First Posted: 2/20/2015
EXETER — The Patriots will be playing for more than a district championship on Tuesday. They’ll be playing for their first championship of any kind in school history.
Pittston Area girls basketball knocked off two-time defending champions Wallenpaupack, 49-31, to advance to the PIAA District 2 Class AAAA title game against Hazleton Area on Tuesday at a site and time to be determined. Hazleton Area was a 53-40 winner over Wyoming Valley West.
To get to the title game, the Patriots did it with their defense.
Sophomore Taryn Ashby was assigned to guard Wallenpaupack standout Bridget Mann. When it was all said and done, Ashby did a little more than that.
Mann was held to just five points in the first half. Meanwhile, Ashby scored a game-high 14 points to lead the Patriots.
While Ashby locked up on Mann, Wallenpaupack had the same strategy on Pittston Area sharpshooter Liz Waleski. Waleski, however, finished with 10 points and added a key three midway through the second.
“With Taryn on Mann in the first half, she did a great job,” Healey said. “I think Taryn doesn’t get enough credit for her defense but she shuts down all the big players.”
Mann was the Buck tasked to guard Waleski for much of the game. Healey said that made the Wallenpaupack senior a little more tired on the offensive end of the floor.
Allie Barber, Pittston Area’s floor general and not known for taking outside shots, hit two threes in the game and finished with 13 points. Marley O’Brien chipped in with 6.
Ashby got off to a hot start in the first quarter, scoring five of the Patriots nine points. However, on both ends of the floor, defense proved to be the x-factor.
The two teams combined for just 18 points in the first quarter. In the second quarter, Pittston Area’s defense locked up the Bucks. Wallenpaupack was held to just five points, while Pittston Area scored the final seven points of the half to take a 19-14 lead into the locker room.
When the Patriots came out of the intermission, things began to click.
Pittston Area began to slow it down and wait for their shot. That led to a 16-7 advantage in the quarter. Barber had eight of those points.
“We didn’t know what they were going to do on defense,” Barber said. “When we went to the locker room, coach said to be patient and take our time to get good looks. We definitely executed that in the second half.”
Pittston Area prides itself in closing out basketball games in the fourth quarter. The team was on point Friday night. With a 36-21 lead heading into the fourth, the Patriots began to really take the air out of the ball.
On multiple possessions in the final quarter, the Patriots played keep away and got a wide-open look at the rim. Ball movement was key, Barber said.
“Coach really stresses handling the ball at the end of the game in big situations,” she said. “Turnovers can kill a team.”
Tuesday’s matchup will be the third time Pittston Area and Hazleton Area have played each other this season. On Jan. 12, the Patriots took a 54-43 win over the Cougars. Two weeks later, however, Hazleton Area got the win, 62-40.
