web1_Columnshot-1-1-.jpg

Beyond the Byline: Back ‘home’ in Lemon Township

web1_TTL030418HSBB-HazArea-Scranton_6.jpg

D2 basketball: Hazleton Area defeats Scranton to win 6A boys title

<p>WILKES-BARRE TWP. &#8212; A comfortable lead, followed by an opponent&#8217;s late-game rally and a pivotal play or two down the stretch.</p><p>Hannah Kowalski&#8217;s seen it all before in district championship games.</p><p>And just like last time, Kowalski picked the right time to do something about it.</p><p>Kowalski scored 20 points Saturday, finishing with her final four from the foul line in the last minute to carry Abington Heights to a repeat of the District 2 Class 5A girls basketball championship and deny stubborn Crestwood a chance at making history with a 51-45 victory at Mohegan Sun Arena.</p><p>&#8220;The experience of being here twice already was really comforting,&#8221; said Kowalski, a 5-foot-6 senior who also helped Abington Heights capture the Class 3A district crown in 2016 and the 5A title when the state moved from four to six classifications last year. &#8220;Some of the younger girls struggled with the nerves. But they all stepped up.</p><p>&#8220;We were all ready.&#8221;</p><p>Crestwood wasn&#8217;t &#8212; at least at the start.</p><p>Playing in its first district title game since 1984 and vying for the school&#8217;s first-ever District 2 girls basketball championship, Crestwood sputtered at the start.</p><p>Abington Heights held an 18-9 lead and an 8-1 rebounding advantage at the end of the first quarter and took a 31-16 lead into halftime behind 12 points from Kowalski and 10 more from 6-foot senior Cassie Ksiazek &#8212; who finished with a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds.</p><p>&#8220;It was hard to stop the drive,&#8221; Crestwood coach Ed Stepanski said. &#8220;We were working on that. We knew that was going to be an issue the whole game. They (Crestwood&#8217;s players) come into a big game like this, they&#8217;ve got jitters.</p><p>&#8220;That&#8217;s one advantage they (Abington Heights players) had on us &#8212; they played in this game before.&#8221;</p><p>So Abington Heights knew how to react when Crestwood charged back.</p><p>Sara Hopkins hit a 3-pointer to get Crestwood back in the game while whittling the deficit to 10 points early in the third quarter, and Julia Makowski&#8217;s 3-pointer pulled Crestwood within 37-30 with a quarter to play.</p><p>&#8220;They made a really good run in the third and fourth quarter,&#8221; said Kowalski, who hit a big, late-game 3-pointer and was also the leading scorer with nine points whens Abington Heights held off Wyoming Valley West, 32-30 in last year&#8217;s district championship game. &#8220;Luckily, we got up early. We were feeling very confident at halftime.&#8221;</p><p>Through the second half, though, Crestwood&#8217;s confidence began to grow.</p><p>Hopkins hit her second 3-pointer to keep the game from getting away late, then Sara Richards converted a three-point play to give Crestwood hope and cut the Abington Heights advantate to five points with 92 seconds to play. And when Hopkins hit a pair of foul shots to finish with a team-high 13 points with 1:04 remaining, Crestwood was within 46-43 and one 3-pointer away from tying the game with 1:03 still on the clock.</p><p>&#8220;We just came out and played harder. That&#8217;s all it was,&#8221; Stepanski said. &#8220;We had some nice stops, started trapping on the seams. If we made a few shots here and there, it would have been a different game. But we came back. I&#8217;m proud of the way we fought back. We started playing with more intensity.&#8221;</p><p>Kowalski, though, was just as determined to keep the District 2 championship at Abington Heights.</p><p>She anwered Crestwood&#8217;s comeback with eight points in the fourth quarter. And although she missed four free throws when Crestwood was forced to foul, Kowalski also hit four crucial shots from the foul line. Two came with 58 seconds to play and the final two came with eight seconds remaining for the final four Abington Heights points that put victory out of Crestwood&#8217;s reach.</p><p>&#8220;I think when I was missing, I was just battling nerves,&#8221; Kowalski said. &#8220;I just took a deep breath and put them away. We knew they would probably make a second-half run. They&#8217;re a good team.&#8221;</p><p>Now, both teams will advance to the PIAA Class 5A tournament.</p><p>At 18-7, Abington Heights will face the No. 6 team from District 3, while 17-8 Crestwood will make its second-ever state appearearance and first in 34 years while battling the District 3 No. 4 team in the opening round of PIAA play next Saturday.</p><p>&#8220;This isn&#8217;t over yet,&#8221; Stepanski said. &#8220;We&#8217;re in the states now.&#8221;</p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>District 2 Class 5A Championship</strong></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Abington Heights 51, Crestwood 45</strong></p><p><strong>CRESTWOOD (45) &#8212;</strong> Sara Hopkins 4 3-4 13, Julia Makowski 4 1-2 10, Andrea Shipton 3 4-4 10, Bella Termini 0 0-0 0, Sara Richards 3 1-1 7, Helena Jardine 1 3-4 5, Riley Magin 0 0-2 0. <strong>Totals 15 12-17 45.</strong></p><p><strong>ABINGTON HEIGHTS (51) &#8212;</strong> Hannah Kowalski 6 8-12 20, Clair Marion 3 0-0 6, Sharon Houlihan 0 0-0 0, Cassie Ksiazek 5 5-6 15, Erin Albright 2 1-2 5, Rachel McDonald 2 0-0 5, Hannah Hughes 0 0-0 0, Maria Tully 0 0-0 0. <strong>Totals 18 14-20 51.</strong></p><p><strong>Crestwood`9`7`14`15 &#8212; 45</strong></p><p><strong>Abington Heights`18`13`6`14 &#8212; 51</strong></p><p><strong>Three-point goals</strong> &#8212; CRE 3 (Hopkins 2, Makowski); AH 1 (McDonald).</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/2018/03/web1_TTL030418GBBAHCrestwood1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Crestwood&#8217;s Sara Hopkins (5) runs past Abington Heights&#8217; Maria Tully toward the basket during the PIAA District 2 Class 5A championship game at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre Township on Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_TTL030418GBBAHCrestwood1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Crestwood&#8217;s Sara Hopkins (5) runs past Abington Heights&#8217; Maria Tully toward the basket during the PIAA District 2 Class 5A championship game at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre Township on Saturday. </caption0><photoCredit0>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_TTL030418GBBAHCrestwood2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Crestwood&#8217;s Andrea Shipton (34) eyes up the basket against Abington Heights&#8217; Cassandra Ksiazek during the District 2 Class 5A championship game at Mohegan Sun Arena. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_TTL030418GBBAHCrestwood2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Crestwood&#8217;s Andrea Shipton (34) eyes up the basket against Abington Heights&#8217; Cassandra Ksiazek during the District 2 Class 5A championship game at Mohegan Sun Arena. </caption1><photoCredit1>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_TTL030418GBBAHCrestwood3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Crestwood&#8217;s Sara Hopkins (5) hustles through the pain against Abington Heights&#8217; Hanna Kowalski during the District 2 Class 5A championship game at Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_TTL030418GBBAHCrestwood3.jpg</photo2><caption2>Crestwood&#8217;s Sara Hopkins (5) hustles through the pain against Abington Heights&#8217; Hanna Kowalski during the District 2 Class 5A championship game at Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday. </caption2><photoCredit2>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Paul Sokoloski</p><p>psokoloski@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Paul Sokoloski at 570-991-6392 or on Twitter @TLPaulSokoloski</p></shirttailMeta></div>

D2 basketball: Kowalski leads Abington Heights to repeat of girls 5A title