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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; It wasn&#8217;t so much the fact that the outcome was in doubt.</p><p>Sam Yencha had pretty much taken care of that with her personal eight-point scoring spree in the first quarter.</p><p>The biggest suspense, though, was when &#8212; and whether &#8212; Holy Redeemer&#8217;s junior scoring machine would hit her 1,000th career point.</p><p>Yencha got it early in the second half. And the Royals got a trip to the first-ever Wyoming Valley Conference championship game.</p><p>Yencha poured in 20 points Thursday, Julia Andrejko added 18 and Redeemer romped past Wyoming Seminary 65-32 in the inaugural WVC semifinals at Holy Redeemer High School.</p><p>&#8220;I was really motivated because I was close to making 1,000 points,&#8221; Yencha said. &#8220;It&#8217;s like all my hard work has really paid off.</p><p>&#8220;To do it in the first league playoffs, it&#8217;s almost like making history.&#8221;</p><p>Yencha&#8217;s personal milestone came exactly one night after Andrejko scored her 1,000th point in a makeup game against Tunkhannock, a victory that completed Redeemer&#8217;s 17-0 league season and second consecutive run to a WVC Division 2 title for the Royals (20-3).</p><p>&#8220;We almost had it (Yencha&#8217;s 1,000th) in the same game,&#8221; said Redeemer coach John Jezorwski, whose team will meet Division 1 champ Hazleton Area at 6 p.m. Saturday at Hazleton Area High School for the first overall league crown. &#8220;Nobody&#8217;s ever heard of that, two players making it in the same game. But it&#8217;s better this way each has their own night to celebrate that way.&#8221;</p><p>Not that either Redeemer 1,000-point scorer would have minded.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s so cool, we&#8217;re so close,&#8221; Yencha said. &#8220;It was more that we were excited for each other. I do everything with her (Andrejko). We just click when we play together.&#8221;</p><p>The two Redeemer stars tag-teamed Sem from the start while leading the Royals to an 11-point lead by the end of the opening quarter.</p><p>Yencha and Andrejko split the game&#8217;s first six points, and after Sem tied the game at 8-8 on Margaret Mihalick&#8217;s three-point play midway through the period, Yencha and Redeemer really took off.</p><p>Cameron Marcinkowski hit a bucket and stroked a 3-pointer for a five-point lead, and Yencha grew that margin to 21-10 with four straight baskets to end the first quarter.</p><p>&#8220;She has a motor that&#8217;s different than everyone else,&#8221; Jezorwski said. &#8220;When she sees the ball, she wants to go get it.&#8221;</p><p>Then Yencha went after her personal goal.</p><p>Andrejko scored seven points in the second quarter to finish with 12 points in the first half, Karissa Spade fired in seven more in the second and Redeemer took a 39-15 lead into halftime.</p><p>&#8220;I thought our girls played really good tonight,&#8221; Jezorwski said. &#8220;We moved the ball very well.&#8221;</p><p>Just 18 points away coming in, Yencha made her move toward her milestone in the opening minutes of the second half, hitting a three-point play and a driving basket to give her 1,000 points and Redeemer a 44-15 lead 1:16 into the third quarter.</p><p>&#8220;I just knew I had to be strong, get every rebound,&#8221; Yencha said. &#8220;Had to score, get to the championship.&#8221;</p><p>Sem was hard-pressed to keep up.</p><p>Playing without star guard Alex Wesneski and key reserve Kelsey Reznick &#8212; field hockey All-Americans away on a commitment with the USA Junior National field hockey team &#8212; the Division 3 champion Blue Knights never led and tied the game just that once &#8212; on Mihalick&#8217;s bucket and foul shot with 3:46 to play in the opening quarter.</p><p>Mihalick led Sem with 13 points and Ally Vezendy finished with eight.</p><p>&#8220;I know they&#8217;re missing Wesneski, but Wyoming Sem didn&#8217;t give up,&#8221; Jezorwski said.</p><p>Neither did Redeemer, though, even while substituting freely throughout the second half while earning a date with a Hazleton Area team the Royals beat handily when they met in the league opener back in December.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s going to be a really exciting (league title) game for the first one,&#8221; Jezorwski predicted.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>WVC Semifinals</strong></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Holy Redeemer 65, Wyoming Seminary 32</strong></p><p style="text-align: left;"><strong>WYOMING SEMINARY&#8212; </strong>Maaike Reitsma 0 0-0 0, Margaret Mihalick 4 3-3 13, Emily Mathews 0 0-2 0, Ally Vezendy 3 1-1 8, Kate Getz 2 0-2 5, Ava Bufalino 1 0-0 2, Mia Raineri 1 0-0 2, Abby McDonald 1 0-0 2, Grace Aiello 0 0-0 0, Jenny Yao 0 0-0 0, Rachel Swaback 0 0-0 0.<strong> Totals 12 4-8 32.</strong></p><p style="text-align: left;"><strong>HOLY REDEEMER (65) &#8212; </strong>Karissa Spade 3 1-1 7, Cameron Marcinkowski 3 0-0 7, Sam Yencha 8 4-5 20, Sarah Kuderka 1 0-0 2, Julia Andrejko 8 2-3 18, Jordan Cicon 1 0-0 3, Alyssa Gushka 1 0-0 2, Aubrey Curley 1 0-0 2, Aleia Atherton 0 0-0 0, Alesha Pekarovsky 1 0-0 2, Faith Sekol 1 0-0 2, Lynzie Skoronski 0 0-0 0. <strong>Totals 28 7-9 65.</strong></p><p style="text-align: left;"><strong>Wyoming Seminary`10`5`8`9 &#8212;32</strong></p><p style="text-align: left;"><strong>Holy Redeemer`21`18`14`12 &#8212; 65</strong></p><p style="text-align: left;"><strong>Three-point goals &#8212; </strong>SEM 4 (Mihalick 2, Getz, Vezendy); HR 2 (Marcinkowski, Cicon).</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Holy Redeemer guard Karissa Spade races down court ahead of Wyoming Seminary guard Abby McDonald and Kate Getz. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_sem_red1_faa-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Holy Redeemer guard Karissa Spade races down court ahead of Wyoming Seminary guard Abby McDonald and Kate Getz. </caption0><photoCredit0>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_sem_red3_faa-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Holy Redeemeer&#8217;s Julia Andrejko sets to shoot on Thursday against Wyoming Seminary. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_sem_red3_faa-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Holy Redeemeer&#8217;s Julia Andrejko sets to shoot on Thursday against Wyoming Seminary. </caption1><photoCredit1>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_sem_red2_faa-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Holy Redeemer forward Sam Yencha snags a rebound away from Wyoming Seminary guard Ava Buffalino on Friday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_sem_red2_faa-1.jpg</photo2><caption2>Holy Redeemer forward Sam Yencha snags a rebound away from Wyoming Seminary guard Ava Buffalino on Friday. </caption2><photoCredit2>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_sem_red5_faa-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Holy Redeemer guard Cameron Marcinkowski pushes between Wyoming Seminary defenders Mia Raineri and Abby McDonald to shoot on Friday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_sem_red5_faa-1.jpg</photo3><caption3>Holy Redeemer guard Cameron Marcinkowski pushes between Wyoming Seminary defenders Mia Raineri and Abby McDonald to shoot on Friday. </caption3><photoCredit3>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_sem_red4_faa-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Holy Redeemer forward Sam Yencha hit the 1,000-point milestone in Thursday night&#8217;s WVC semifinal victory over Wyoming Seminary in Wilkes-Barre. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_sem_red4_faa-1.jpg</photo4><caption4>Holy Redeemer forward Sam Yencha hit the 1,000-point milestone in Thursday night&#8217;s WVC semifinal victory over Wyoming Seminary in Wilkes-Barre. </caption4><photoCredit4>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit4></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>

Yencha scores 1,000th point as Holy Redeemer girls basketball team romps