COVINGTON TWP. — Pittston Area was cruising along.
The Lady Patriots had won their first three games and seemed well on their way to a fourth with a 14-point lead in the third quarter Friday night.
A forced lineup adjustment and the inability to make it work, however, cost Pittston Area the momentum as Chloe Pehanick rallied North Pocono to a 48-45 home-court win.
“I think it started going wrong when Andrea Ruby probably broke her nose,” Pittston Area coach Kathy Healey said. “The kids were upset something like that happened and they kind of lost their focus.
“We just had a conversation about it. They were concerned about Andrea.”
Ruby caught an elbow in the nose while playing defense with 4:37 in the third quarter and the Lady Patriots in front, 29-15, to match their biggest lead of the game.
“She’s a calming effect out there even though she doesn’t get all the stats,” Healey said of Ruby, who had made her only shot, grabbed one rebound and made one assist before leaving. “She’s a good rebounder. She calms people down. She’s a leader.
“That was a turning point for us.”
Pehanick began taking control just 10 seconds later and, although it switched defenses, Pittston Area could not come up with an answer.
The senior forward worked the high post area to score 14 of her game-high 23 points while missing just one shot in the final 12 1/2 minutes.
“North Pocono played a great game,” Healey said. “They just kept chipping away a little at time.”
Pehanick was 3-for-3 from the floor and 8-for-9 from the line during that stretch to complete a 13-for-14 effort on free throws.
A streak of nine straight points allowed the Lady Trojans to force the game’s first tie, 40-40, with 2:59 left.
Pehanick hit two free throws off an offensive rebound with 2:08 remaining for the first North Pocono lead, then scored what proved to be the game-winning, three-point play from the lane for a 46-44 lead with 16.8 seconds left.
“We played well in spurts, but definitely not after that incident happened,” Healey said.
Pittston Area played the first 29 minutes with the lead after scoring the game’s first 13 points.
The Lady Patriots worked the ball inside effectively.
After Portia Weidlich scored her team’s first two baskets in the paint, Leah Hodick took over inside.
Hodick, a freshman center, came off the bench to score a team-high 17 points. She made all five shots from the floor and was 7-for-10 at the line.
Kirsten Durling and Mary Silinskie provided the entry passes to set up the inside shots, matching Hodick for the team lead with three assists.
Pittston Area finished the night shooting better than 50 percent, largely because of the type of shots it was able to generate.
“We definitely talked about getting the ball to Leah in the second half,” Healey said. “That didn’t happen as much as we would have liked and that was a difference, too.”
Hodick had the first six points of the second quarter for a 19-5 lead.
Taryn Ashby had 14 points while leading Pittston Area with six rebounds and four steals.
Pehanick, who scored 12 of her points in the fourth quarter, also contributed nine rebounds and four steals.
She helped the Lady Trojans finish 27-for-30 (90 percent) from the line.
Pittston Area 65
Scranton 58
Taryn Ashby hit all six of her free throws while scoring 10 of her game-high 24 points in the fourth quarter Thursday night as Pittston Area held off visiting Scranton in a non-league game.
Ashby led a 13-for-16 effort by the Lady Patriots at the line in the fourth quarter.
Pittston Area broke a 28-28 halftime tie and took a 44-38 lead after three quarters.
Kirsten Durling had six of her 16 points in the fourth quarter. Leah Hodick hit all four of her free throws in the quarter to finish a 14-point effort off the bench.
Pittston Area 54
Hanover Area 28
Kirsten Durling scored a game-high 22 points and Taryn Ashby fueled a fast start as Pittston Area rolled over host Hanover Area, 54-28, Monday.
Pittston Area coach Kathy Healey won at the school where she teaches and coaches the softball team.
The Lady Patriots opened an 18-4 lead in the first quarter when Ashby scored 10 of her 17 points.
Durling had six points in each of the first three quarters and four in the fourth.
Wyoming Area 68
Mountain View 48
Sarah Holweg scored 23 points Monday night as Wyoming Area won its only game of the week to improve to 2-0.
Lydia Edwards added 19 points and Katie Wolfgang had 11.
Rescheduled
Wyoming Area’s home game, which had been scheduled for Saturday against Montoursville, was postponed and moved to Jan. 9.
The week ahead
Both Greater Pittston teams play a non-league game Monday before opening Wyoming Valley Conference play Wednesday.
Pittston Area hosts Abington Heights, last year’s District 2 Class 3A champion, Monday, then plays at home against Crestwood in the WVC Division 1 opener Wednesday.
Wyoming Area is home with Western Wayne Monday before going to Northwest for Wednesday’s WVC opener.
