web1_TTL021719MedicalMarijuanaClinic1.jpeg.jpg

Clinic opens in Kingston to help certify medical-marijuana patients

web1_deer.jpg

Sunday hunting measure advances, but some groups oppose it

<p>HAZLE TWP. &#8212; Flustered, frustrated and becoming more furious by the minute, Sam Yencha looked at the scoreboard and the 10-point hole her Holy Redeemer team seemed buried in well into the second half.</p><p>It was at that point she made a promise.</p><p>&#8220;I said, &#8216;I&#8217;m not getting beat in this,&#8217;&#8221; Yencha said. &#8220;We made it this far.</p><p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t want to lose now.&#8221;</p><p>The Royals didn&#8217;t.</p><p>Yencha scored eight of her 14 points in the fourth quarter, Cameron Marcinkowski and Julia Andrejko combined for 29 more and Holy Redeemer used a 23-point run Saturday to win the inaugural Wyoming Valley Conference Girls Basketball Championship by rallying past Hazleton Area, 56-40, at Hazleton Area High School.</p><p>&#8220;We just made history,&#8221; said Andrejko, who triggered the Royals&#8217; unstoppable scoring surge with two free throws late in the third quarter. &#8220;We&#8217;re going to look back and say we&#8217;re the first overall conference champions.</p><p>&#8220;Incredible.&#8221;</p><p>Just like the rally that carried Redeemer to the crown.</p><p>Right after the midway point of the third quarter, Yencha made a strong move to the basket and converted a layup. It was just the third basket and sixth point of the game for Redeemer&#8217;s 5-foot-10 high-scoring center &#8212; who averages nearly 20 points per game but was bottled up by an attacking Hazleton Area double-team that quickly shut down passing lanes and prevented the ball from reaching Yencha&#8217;s hands.</p><p>&#8220;Yeah, it was very frustrating,&#8221; Yencha said. &#8220;They were doubling me in the post. It became hard. But we were playing as a team.&#8221;</p><p>Her only basket of the third quarter pulled the Royals within seven points, but Hazleton Area&#8217;s Virginia Yurchak drilled a 3-pointer with 3:06 remaining in the third period to boost the Cougars into a 36-26 lead.</p><p>It was the last basket Hazleton Area made in the game, and the last points for the Cougars until Olivia Wolk converted four foul shots in the final 2:32.</p><p>By then, Holy Redeemer had turned a 10-point deficit into a 13-point lead.</p><p>&#8220;The girls did it all,&#8221; Holy Redeemer coach John Jezorwski said. &#8220;We made some changes, but they really picked up the defense there.</p><p>&#8220;They fought today.&#8221;</p><p>For most of the game, Hazleton Area promised a fight to the finish.</p><p>Wolk hit a 3-pointer to pull the teams even at 8-8 by the end of the first quarter and Marissa Trivelpiece scored seven of her team-high 12 points in the first half as the Cougars were within 22-20 at intermission.</p><p>Then they really got rocking.</p><p>Trivelpiece drilled a 3-pointer, Faith Grula scored six points and Yurchak hit a jumper in a 13-2 Hazleton Area run as the Cougars surged into a nine-point lead in the opening minutes of the second half.</p><p>Yencha&#8217;s drive stemmed the tied for a bit, but Yurchak&#8217;s trey with 3:06 remaining in the third quarter had the Cougars cruising with a 36-26 advantage.</p><p>At that point, Redeemer&#8217;s two high-profile scorers Yencha and Andrejko both had six points, while Marcinkowski was carrying the Royals with nine.</p><p>&#8220;Everybody gameplans to take Julia and Sam away from us,&#8221; Jezorwski said.</p><p>Not for long.</p><p>Andrejko stepped to the line and hit two foul shots, then Sarah Kuderka rebounded a miss and put it in the bucket a blink before the buzzer as the Royals closed within 36-30 entering the final quarter.</p><p>&#8220;Sarah Kuderka&#8217;s putback was the difference,&#8221; Jezorwski said. &#8220;That cut it to six going to the fourth quarter.&#8221;</p><p>Before long, the Royals were cutting their way into new territory.</p><p>Andrejko hit two 3-pointers, Yencha completed two three-point plays and Marcinkowski each scored a regular basket and a trey as the Royals rolled off 23 unanswered points to take a 49-36 lead into the waning minutes of the first-ever WVC title game.</p><p>&#8220;Sam scored, I scored, Sarah scored,&#8221; Andrejko said. &#8220;It was just going forward from then on. Once we get going, we do not stop.&#8221;</p><p>Apparently not.</p><p>Kuderka and Jordan Cicon added 3-pointers in the deciding run and the Royals ran their final 2018-19 record against WVC teams to 19-0.</p><p>A perfect league season.</p><p>&#8220;It really feels great,&#8221; Yencha said. &#8220;All our hard work paid off. We came out kind of rough. But we pulled it together in the fourth quarter and showed how much we wanted it.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m so excited for our team.&#8221;</p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>WVC GIRLS BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP</strong></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Holy Redeemer 56, Hazleton Area 40</strong></p><p><strong>HAZLETON AREA (40)</strong> &#8212; Brooke Boretski 1 1-2 3, Kyra Antolick 0 1-2 1, Faith Grula 3 0-4 6, Marissa Trivelpiece 4 2-2 12, Virginia Yurchak 3 2-2 9, Olivia Wolk 2 4-4 9, Diane Garnett 0 0-0 0, Katie Lipinski. <strong>Totals 13 10-16 40.</strong> </strong></p><p><strong><strong>HOLY REDEEMER (56)</strong> &#8212; Karissa Spade 1 0-0 2, Sarah Kuderka 2 0-3 5, Julia Andrejko 5 4-4 15, Sam Yencha 6 2-2 14, Cameron Marcinkowski 6 0-0 14, Jordan Cicon 1 0-0 3, Aleia Atherton 1 0-0 3, Alyssa Gushka 0 0-0 0. <strong>Totals 22 6-9 56.</strong> </strong></p><p><strong><strong></strong><strong><strong>Redeemer`8`14`8`26 &#8212; 56</strong> </strong></p><p><strong><strong>Hazleton`8`12`16`4 &#8212; 40</strong> </strong></p><p><strong><strong>Three-point goals</strong> &#8212; HAZ 4 (Trivelpiece 2, Wolk, Yurchak); HR 6 (Marcinkowski 2, Atherton, Andrejko, Cicon, Kuderka). </strong></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/2019/02/web1_TTL021719GBB-Redeemer-Hazleton_1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Holy Redeemer&#8217;s Cameron Marcinkowski, left, looks to inbound the ball to teammate Sam Yencha as Hazleton Area&#8217;s Kyra Antolick applies full-court pressure in the WVC girls championship game at Hazleton Area High School on Saturday night. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL021719GBB-Redeemer-Hazleton_1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Holy Redeemer&#8217;s Cameron Marcinkowski, left, looks to inbound the ball to teammate Sam Yencha as Hazleton Area&#8217;s Kyra Antolick applies full-court pressure in the WVC girls championship game at Hazleton Area High School on Saturday night. </caption0><photoCredit0>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL021719GBB-Redeemer-Hazleton_2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Holy Redeemer&#8217;s Julia Andrejko, left, drives to the basket as Hazleton Area&#8217;s Marissa Trivelpiece goes for a block in the WVC girls championship game at Hazleton Area High School on Saturday night. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL021719GBB-Redeemer-Hazleton_2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Holy Redeemer&#8217;s Julia Andrejko, left, drives to the basket as Hazleton Area&#8217;s Marissa Trivelpiece goes for a block in the WVC girls championship game at Hazleton Area High School on Saturday night. </caption1><photoCredit1>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL021719GBB-Redeemer-Hazleton_3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Holy Redeemer&#8217;s Cameron Marcinkowski lines up a 3-point shot against Hazleton Area in the WVC girls championship game at Hazleton Area High School on Saturday night. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL021719GBB-Redeemer-Hazleton_3.jpg</photo2><caption2>Holy Redeemer&#8217;s Cameron Marcinkowski lines up a 3-point shot against Hazleton Area in the WVC girls championship game at Hazleton Area High School on Saturday night. </caption2><photoCredit2>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL021719GBB-Redeemer-Hazleton_4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Hazleton Area&#8217;s Marissa Trivelpiece grabs a rebound ahead of Holy Redeemer&#8217;s Sam Yencha in the WVC girls championship game at Hazleton Area High School on Saturday night. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL021719GBB-Redeemer-Hazleton_4.jpg</photo3><caption3>Hazleton Area&#8217;s Marissa Trivelpiece grabs a rebound ahead of Holy Redeemer&#8217;s Sam Yencha in the WVC girls championship game at Hazleton Area High School on Saturday night. </caption3><photoCredit3>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL021719GBB-Redeemer-Hazleton_5.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Holy Redeemer&#8217;s Karissa Spade (1) out-runs Hazleton Area&#8217;s full-court press in the WVC girls championship game at Hazleton Area High School on Saturday night. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL021719GBB-Redeemer-Hazleton_5.jpg</photo4><caption4>Holy Redeemer&#8217;s Karissa Spade (1) out-runs Hazleton Area&#8217;s full-court press in the WVC girls championship game at Hazleton Area High School on Saturday night. </caption4><photoCredit4>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit4></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Holy Redeemer scores 23 straight points to win first WVC girls title</subheadMeta></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>

Late rally lifts Holy Redeemer to first league girls basketball title