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<p>WILKES-BARRE TWP. &#8212; Since very early in the season, Sam Yencha spent most of her minutes coming off the bench to provide a spark to Holy Redeemer&#8217;s girls basketball team.</p><p>Saturday afternoon, she lit a fire.</p><p>And it burned a path to the upset of the District 2 tournament.</p><p>Inserted into the starting lineup the morning of the championship game, Yencha scored a team-high 14 points and Holy Redeemer&#8217;s super-quick guards charged right past the previously unbeaten Dunmore Bucks and straight to a Class 3A district title with a dominating 51-37 victory at Mohegan Sun Arena.</p><p>&#8220;I was a little nervous,&#8221; said Yencha, a 6-foot freshman center who neutralized Dunmore&#8217;s size under the basket. &#8220;This was my first time starting since the beginning of the season. I guess I put it into my play. I didn&#8217;t feel nervous once I got out there.&#8221;</p><p>As a result, the 21-5 and second-seeded Royals never had much reason to sweat against top-seeded Dunmore, while earning a spot against the No. 4 team from District 12 in the opening round of the PIAA Class 3A state tournament next Saturday.</p><p>Julia Andrejko scored all seven of her points in the opening quarter, including a layup followed by a pretty 3-point goal that gave Redeemer a fast 14-2 lead with under two minutes remaining in the period.</p><p>&#8220;If we didn&#8217;t come out fast, we weren&#8217;t going to win,&#8221; Royals senior point guard Maya Kornfeld said.</p><p>Dunmore never really made a dent in the deficit.</p><p>The Bucks pulled within eight points once in the second quarter and again in the third, and made it a four-point game with 5:39 to play when Victoria Toomey opened the fourth quarter with a rebound bucket and Lisa Tallo followed with her fourth 3-pointer of the day.</p><p>But Redeemer responded with an inside bucket by Yencha and two free throws from Irelyn Jannuzzi with 2:14 remaining, pretty much sealing a shockingly easy victory that dropped Dunmore to 23-1 overall and ensuring a second straight District 2 title for the Royals.</p><p>&#8220;Oh yeah, I&#8217;ve been saying it for the last few weeks,&#8221; smiled senior guard Talia Kosierowski, a member of Redeemer&#8217;s District 2 Class 2A title team last season. &#8220;I just had a feeling &#8212; we wanted this <em>so </em>bad. No one looks at Redeemer like a winning team. We have to show up every game.&#8221;</p><p>The Royals showed up with a different look this time, putting Yencha on the floor at the start while the playoff-tested Kosierowski &#8212; a 5-10 senior guard who helped Redeemer win last year&#8217;s district title game that triggered a run to the PIAA quarterfinals &#8212; shifted to the bench at the beginning.</p><p>But she didn&#8217;t wait long to make and impact.</p><p>Kosierowski wasn&#8217;t in the game for five seconds when she buried a 3-pointer to give the Royals a 7-0 lead, and added a three-point play 37 seconds from the end of the opening quarter to hike Holy Redeemer&#8217;s advantage to 17-2.</p><p>So much for sulking about not starting.</p><p>&#8220;Coach&#8217;s call,&#8221; Kosierowski shrugged. &#8220;But she (Yencha) steps up when she&#8217;s in the game. Coach wanted more size on the floor. It doesn&#8217;t matter who&#8217;s in, as long as we win.&#8221;</p><p>That&#8217;s the type of unselfish attitude that helped Redeemer roll off 20 victories in their past 22 games &#8212; with both losses coming to Class 4A district champ Nanticoke Area &#8212; and avenge a 61-47 loss to Dunmore back on on Dec. 19.</p><p>&#8220;Talia did a great job of accepting that role,&#8221; Holy Redeemer&#8217;s first-year head coach John Jezorwski said. &#8220;You have to give it to her, especially being a senior.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;ve said from the beginning of the year, the star of us is the team.&#8221;</p><p>The star Saturday was Yencha.</p><p>She bodied up against Dunmore&#8217;s 6-foot and 5-10 post players to pull down eight rebounds, and made an even bigger impact on the offensive end.</p><p>Yencha scored six points in a pivotal second quarter, polishing it off with a pair of foul shots that sent the Royals into halftime holding a comfortable 31-18 lead.</p><p>&#8220;Sam Yencha was huge for us,&#8221; said Jezorwski, who said he decided to put Yencha in the middle due to &#8220;the size of Dunmore. She&#8217;s just a tough player.&#8221;</p><p>Yencha hit two more buckets in the third quarter. And then, with Dunmore starting to rally and the Royals trying to protect a four-point fourth-quarter advantage, she broke free in the paint for an easy layup that had Redeemer breathing a little easier with a six-point advantage and 3:34 to play.</p><p>&#8220;I just boxed out and stood straight up,&#8221; said Yencha, who was informed she was slotted to start just hours before the noon tipoff. &#8220;They (her teammates) were counting on me to get the rebound offensively and defensively, but most importantly off their shot &#8212; so we could push it and go.&#8221;</p><p>Kornfield, Jannuzzi and Redeemer&#8217;s lightning-fast guards took care of the rest.</p><p>Kornfeld, a senior point guard who joined the Royals this season after spending her first three high school years at Wyoming Seminary, dashed and darted her way to 12 points as the team&#8217;s only other double-figure scorer. More importantly, she consistently beat the Bucks down the court in a relentless, fast-break attack while disrupting Dunmore ball-handlers with some quick-handed defense.</p><p>&#8220;This is what I wanted to accomplish, a district title,&#8221; Kornfeld said. &#8220;I really didn&#8217;t have (past) big games like this. I just knew we had to come out here and win. I think we definitely shut down the inside, and never let up.</p><p>&#8220;I was ready for this.&#8221;</p><p>So were the rest of the Royals who will make their fifth straight trip to states while trying to keep a run of three straight PIAA quarterfinal trips going.</p><p>&#8220;The whole team did a great job,&#8221; Jezorwski said. &#8220;We beat a great Dunmore team. Our girls, I&#8217;m ecstatic for them. Every one of them is a great, great player and did great things. It goes to the girls. They just didn&#8217;t quit.</p><p>&#8220;They did a great job.&#8221;</p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Holy Redeemer 51, Dunmore 37</strong></p><p><strong>HOLY REDEEMER (51) &#8212;</strong> Maya Kornfeld 4 4-5 12, Irelyn Jannuzzi 1 3-4 5, Julia Andrejko 3 0-0 7, Sam Yencha 6 2-2 14, Sam Rajza 1 2-4 4, Talia Kosierowski 2 4-5 9, Randie Kuhar 0 0-0 0, Cameron Marcinkowski 0 0-0 0, Alyssa Gushka 0 0-0 0, Lauren Wasiakowski 0 0-0 0, Sarah Kuderka 0 0-0 0. <strong>Totals 17 15-20 51.</strong></p><p><strong>DUNMORE (37) &#8212;</strong> Erika Bistran 0 0-1 0, Gianna Delfino 1 4-7 6, Maddie Martin 0 4-4 4, Lisa Tallo 4 0-0 12, Victoria Toomey 7 1-1 15, Kelly Quinn 0 0-0 0, Maria Borgia 0 0-0 0, Brooke Frable 0 0-0 0, Nora Haggerty 0 0-0 0, Julia Walsh 0 0-0 0. <strong>Totals 12 9-13 37.</strong></p><p><strong>Holy Redeemer`17`14`9`11`&#8212;`51</strong></p><p><strong>Dunmore`5`13`13`6`&#8212;`37</strong></p><p><strong>Three-point goals</strong> &#8212; HR 2 (Kosierowski, Andrejko); DUN 4 (Tallo 4).</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Holy Redeemer freshman center Samantha Yencha scores two of her team-high 14 points as Dunmore&#8217;s Maddie Martin defend. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_3ag5_faa.jpg</photo0><caption0>Holy Redeemer freshman center Samantha Yencha scores two of her team-high 14 points as Dunmore&#8217;s Maddie Martin defend. </caption0><photoCredit0>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_3ag1_faa.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Sam Rajza and the Holy Redeemer Royals clear the bench to celebrate their win over Dunmore. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_3ag1_faa.jpg</photo1><caption1>Sam Rajza and the Holy Redeemer Royals clear the bench to celebrate their win over Dunmore. </caption1><photoCredit1>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_3ag4_faa.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Holy Redeemer guard Maya Kornfield (bottom) and Dunmore&#8217;s Lisa Tallo fall to the court in pursuit of a loose ball. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_3ag4_faa.jpg</photo2><caption2>Holy Redeemer guard Maya Kornfield (bottom) and Dunmore&#8217;s Lisa Tallo fall to the court in pursuit of a loose ball. </caption2><photoCredit2>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_3ag3_faa.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Holy Redeemer&#8217;s Maya Kornfield (left) and Dunmore&#8217;s Maddie Martin chase after a loose ball in the third quarter of play in the District 2 Class 3A title game. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_3ag3_faa.jpg</photo3><caption3>Holy Redeemer&#8217;s Maya Kornfield (left) and Dunmore&#8217;s Maddie Martin chase after a loose ball in the third quarter of play in the District 2 Class 3A title game. </caption3><photoCredit3>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_3ag2_faa.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Maya Kornfeld&#8217;s face lights up as Holy Redeemer celebrates an upset win over previously unbeaten Dunmore in the District 2 Class 3A Championship at the Mohegan Sun Arena Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_3ag2_faa.jpg</photo4><caption4>Maya Kornfeld&#8217;s face lights up as Holy Redeemer celebrates an upset win over previously unbeaten Dunmore in the District 2 Class 3A Championship at the Mohegan Sun Arena Saturday. </caption4><photoCredit4>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit4></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Yencha leads upset of previously unbeaten Bucks</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Paul Sokoloski</p><p>psokoloski@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>VIDEO</strong></p><p>To watch Holy Redeemer celebrate its District 2 Class 3A championship victory with an upset of previously unbeaten Dunmore, visit timesleader.com.</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Paul Sokoloski at 570-991-6392 or on Twitter @TLPaulSokoloski</p></shirttailMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><videoMeta><p><table style="border:none;width:98%;" class="mceItemTable"><tbody><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">VideoID:</td><td id="videoid" style="width:50em;font-size:90%;"> 1IDP2hx-8Hk</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">VideoType:</td><td id="videotype" style="font-size:90%;"> YOUTUBE</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">URL:</td><td id="url" style="font-size:90%;"> https://youtu.be/1IDP2hx-8Hk</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Embed String:</td><td id="videoembedstring" style="font-size:90%;"> </td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Caption:</td><td id="videocaption" style="font-size:90%;"> Royals roll around in gold medal glee</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Credit:</td><td id="videocredit" style="font-size:90%;"> Paul Sokoloski</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Position:</td><td id="videoposition" style="font-size:90%;"> </td></tr></tbody></table></p><p style="margin-top:10px;font-size:70%;color:#555;">(use the &#8220;for files&#8230;&#8221; link above to associate attached files with this source)</p></videoMeta></div>

Sam Yencha leads Holy Redeemer to district girls basketball title