Holy Redeemer&#8217;s late-game lead, staying stride for stride with some of the sleekest shooters on the other team.</p><p>No wonder why her teammates talk about Lawson in almost revered tones.</p><p>Whether she&#8217;s overcoming an aching ankle or a determined defender, no obstacle seems to slow Lawson down on a basketball court.</p><p>&#8220;She&#8217;s inspired me so much,&#8221; Royals guard Talia Kosierowski said.</p><p>&#8220;The best point guard in the league,&#8221; Redeemer&#8217;s leading scorer Rebecca Prociak called Lawson.</p><p>Lawson and the rest of the Royals (24-3) plan to be at their best when they face defending state champion Neumann-Goretti (26-1) in a PIAA Class 2A girls basketball quarterfinal at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Freedom High School in Bethlehem in a rematch of last season&#8217;s state semifinals.</p><p>&#8220;Their level of play is up here,&#8221; Lawson said of the Saints while raising her hand above her head. &#8220;They&#8217;re fast, physical and strong. So we have our work cut out for us.&#8221;</p><p>Lawson insists she won&#8217;t be bothered by a slight ankle sprain she incurred near the end of a 52-43 victory over York Catholic &#8212; &#8220;I rolled it last game, went to Pro Rehab and they worked on it,&#8221; she said &#8212; when the Royals try to make it through the quarterfinals and into the state semifinals for a third straight season.</p><p>Nobody&#8217;s had more to do with that string of success than Lawson.</p><p>A premier passer, press-buster and dogged defender, the 5-foot-5 daughter of Eric and Laine Lawson of Mountain Top quickly developed a knack for finding open teammates with assists and dribbling straight past lightning-quick defenders &#8212; even those as adept as Goretti&#8217;s during last season&#8217;s state semifinals.</p><p>&#8220;She&#8217;s very smart,&#8221; said Kosierowski, a junior who played the point at Dallas High School before enrolling at Holy Redeemer this school year. &#8220;She knows when to pass, and when to hold off, which is something I&#8217;m trying to teach myself. She has a high basketball IQ. That comes into play. My dad used to say, &#8216;Watch Lydia Lawson play.&#8217;&#8221;</p><p>Lawson credits her own dad, a former All-Star who averaged over 20 points as a senior shooting guard for Hanover Area, with helping her develop a knack for getting others involved without scoring much herself.</p><p>&#8220;She&#8217;s the most unselfish player I&#8217;ve ever met,&#8221; Prociak said. &#8220;A lot of my points came from her, penetrating and finding me open.&#8221;</p><p>It wasn&#8217;t always like this for Lawson.</p><p>There was a time in her younger days when she was a pure shooter, and every now and again reminds everyone of that by knocking down an open 3-point goal &#8212; the way she did in the first half of Tuesday&#8217;s victory over York Catholic in the state quarterfinal round.</p><p>&#8220;In middle school, I actually was more of a scorer,&#8221; Lawson said. &#8220;In high school, that&#8217;s when I became a true point guard. My passing game has definitely improved as the years progressed.&#8221;</p><p>Prociak remembers Lawson&#8217;s shooting days well.</p><p>&#8220;When we were in eighth grade, we went to different schools and we were in the championship game, playing against each other,&#8221; Prociak laughed, remembering how she suffered a shoulder injury while defending Lawson. &#8220;We were just going at it. She went in for a shot, I blocked it. But I scored my 500th point in that and she came over and hugged me. I said, &#8216;I like this girl.&#8217; We played together for four years and became best friends.&#8221;</p><p>Now, they&#8217;ll try to beat the best team standing in the state.</p><p>After destroying previously-unbeaten and top-ranked Minersville by 38 points in the second round of states, Neumann-Goretti appears primed to make a third consecutive trip to the PIAA Class 2A finals.</p><p>This time around, the Saints don&#8217;t have 6-foot-5 center Christina Aborowa (who&#8217;s now in college at the University of Texas), point guard Ciani Cryor (at Georgia Tech), Ahnje Timbers or Sianni Martin (who both went to Towson). And their 6-9 forward Felicia Aiyeotan transferred to Blair Academy this year.</p><p>&#8220;A big thing for us is the big girls are gone,&#8221; Redeemer coach Chris Parker said. &#8220;That&#8217;s a very intimidating factor to deal with. They don&#8217;t have that size anymore.&#8221;</p><p>What the Saints do have is five solid shooters on the floor who range from 5-6 to 5-11, fly around and make shots at will. They&#8217;re lead this season by Chyna Nix, who scored 22 points, made five steals, grabbed seven rebounds and blocked two shots in that statement-making victory against Minersville. Jabria Ingram, 3-point ace Morgan Lenahan and sixth man Jada Russell are capable of scoring double figures on any night and 5-8 senior Kamiah Smalls scored a team-high 18 points against Redeemer last season&#8217;s semifinals.</p><p>Russell, Smalls and Alisha Kebbe all return that 2015 state title team, while the Royals return four starters and two key reserves who played in last season&#8217;s 77-41 defeat to the Saints.</p><p>&#8220;I think they&#8217;re a little more confident this year,&#8221; Parker said. &#8220;Everyone is going to have to take their game to the next level Friday night.&#8221;</p><p>The Royals draw hope from last season&#8217;s Class 2A state quarterfinals, where Dunmore pushed Goretti to the brink before losing by just three points.</p><p>&#8220;You always have promise seeing what Dunmore did to them last year,&#8221; Parker said. &#8220;Dunmore had them on the ropes. It lets you know a small school like us, from up in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area, is capable of playing with them.&#8221;</p><p>A lot of that confidence comes from Lawson, who has shown she can play with anybody.</p><p>During her four seasons as a starter, she has led the Royals to four Wyoming Valley Conference championships, this season&#8217;s District 2 Class 2A title and to three consecutive state quarterfinal appearances. With Lawson leading the way, Redeemer has a 22-6 playoff record over the last four seasons, including a 9-3 mark in state games.</p><p>&#8220;She&#8217;s very confident handling the ball,&#8221; Parker said. &#8220;What&#8217;s special about Lydia is, in everything she does, she&#8217;s a perfectionist. Everything she does, she wants to be the best. If Lydia Lawson were 5-10, 6-foot, she&#8217;d be a Division 1 (college) player. Her size hurts her in that regard. But she&#8217;s a tough kid. You know how they say great things come in small packages?</p><p>&#8220;She&#8217;s that thing.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Holy Redeemer's Lydia Lawson looks to make a steal against Mid Valley in a District 2 Class 2A girls semifinal in Yatesville on Monday night.   Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/web1_Redeemer-MidValleyGBB_1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Holy Redeemer's Lydia Lawson looks to make a steal against Mid Valley in a District 2 Class 2A girls semifinal in Yatesville on Monday night.   Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/web1_hrneumann03.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Lydia Lawson (13) of Holy Redeemer looks to pass the ball to a teammate as Neumann Goretti's Jada Russell (22) chases after Lawson in Tuesday's PIAA state playoff game against Neumann Goretti at Freedom High School in Bethlehem. (Pete G. Wilcox|Times Leader)</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/web1_hrneumann03.jpg</photo1><caption1>Lydia Lawson (13) of Holy Redeemer looks to pass the ball to a teammate as Neumann Goretti's Jada Russell (22) chases after Lawson in Tuesday's PIAA state playoff game against Neumann Goretti at Freedom High School in Bethlehem. (Pete G. Wilcox|Times Leader)</caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/web1_TTL030916HR-YorkCatho1-1-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Holy Redeemers' Lydia Lawson passes the ball to teammate Kayla Hons during the game against York Catholic at Hamburg Area High School on Tuesday. 3/8/16. Sean McKeag | Times Leader</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/web1_TTL030916HR-YorkCatho1-1-2.jpg</photo2><caption2>Holy Redeemers' Lydia Lawson passes the ball to teammate Kayla Hons during the game against York Catholic at Hamburg Area High School on Tuesday. 3/8/16. Sean McKeag | Times Leader</caption2><photoCredit2></photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Redeemer&#8217;s reliable guard points the way to team&#8217;s huge success</subheadMeta></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>PIAA CLASS 2A Quarterfinals</strong></p><p>Holy Redeemer vs. Neumann-Goretti</p><p>7:30 p.m., Bethlehem Freedom H.S.<strong></p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Paul Sokoloski at 570-991-6392 or on Twitter @TLPaulSokoloski</p></shirttailMeta></div>

H.S Girls Basketball: Guard Lydia Lawson, Holy Redeemer prepared for Neumann-Goretti