First Posted: 2/19/2015
Wyoming Area’s girls basketball team quickly turned into the team Wyoming Valley Conference coaches did not want to face.
The fast-paced Warriors surprised much of the league under first-year head coach Chad Lojewski. The Warriors, who lost to Abington Heights, 60-29, in the PIAA District 2 Class AAA first round Wednesday, finished the season at 8-14. However, they have a few things to hang their hats on.
The Warriors were one of the best shooting teams in the Wyoming Valley Conference. A lot of that had to do with the free reign Lojewski gave his shooters. Lojewski said he styles some of his coaching from big-time college coaches like Jerry Tarkanian.
“If they are fun to watch, we have a better chance at getting some of the better athletes out,” he said. “I’m hoping that’s an environment of interest, especially at the younger ages. It was a lot of work in the off season by the girls, but coaches just coach, players play.”
Freshman guard Sarah Holweg exploded onto the high school scene this year. She was named to the WVC Division 2 first team by the coaches and was the only freshman to be named an all-star in the entire conference.
Holweg’s quick release and her ability to get to the bucket led her to 224 points on the season — that’s around 11 points per game. She hit 45 threes.
But it wasn’t just her scoring that impressed Lojewski. Holweg was Wyoming Area’s floor general. She led the team with nearly four assists per contest.
“Sarah has that incredible knack with good athletic ability and is a student of the game,” Lojewski said. “She just has an interest in continuing to get better on and off the court. I have a very talented group of girls overall and a very smart group. Sarah can be a great leader.”
Katie Wolfgang, just a sophomore, averaged close to 12 points per game and finished the season with 241 points.
For next year, the Warriors will be without three seniors. Emily Wolfgang, Marcyssa Brown and Melissa Mazatelli each contributed heavily to the team this year. The Wolfgang sisters are the daughters of junior varsity head coach Alison Wolfgang. Emily was second on the team in rebounds behind junior Nicole Wright.
“I am disappointed that we won’t have the leadership of those three seniors,” Lojewski said. “We have a lot of fun at practice and leadership was key with those three. They were very supportive of the younger kids and helped guide us.”
Not having to go through the process of a District 2 play-in game, which means the Warriors would have to play for a chance at the playoffs, this year was an improvement from the past. But the Warriors were looking to be seeded in the top eight in the district, which would have given them a home game.
“We were pleased being in a playoff game that wasn’t a play-in game,” Lojewski said. “That was a step up from the year before. We fell a little short of our goal. We already got some goals for next year.”
Next year also looks promising for the Warriors. Wyoming Area had eight underclassmen who played in 20 or more games for them this season. Four of them were juniors this season — Wright, Jordan Kelly, Rachel Solano and Jessica Sorick.
The Warriors pulled off upsets a few different times this season and opened the eyes of Wyoming Valley Conference coaches throughout the year.
The Warriors dashed Hanover Area’s hopes of a WVC Division 2 championship with a 61-52 win on Feb. 2. The game of the year, however, came in Wyoming Area’s final regular season game.
The Warriors found themselves down, 52-35, against Lake-Lehman heading into the fourth quarter. Wyoming Area would outscore Lake-Lehman, 35-17, over the final eight minutes and got a buzzer-beater from Katie Wolfgang to take a 70-69 win. Holweg dropped 30 in that game.
The Warriors scored 30 percent more points this year than they did in the previous season. Wyoming Area had 19 girls play varsity minutes this season and another 16 find the scoring column. It’s only a preview of things to come.
“Those numbers are a big difference for Wyoming Area basketball,” Lojewski said. “There is a lot of energy and interest surrounding the offseason.”
As far as Lojewski’s first season as a head coach went, he couldn’t be happier.
“We had a very supportive environment from the school board and administration to the cheerleaders and athletic director,” Lojewski said. “Most of all, the parents and the kids made my first year a nice transition.”
