Jocelyn Williams scored 15 of her 19 points in the first quarter Friday night when Wyoming Area opened the girls basketball season with a 56-26 romp over Mahanoy Area in the opener of the Central Columbia Tournament.
Williams pulled Wyoming Area out of an early 8-3 hole, then the Lady Warriors pulled away by allowing only five field goals over the final three quarters, none in the fourth quarter.
“We played great defense and converted a lot of turnovers and missed shots into some good offensive opportunities,” Lady Warriors coach Chad Lojewski said.
Anna Wisniewski scored 12 points and Morgan Janeski added nine points.
“We clicked,” Lojewski said. “ … We just overwhelmed them early.”
Olivia Rome had a team-high nine rebounds.
“It was a nice effort and obviously, she didn’t play a full game once we got in control,” Lojewski said.
Williams hit two 3-pointers and scored on a three-point play as Wyoming Area finished the first quarter on a 16-4 run to a 19-12 lead.
“Jocelyn Williams had an absolutely huge first quarter,” Lojewski said.
Wisniewski had seven points and Janeski the other five in the second quarter as the Lady Warriors made it 31-21 at halftime.
Wyoming Area outscored Mahanoy Area, 25-5, in the second half. The Lady Warriors got points from nine different players, including Maggie Hallman and Erica Gilligan’s first varsity points.
The Lady Warriors put themselves into the Saturday night championship game against host Central Columbia, which defeated Shikellamy in Friday’s other semifinal.
