WILKES-BARRE — Under normal circumstances, high school basketball teams are gearing up for a playoff push at this time.
Under current circumstances, the Holy Redeemer and Wyoming Area girls were just gearing up Wednesday night.
Both teams were affected by COVID-19 issues, but Redeemer seemed a little bit further along as the Royals pulled out a 52-45 victory in a Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 game.
“It’s tough to come back when you have that long of a period off,” said Redeemer assistant coach Shaina Dougherty, who ran the team in head coach John Jezorwski’s absence. “It’s tough even when you’re in the gym and not playing for a week or two weeks.”
Wednesday marked the first game for Redeemer (2-2 Div. 2, 4-3) since Jan. 23, as COVID-19 situations for the Royals and three of their opponents led to six games being postponed.
“The time off definitely hurt us,” said Redeemer guard Faith Sekol, who scored 18 points including a pair of 3-pointers in the decisive third quarter. “But the thing is we stayed connected over the break and that really led into an easy way back into the game today. We talked over Zoom and things with technology. It’s not like we shut the door on the season.”
Wyoming Area (3-3 Div. 2, 3-4) stopped its program on Jan. 21 because of COVID-19, missing three games in the process. The Warriors got back on the court Feb. 5, losing 52-50 in overtime to Tunkhannock.
“We’ve barely had any practices because of snow days as well,” said Wyoming Area coach Chad Lojewski, whose team has lost three in a row since returning. “It’s tough, but there are no excuses. These girls know how to play basketball. It’s a difficult year, it’s a unique season, but we’re going to come back from this. We’ll be a different team in the second half (of the season).”
Rescheduling has compacted both teams schedules. Counting Wednesday, Wyoming Area will play three games in six days; Redeemer will play three in four.
“I think it will be hard,” said Redeemer’s Mia Ashton, who grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds. “But if we stay confident and stay determined, we’ll do a great job.”
Wyoming Area took a 27-26 lead into halftime behind the 3-point shooting on Kaitlyn Slusser and Joselyn Williams. There were 11 lead changes and the game was tied five times in the first two quarters. The biggest lead either team had was four points when a layup by Halle Kranson gave the Warriors a 22-18 advantage.
The lead changed one more time — on the first basket of the third quarter when Sekol converted a layup in transition. Wyoming Area went over five minutes without a field goal, allowing Redeemer to build a 46-37 lead going into the fourth quarter.
The Warriors made a push to start the fourth, with a rebound basket by Morgan Janeski cutting the deficit to 48-44 with about five minutes left. The offense, though, stalled despite Redeemer missing the back end of a few 1-and-1 foul shooting situations down the stretch.
Holy Redeemer 52, Wyoming Area 45
WYOMING AREA (45) — Olivia Allen 0 0-0 0, Kaitlyn Slusser 2 0-0 6, Rosalind Tart 2 2-2 6, Halle Kranson 1 2-4 4, Joselyn Williams 3 0-0 8, Maria Amato 0 2-4 2, Morgan Janeski 4 3-6 12, Anna Wisnewski 3 0-1 7. Totals 15 9-17 45.
HOLY REDEEMER (52) — Karissa Spade 2 0-1 5, Lynzie Skoronski 3 0-0 8, Faith Sekol 8 0-0 18, Aubrey Curley 1 2-6 5, Aleia Atherton 2 1-4 6, Mia Ashton 1 2-4 4, Jillian DelBalso 1 2-5 4, Paige Kroptavich 0 0-0 0, Jenna Santuk 0 0-0 0, Isabella Granteed 0 0-0 0, Angelina Corridoni 1 0-0 2. Totals 19 7-20 52.
Wyoming Area`14`13`10`8 — 45
Holy Redeemer`16`10`20`6 — 52
Three-point goals: WA 6 (Slusser 2, Williams 2, Janeski, Wisnewski). HR 7 (Spade, Skoronski 2, Sekol 2, Curley, Atherton).
