First Posted: 1/21/2015
EXETER — Wyoming Area found itself down 10 at halftime – then down 10 at the end of the third quarter. Slowly, but surely, the Warriors began to fight their way back.
Wyoming Area, with 3.7 seconds showing on the clock, got one final look to end it. Sarah Holweg’s 16-footer came up just shy as the Warriors fell to GAR, 75-74, Thursday night.
“The girls have a lot of guts,” Wyoming Area coach Chad Lojewski said. “They have so much courage. We just keep it positive and keep the intensity. The heart is there. The effort is there.”
Holweg scored a team-high 19 points, while teammate Katie Wolfgang poured in 17. But the Warriors, at times, struggled to keep GAR at bay inside the paint.
The Grenadiers scored 52 of their 75 points in the paint. Another nine of those points came from the free throw line. GAR’s Marie Skrepnak and Bria Seabrook combined for 53 of GAR’s points. Seabrook was nearly unstoppable, scoring 34 points.
But the Warriors, for the most part, did a nice job battling inside with the much taller Skrepnak.
Marcyssa Brown set the tone early for the Warriors with a block on Skrepnak. She then went on to score six points in the first quarter to get the Warriors going.
“She went off,” Lojewski said. “That was such a breath of fresh air. She’s been working so hard. I’m very proud of her.”
Then, it was Jessica Sorick. Sorick’s hustle and will to get to the boards kept Wyoming Area in the game in the fourth quarter. Her four straight points and three rebounds in a span of less than a minute put the Warriors down two, 61-59.
“It’s unbelievable,” Lojewski said. “We want our bigs to get better with their footwork, always. But that was a big stretch there.”
Holweg’s free throws with three minutes to play tied the game for the Warriors. That was the closest they were to GAR since early in the second quarter.
Seabrook then began to take over.
The standout, do-it-all player for the Grenadiers scored 11 points in the final period, which came back to haunt the Warriors.
Holweg buried a three to give the Warriors their first lead since the first quarter with just over a minute to play. After the two teams traded free throws, Wyoming Area was up 74-73. On the ensuing possession, GAR’s Aeliyah Braheim made a put-back layup to give GAR the lead.
With 3.7 seconds left, Wyoming Area drew up a play to get Holweg the open look. Her shot came off just shy and by the time Nicole Wright could garner the rebound, the buzzer sounded.
“We knew we had enough time to get at least one or two passes,” Lojewski said. “It worked out that Sarah had an open look. She’ll make that 99 percent of the time.”
Warriors show support
After MMI Prep fell to Holy Redeemer, 125-13, in controversial fashion two weeks ago, Wyoming Area was next on the schedule for the Preppers.
The Warriors did everything they could to make sure MMI felt the love. Wyoming Area placed signs in the MMI Prep locker room prior to the game showing their support. One sign read: “Remember that guy that gave up? Neither does anyone else. Stay SEVEN STRONG! Love, The Lady Warriors.”
“There was a lot of suggestions on what we could do,” Lojewski said. “We lined up and respected them during introductions.”
Wyoming Area went on to beat MMI Prep, 41-30. Following the game, Wyoming Area treated MMI Prep to pizza and cupcakes.
“The girls handled it with class,” Lojewski said. “It was a tough game to coach, but the maturity level of our girls made the game a lot easier. It was wonderful.”
Pittston Area 67, Tunkhannock 35
Pittston Area used strong first and third quarters to upend Tunkhannock to remain unbeaten in Wyoming Valley Conference play on Thursday.
Allie Barber scored a game-high 13 points, while Liz Waleski contributed 11. Taryn Ashby finished the game with nine points. Pittston Area went to the free throw line 26 times in the win.
Wyoming Area 67, Northwest 62
Wyoming Area’s Katie Wolfgang scored a team-high 22 points in the win over Northwest Tuesday.
The Warriors hit seven threes in the game. Wolfgang had four, while Sarah Holweg, who finished with 10 points, hit a pair. Emily Wolfgang finished with 9 points, including a three. Jessica Sorick contributed eight points.
Pittston Area 59, Coughlin 17
Allie Barber scored 13 of her game-high 17 points in the second half to power the Patriots win over Coughlin on Monday.
Teammate Liz Waleski added 11 points to the win. The Patriots held Coughlin to six points or fewer in each of the four quarters.
Schedule
Wyoming Area hosts Nanticoke on Monday, while Pittston Area hosts Crestwood. The Warriors will travel to Holy Redeemer on Thursday. Pittston Area travels to Wyoming Valley West.
