YATESVILLE – After suffering their first two losses in the previous three outings, the Pittston Area girls basketball team spent some time at the movies prior to Monday’s Tigue-Denisco Cup Game.
The message of the film got through.
“Last game we played, we didn’t really rebound well, so we had a big film session,” Lady Patriots coach Kathy Healey said after the 53-43 victory over rival Wyoming Area. “We really focused on crashing the boards.”
Hannah Getz led that effort.
“Before the game, I told myself, ‘every rebound has to be mine; every rebound has to be our team’s’.” Getz said. “I saw it and I went for it.
“We boxed out aggressively. We all went for it today.”
Getz finished with 16 points, 17 rebounds, four steals, two assists and two blocked shots to earn the Tom Tigue Award, which goes to her team’s Most Valuable Player in the game. She made all five of her second-half shots while scoring 12 points after halftime.
“Her points in the paint were critical,” Healey said.
Wyoming Area coach Chad Lojewski agreed.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t have a very good game inside,” Lojewski said. “We have been playing very well inside, but we didn’t and they took advantage.”
Pittston Area outscored Wyoming Area 16-2 in the paint in the first 13:45 and 35-19 for the game.
That inside advantage allowed for a fast start by the Lady Patriots, who trailed for less than five of the game’s 32 minutes. They broke away for good, outscoring the Lady Warriors, 15-4, over the final six minutes, getting their last four baskets inside, including a Getz layup off a Lily Savoy rebound to put Pittston Area ahead to stay.
Savoy, last year’s Tigue Award winner, finished with 10 points and a game-high four assists.
Freshman Kallie Booth came off the bench to add 10 points while leading in steals with five.
“She definitely provides a spark off the bench,” Healey said. “The game kind of goes up a notch when she comes in.”
Mackenzie Nocchi went 3-for-5 on 3-pointers while scoring 11 points. She was named Tony Denisco Award as Wyoming Area’s MVP.
Cassidy Orzel had 12 points, eight rebounds, four steals and three rebounds – all team-high totals – while sharing the team lead with two blocked shots. Nicole Silinskie had nine points, six rebounds and two steals.
Both teams entered the game with 4-2 records.
“We are making progress,” Lojewski said. “It was a very competitive game.”
The teams were separated by more than four points for only one minute until the final 3:03 of the game, which was played in the afternoon to avoid a conflict with the boys game between the two schools being played at Wyoming Area that night. The Wyoming Area team had unsuccessfully requested that the schools reconsider the weekday afternoon starting time.
“I wish that more people could see it,” Lojewski said. “I think there was a significant opportunity for it not to be played in the afternoon today. Unfortunately, that did not happen.”
