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H.S. boys basketball: Holy Redeemer holds off Nanticoke Area

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Our View: Some sports fans need a big reality check

SALEM TWP. &#8212; In a 30-second span of the opening quarter, Sam Yencha made a steal, blocked a shot, pulled down two rebounds and popped in five points.It barely took Julia Andrejko that long to score nine points to start the second half.From beginning to end, the Holy Redeemer Royals were on a red-hot roll while running right over Berwick.Yencha and Andrejko both scored 19 points Monday and the Royals turned their toughest test of the Wyoming Valley Conference season into another double-digit dusting while battering Berwick 59-39 in a girls basketball battle for first place in the league&#8217;s Division 2.&#8220;This was one of the top teams,&#8221; said Yencha, who finished with eight rebounds, two blocks and three steals in a victory that kept Redeemer unbeaten in 11 league games. &#8220;We were excited for this game.&#8221;It showed.The 5-foot-11 Yencha, giving away a couple inches to Berwick&#8217;s tall towers inside, knifed through the Bulldogs defense for three rebounds and made a pair of steals in the opening quarter while scoring the game&#8217;s first seven points.She finished with nine points in the opening quarter and 15 for the first half as Redeemer built a big lead that rarely slipped under double digits.&#8220;She does that,&#8221; Redeemer coach John Jezorwski said of Yencha. &#8220;She does everything we need. She&#8217;s always wanting to work harder. She and Cameron (Marcinkowski) did outstanding, giving up four or five inches each girl.&#8221;As a result, the Royals refused to give up their division lead.They improved to 11-0 at the top of the WVC Division 2 and took a two-game lead with five to play over 10-2 teams Berwick and Nanticoke Area, with Lake-Lehman sitting at 9-2 after its loss to Nanticoke Area on Monday.In the process, the Royals moved to 13-3 overall with their 10th win in 11 games &#8212; with the loss during that span coming to powerful non-conference opponent Trinity two weeks ago &#8212; and all but two of those last 10 wins were by 20 or more points.Redeemer did it again Monday by riding Yencha&#8217;s strong start and a dogged defense that held the Bulldogs to just two shots &#8212; and two points, both on free throws &#8212; in the first quarter as the Royals built a 13-2 lead.&#8220;I really had to come out strong,&#8221; Yencha said. &#8220;Knowing they were a bit bigger than me, I had to fight for the rebounds. My coach told me I had to be tougher in this game.&#8221;The Bulldogs found the going especially tough offensively.Berwick&#8217;s didn&#8217;t convert a basket from the floor until 15 seconds into the second quarter, and didn&#8217;t find much shot selection until the game was already getting away.&#8220;Our defense was very, very good,&#8221; Jezorwski said.Renny Murphy scored two of her 11 points early in the second quarter as the Bulldogs pulled within seven points just under three minutes into the period.But Yencha hit a three-point play, Marcinkowski hit a 3-point shot and Redeemer rode into halftime with a 30-16 advantage.&#8220;Berwick is a great team,&#8221; Jezorwski said. &#8220;They play great, are very well-coached.&#8220;Don&#8217;t take them lightly.&#8221; The Royals didn&#8217;t.Shut out of the scorebook during the first half, Andrejko charged out of the locker room on fire.She ripped a 3-pointer, then scored three straight regular baskets to score Redeemer&#8217;s first nine points over the first 2:24 of the third quarter to boost the Royals lead to 39-20.If it wasn&#8217;t one Redeemer star frustrating Berwick, it was another.&#8220;She (Yencha) sort of let down, Julia picked up,&#8221; Jezorwski said. &#8220;With our team, you can&#8217;t just concentrate on one player.&#8221;Berwick forward Katie Starr finished with a double-double, snagging 12 rebounds to go with her 18 points. But her performance couldn&#8217;t keep Redeemer from snapping Berwick&#8217;s seven-game winning streak, as the Bulldogs fell to 14-3 overall and Redeemer easily passing its first tough test of the season &#8212; with Nanticoke Area and Lehman on deck.&#8221;It was a good game for us,&#8221; Yencha said. &#8220;To beat them by 20 points was a reward for us.&#8221;Meyers 68, MMI Prep 24Bella Skaff scored a game-high 18 points while Allycia Harris and Ashley Bruno each chipped in with 16 in the Mohawks&#8217; win.MMI Prep was paced by Iren Altmiller&#8217;s 9 points.Hazleton Area 66, Coughlin 29Faith Grula scored a team-high 12 points, while Marissa Trivelpiece, Brooke Boretski and Virginia Yruchak all scored 10 points for Hazleton Area.Coughlin was paced by Arianna Brittingham&#8217;s game-high 14 points.Tunkhannock 39, Wyoming Area 37The Tigers used an 18-10 run in the fourth quarter to defeat the Warriors.Tunhannock&#8217;s Becca Avery scored a team-high 15 points. Nicole Silinski netted a game-high 20 points, including 5 3-pointers, to pace Wyoming Area.Dallas 52, Wyoming Valley West 47Samatha Kern and Deanna Wallace each scored 12 points to spark the Mountaineers. Julia Kocher added 11, while Lauren Charlton scored 10 in the victory.Nicole Bootanos topped the Spartans with 14 points.Nanticoke Area 51, Lake-Lehman 44Amiah Lukowski hit six 3-pointers as the Trojans handed Lehman its second league loss and moved into second place in the WVC Division 2.Lukowski finished with a game-high 22 points as Nanticoke Area improved to 10-2 in league play and joined Berwick beind 11-0 Holy Redeemer in the Division 2 standings. Lauren Casey chipped in 10 points during the victory.Madison Borum led the Black Knights with 15 points.GAR 62, Hanover Area 49Madison Hooper&#8217;s game-high 22 points weren&#8217;t enough as the Hawkeyes fell to GAR.Hannah Cook had 13 points to lead the Grenadiers and Olivia Prato, Gloria Adjayi and Emily Engle each had 10 points.Pittston Area 34, Crestwood 23Pittston Area found a way to top the Comets in a low scoring affair.Jada Sharp led the way for the Patriots with nine points.Helena Jardine had a game-high 13 points for Crestwood.Wyoming Seminary 29, Northwest 24The Blue Knights edged Northwest in a battle for first place in the WVC Division 3.Abby Mcdonald had a game-high nine points and nearly one third of Wyoming Seminary&#8217;s points as the Blue Knights moved to 7-4 at the top of the Division 3 standings. Two-time defending division champion Northwest fell to 4-6 and into third place in the standings, behind 5-6 Hanover Area.Holy Redeemer 59, Berwick 39HOLY REDEEMER (59) &#8212; Karissa Spade 4 0-0 8, Sarah Kuderka 1 0-0 2, Julia Andrejko 7 3-4 19, Sam Yencha 7 4-6 19, Cameron Marcinkowski 2 6-6 11, Jordan Cicon 0 0-0 0, Aubrey Curley 0 0-0 0, Aleia Atherton 0 0-0 0, Alesha Pakarovsky 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 13-16 59.BERWICK (39) &#8212; Renny Murphy 3 5-6 11, Emily Novicki 0 0-0 0, Sierra Miedaner 0 0-0 0, Katie Starr 9 0-1 18, Megan Dalo 3 2-2 8, Jackie Nevel 0 0-0 0, Abby Burt 1 0-0 2, Emily Ouimet 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 7-9 39.Holy Redeemer`13`17`15`14 &#8212; 59Berwick`2`14`9`14 &#8212; 39Three-point goals &#8212; HR 4 (Andrejko 2, Yencha, Marcinkowski),Meyers 68, MMI Prep 24MMI PREP (24) &#8212; Irene Altmiller 3 1-5 9, Kim Amentice 3 0-2 6, Julie Amentler 2 2-2 6, Alexis Delesanro 1 1-2 3. Totals 9 4-11 24.MEYERS (68) &#8212; Bella Skaff 7 4-6 18, Allycia Harris 7 2-2 16, Ashley Bruno 7 0-0 16, Alana Germano 3 0-0 6, Da&#8217;Nayia Ballard 3 0-0 6, M. Gray 1 0-0 2, Bailey Smallcomb 1 0-0 2, L. Jenkins 1 0-0 2, Kadijah Darboe 0 0-2 0, Bella Gray 0 0-0 0, M. Gallagher 0 0-0 0, Jersuly Nazario 0 0-0 0, A. Ryman 0 0-0 0, A. Vital 0 0-0 0, L. Jenkins 0 0-0 0. Totals 30 6-10 68.MMI Prep`5`5`8`6 &#8212; 24Meyers`23`18`23`4 &#8212; 68Three-point goals &#8212; MMI 2 (Altmiller 2); MEY 2 (Bruno 2).Hazleton Area 66, Coughlin 29HAZLETON AREA (66) &#8212; Faith Frula 3 6-6 12, Marissa Trivelpiece 4 1-2 10, Brooke Boretski 4 0-0 10, Virginia Yurchak 4 0-0 10, Olivia Wolk 3 0-0 8, Megan Fay 2 0-0 4, Kyra Antolick 1 0-0 3, Alyssa Holodick 1 0-0 2, Latie Lapinski 0 2-2 2, Diane Garnett 1 0-2 2, Carley Krizansky 0 2-2 2, Maddison Plesh 0 1-2 1, Allie Zumar 0 0-0 0, Madelyn LaBuda 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 12-16 66.COUGHLIN (29) &#8212; Arianna Brittingham 5 3-6 14, Ajalaya Butts 4 1-3 9, Le&#8217;June Berry 2 0-0 4, Abbiy Cicon 1 0-0 2, Abigail Kush 0 0-0 0, Yansel Perez 0 0-0 0, Courtney Wartella 0 0-0 0. Totals 12 4-9 29.Hazleton Area 9`24`22`12 &#8212; 66Coughlin`14`3`4`8 &#8212; 29Three-point goals &#8212; HAZ 8 (Wolk 2, Buretski 2, Yurchak 2, Trivelpiece 1, Antolick 1); COU 1 (Brttingham 1).Tunkhannock 39, Wyoming Area 37WYOMING AREA (37) &#8212; Nicole Silinski 7 1-2 20, Aleah Kranson 3 6-9 12, Kaitlyn Slusser 1 2-4 4, Erika Holweg 0 1-2 1, Rosalind Tart 0 0-2 0, Jessica Davis 0 0-1 0, Mackenzie Nocchi 0 0-0 0, Nicole Donvito 0 0-0 0, Ashley Songaila 0 0-0 0, Zoe Brobst 0 0-0 0. Totals 11 10-20 37.TUNKHANNOCK (39) &#8212; Becca Avery 7 1-2 15, Annalise Verbeek 2 3-4 8, Abby Ritz 3 1-2 7, Hailey Long 2 0-0 5, Courtney Yuhas 1 0-0 2, Alaina Ritz 0 2-4 2. Totals 15 7-12 39.Wyoming Area`7`14`6`10 &#8212; 37Tunkhannock`9`5`7`18 &#8212; 39Three-point goals &#8212; WA 5 (Silinskie 5); TUN 2 (Verbeek 1, Long 1).Dallas 52, Wyoming Valley West 47DALLAS (52) &#8212; Samatha Kern 4 4-7 12, Deanna Wallace 3 3-6 12, Julia Kocher 4 1-2 11, Lauren Charlton 4 0-0 10, Bella Hill 0 5-6 5, Haley Habrack 0 0-0 0, Emily Weiland 0 0-0 0, Claire Charlton 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 15-25 52.WYOMING VALLEY WEST (47) &#8212; Nicole Bootanos 5 3-4 14, Toni Amato 3 4-6 12, Lindsey Gruver 3 4-6 11, Trinity Johnson 2 0-0 4, Jessica Shaver 0 4-4 4, Karaline Stelma 1 01 2, Aubrey Boyd 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 15-21 47.Dallas`14`7`18`13 &#8212; 52Wyoming Valley West`10`10`13`14 &#8212; 47Three-point goals &#8212; DAL 7 (Wallace 3, Kacher 2, Charlton 2); WVW 4 (Amato 2, Gruver 1, Bootanos 1).Nanticoke Area 51, Lake-Lehman 44LAKE-LEHMAN (44) &#8212; Madison Borum 4 7-9 15, Corinna Scoblick 3 0-0 7, Claire Dougherty 2 0-0 6, Sarah Salus 3 0-2 6, Chase Purdy 3 0-0 6, Savannah Purdy 1 2-2 4, Jodie Salansky 0 0-0 0, Jessica Spencer 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 9-13 44.NANTICOKE AREA (51) &#8212; Amiah Lukowski 7 2-2 22, Lauren Casey 3 4-6 10, Alyssa Lewis 2 2-4 8, Myla Vnuk 2 0-0 4, Jilann Baron 1 1-2 3, Riley Baird 1 0-0 2, Bella Czeck 1 0-1 2, Jen Kurkowski 0 0-0 0, Emily Haver 0 0-1 0. Totals 17 9-16 51.Lake-Lehman`11`11`11`11 &#8212; 44Nanticoke Area`13`9`17`12 &#8212; 51Three-point goals &#8212; LL 3 (Dougherty 2, Salus); NAN 8 (Lukowski 6, Lewis 2).GAR 62, Hanover Area 49HANOVER AREA (49) &#8212; Madison Hooper 6 9-13 22, Sarah Tuzinski 5 2-6 16 Kylee McCance 3 0-0 8, Sarah Whitesell 1 0-2 2, Molly Corbett 0 2-2 2, Emilee Bobos 0 0-0 0, Ally Sheridan 0 0-0 0, Tahjae Hines 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 13-23 49.GAR (62) &#8212; Hannah Cook 5 0-3 15, Olivia Prato 4 1-5 10, Emily Engle 5 0-0 10, Gloria Adjayi 5 0-0 10, Madison Savage 4 1-2 9, Erin Leonard 3 0-0 8, Vanessa Luna 1 0-0 2, Lyann Pena 0 0-2 0. Totals 17 2-12 62.Hanover Area`7`9`19`14 &#8212; 49GAR`23`10`15`14 &#8212; 62Three-point goals &#8212; HAN 7 (Tuzinski 4, McCance 2, Hooper); GAR 6 (Cook 3, Leonard 2, Prato).Pittston Area 34, Crestwood 23CRESTWOOD (23) &#8212; Helena Jardine 2 8-10 13, Riley Magin 1 0-0 3, Krista Papira 1 1-4 3, Jaden Weiss 1 1-2 3, Bella Termini 0 1-4 1, Kristen Andrews 0 0-2 0, Julia Johnson 0 0-2 0. Totals 5 11-24 23.PITSTON AREA (34) &#8212; Jada Sharp 4 0-0 9, Lily Savoy 3 0-0 6, Hannah Getz 2 0-2 5, Nicole Zambetti 1 2-2 5, Emma Coles 2 0-0 4, Krista Maurizi 1 0-0 3. Totals 14 2-4 34.Crestwood`4`2`15`2 &#8212; 23Pittston Area`14`8`4`8 &#8212; 34Three-point goals &#8212; CRE 2 (Magin, Jardine); PIT 4 (Getz, Zambetti, Sharp, Maurizi).Wyoming Seminary 29, Northwest 24WYOMING SEMINARY (29) &#8212; Abby Mcdonald 4 1-2 9, Grace Aiello 3 0-0 7, Ava Butalino 2 0-0 4, Rachel Swaback 1 1-2 4, Kelsey Resnick 1 1-2 3, Bekah Kornfeld 1 0-0 2, Jenny Yao 0 0-0 0, Tiange Yang 0 0-0 0. Totals 12 3-6 29.NORTHWEST (24) &#8212; Kennedy Yaple 3 1-1 7, Maddie Mclendon 3 0-0 6, Kaelyn Crawford 2 0-0 5, Jill Clarke 2 0-1 4, Kendra Saxton 1 0-0 2, Maggie Miller 0 0-0 0, Cassidy Crawford 0 0-0 0, Dashawnna Jones 0 0-0 0. Totals 11 1-2 24.Wyoming Seminary`9`4`3`13 &#8212; 29Northwest`5`10`3`6 &#8212; 24Three-point goals &#8212; WS 2 (Swaback, Aiello); NW 1 (K. Crawford).<style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Yencha, Andrejko star in battering of Berwick</subheadMeta></div><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>

Yencha, Andrejko fuel victory for Holy Redeemer girls basketball team