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YATESVILLE &mdash; There really was no magic or special move that put Ally Vezendy in position to extend Wyoming Seminary&rsquo;s season.
				But once she got the ball in her hands for a game-sealing shot, the Sem senior knew exactly what to do with it.
				Vezendy&rsquo;s rebound layup off missed foul shot with 15 seconds remaining Wednesday sealed Sem&rsquo;s nail-biting 45-42 victory over Lakeland at Pittston Area High School and led the Blue Knights into the District 2 Class 3A semifinals in a battle marked as much by sloppy play as star power.
				&ldquo;I think we knew it was going to be a good game,&rdquo; said Vezendy, who scored a game-high 19 points in Wednesday&rsquo;s quarterfinal victory. &ldquo;We had to come out and give it our all.&rdquo;
				In the end, though, Vezendy stepped straight into the spotlight as fourth-seeded and 16-7 Sem jumped into a District 2 semifinal against returning state finalist Dunmore, the bracket&rsquo;s top seed at 22-1.
				Her basket with 38 seconds to play tied the game at 40-40, and after teammate Kate Getz broke the tie with a layup for her only basket of the game, Vezendy hit a free throw to give Sem a three-point edge.
				After Lakeland pulled within a point on Colby White&rsquo;s driving layup with 32 seconds on the clock, the Blue Knights went to stepped up for a foul shot.
				And missed.
				That&rsquo;s when Vezendy swooped in, grabbed the rebound and stuffed home a layup that put Sem back in control and set the final score with 15 seconds to go.
				&ldquo;It kind of bumped up off the (Lakeland) girl in the back,&rdquo; Vezendy said. &ldquo;It came right back to me. I put it right up.&rdquo;
				The final seconds played out much less dramatically, as Lakeland gave away its next possession, Sem gave it right back and Lakeland, which finished 11-12, failed to get a shot off after regaining control of the ball in the Sem end as the final five seconds ticked off the clock.
				The sequence seemed fitting for a game that featured dozens of turnovers by both teams &mdash; many of them unforced &mdash; but some inspired play at others.
				Behind five points from Vezendy, Sem jumped out to a quick 10-3 lead, but Lakeland&rsquo;s Addie Piraino hit three consecutive baskets in the first quarter and helped pull the Chiefs within two points by the end of the period.
				Vezendy&rsquo;s 16-foot jumper closed an 11-2 Sem run in the second quarter that pushed the Blue Knights&rsquo; lead to 11 points. But Angelica Nowak hit the first three of her four 3-point field goals in the third quarter and Piraino &mdash; who fouled out with 13 points and with over 10 1/2 minutes to play in the game &mdash; drilled another as the Chiefs closed within 33-31 with a period to play.
				&ldquo;We have a tough group of girls who come to fight,&rdquo; Wyoming Seminary coach Abby Rodway said. &ldquo;Even when we&rsquo;re down and Lakeland started making a lot of threes, we fought.&rdquo;
				The fifth-seeded Chiefs kept fighting, too, and took their first lead at 36-35 when White charged inside for a layup 1:18 into the fourth quarter. Lakeland then held another, 40-38 after another layup from White with 2:18 on the clock.
				But Vezendy came up with enough plays down the stretch to lead the Blue Knights to their second straight district quarterfinal victory, and a trip to the district semifinals against Dunmore for the second consecutive season.
				&ldquo;It feels really good,&rdquo; Vezendy said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re just happy we made it to the second round again. We&rsquo;re going to play Dunmore. We just have to come out confident for that game, too.&rdquo;
				District 2 Class 3A Quarterfinals
				Wyoming Seminary 45, Lakeland 42
				LAKELAND (42) &mdash; Skylar Arendt 1 0-0 2, Addie Piraino 6 0-0 13, Angelica Nowak 4 0-0 12, Colby White 5 5-8 15, Gabby Case 0 0-0 0, Kaylee Lorenzetti 0 0-2 0, Jillian Contorno 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 5-10 42.
				WYOMING SEMINARY (45) &mdash; Maddie Olshmski 0 0-2 0, Ava Bufalino 2 0-0 4, Margaret Mihalick 2 0-1 4, Ally Vezendy 6 7-13 19, Kate Getz 1 1-2 3, Alex Wesneski 5 0-4 10, Abby McDonald 2 1-2 5, Rita Duelt 0 0-2 0. Totals 18 9-24 45.
				Lakeland`10`4`17`11 &mdash; 42
				Wyoming Sem`12`11`10`12 &mdash; 45
				Three-point goals &mdash; LAK 4 (Nowak 3, Piraino); SEM 0

Vezendy opens door for Seminary’s trip to girls basketball semifinals