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D2 basketball: Makowski and Crestwood soar to new heights in girls semis

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D2 basketball: Abington Heights girls stifle Pittston Area

YATESVILLE &#8212; Admittedly, Julia Andrejko enjoys playing under pressure.Looks like the rest of the Holy Redeemer Royals don&#8217;t mind it, either.Andrejko scored the final eight of her game-high 20 points in the fourth quarter Saturday and defending District 2 Class 3A champion Redeemer rolled back into the district finals by pulling away from Holy Cross 51-41 in a District 2 semifinal game at Pittston Area High School.&#8220;It feels ecstatic,&#8221; Andrejko said. &#8220;We wanted to get back to the finals.&#8221;The No. 2 Royals will see a familiar face there.They&#8217;ll play the role of the underdog against top-seeded Dunmore for the second straight year in the Class 3A district championship game at noon next Saturday at Mohegan Sun Arena, after Dunmore dumped Mid Valley 60-27 in another semifinal Saturday. Both teams will then head to the PIAA playoffs.&#8220;It feels great,&#8221; second-year Redeemer coach John Jezorwski said. &#8220;I feel great for the girls. They worked hard all season long, battled through some adversity. The girls really deserve this one.&#8221;Holy Cross didn&#8217;t make it easy.Andrejko popped a couple 3-pointers and scored seven points in the first quarter to lead Redeemer to an 11-4 start, but the Crusaders came back behind a balanced scoring attack to even the game at 15-15 by the end of the period.The score continued like that for most of the game.Sam Yencha opened the second quarter with three straight baskets for six of her 16 points to put Redeemer into a 21-15 lead, but Holy Cross cut its deficit to three points by halftime.Yencha cut through the paint for four more points in the third quarter, but Haley Bestrycki scored five for Holy Cross as the Crusaders closed within a basket with eight minutes to play.&#8220;We knew coming in it was going to be a battle,&#8221; Andrejko said. &#8220;Holy Cross is a great team. We knew we had to shut them down.&#8221;Andrejko&#8217;s no stranger to facing tough tests.She was one of three starters who were off the floor with injury at the end of two late-season losses, which wound up costing Redeemer the district&#8217;s top seed.&#8220;I had concussion symptoms and split my head open,&#8221; Andrejko said. &#8220;I had to get stitches. My first game back was against Nanticoke (for a regular-season victory that helped force a Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 championship playoff). I wanted to do anything to get back for that game.&#8221;Andrejko did just about everything to make sure the Royals got back to the district title game.She scored hit a bucket from inside and another from outside, then delivered a driving layup out of a timeout that gave Redeemer breathing room, 43-34, with 2:34 to play.&#8220;I like when the ball&#8217;s in my hands at the end,&#8221; Andrejko smiled. &#8220;I think this was the most complete game we played all season.&#8221; Andrejko pretty much completed the victory when she hit two free throws to give her eight points in seven minutes, and give the Royals another nine-point lead with 72 seconds on the clock.&#8220;Oh my goodness, Julia Andrejko is a super, super player. She&#8217;s a super kid,&#8221; Jezorwski said. &#8220;When she&#8217;s not scoring, she&#8217;s defending. She&#8217;s such a leader.&#8221;District 2 Class 3A SemifinalsHoly Redeemer 51, Holy Cross 41HOLY CROSS (41) &#8212; Haley Bestrycki 3 1-2 8, Mollie Burda 2 0-0 4, Abbey Lentowski 5 1-3 12, Lexi Walsh 3 0-4 6, Abby Sempa 5 0-0 11, Caroline Kranick 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 2-9 41.HOLY REDEEMER (51) &#8212; Julie Andrejko 8 2-2 20, Sam Yencha 7 2-2 16, Lauren Wasiakowski 0 4-4 4, Sam Rajza 2 4-4 9, Lauren Marcinkowski 1 0-0 2, Sarah Kuderka 0 0-0 0, Alyssa Gushka 0 0-0 0, Jordan Cicon 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 12-12 51.Holy Cross`15`5`9`12 &#8212; 41Holy Redeemer`15`8`8`20 &#8212; 51Three-point goals &#8212; HC 3 (Lentowski, Sempa, Bestrycki); HR 3 (Andrejko 2, Rajza).<style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Paul Sokoloskipsokoloski@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Paul Sokoloski at 570-991-6392 or on Twitter @TLPaulSokoloski</shirttailMeta></div>

D2 basketball: Andrejko and Holy Redeemer pull back into girls finals