Albert’s baskets lift Warriors early in beating Shikellamy
In the first half, Montoursville coach Travis Heap was trying to find somebody to come off the bench and give the Warriors a spark.
Shikellamy was doing a fairly good job early in guarding Montoursville’s Marlene Bassett, Lexi Marchioni and Lauren O’Malley, so someone had to provide relief.
That’s where sophomore Lydia Albert came in. Heap put Albert in late in the first quarter and in a 53-second span, Albert provided that offensive spark for the Warriors and scored twice to help Montoursville go up by eight.
Following Albert’s baskets, Montoursville went on a 9-0 run to take a double-digit lead. While the Braves did cut the deficit down to seven points twice in the second half, Montoursville held on to defeat the Braves, 37-28, in the District 4 Class AAAA quarterfinals Thursday to advance to the semifinals against Jersey Shore.
The win also put Montoursville into the state playoffs.
While she doesn’t get a ton of minutes every game for Montoursville — Thursday’s game being the most she’s played all season — Albert was more than happy she got to step up and play as much as she did in her first-ever playoff game.
“Especially when your teammates are really happy for you and come out and bombard you with hugs,” Albert said. “It felt really good to put up those points when no one else could.”
Albert ended the night with eight points, tied with O’Malley for second-most on the team. O’Malley ended with a near double-double of eight points and nine rebounds and had a team-high three assists. O’Malley got five of her eight in the fourth quarter.
Marchioni led the team with 10 points, the only Warrior in double-digits, while she grabbed six boards, had a team-high three steals and had two assists.
“Lyd’s a great athlete, she comes off the bench and she’s one of those players that we need to provide that spark and today, she did that,” Heap said. “She had a big bucket when we were struggling a little bit in the first half. … Just on defense she’s all over the place. That’s what you need. She’s only a sophomore, but she continues to get better, continues to grow as a player. To be able to use her in a playoff game like this? This was her first experience and I think she did really well.”
“I was kind of riding the hot hand, I was trying to find somebody with them running like a triangle-and-2 type thing and guarding Marlene, Lauren and Lexi, we needed someone else to provide that spark,” Heap added.
Shikellamy struggled offensively in the first half especially, as the Braves went 11:28 between baskets while Montoursville used it’s 9-0 run to take a 16-point lead at one point, 21-5, thanks to a 3-pointer by Rebecca Reeder.
The Braves were just 3 for 20 in that first half as Montoursville harrassed Shikellamy defensively and didn’t allow any easy looks. By game’s end, the Braves were only 7 for 38 shooting.
“Hard time putting the ball in the basket today. I’m proud of my kids, they played wtih heart. I think our scheme worked,” Shikellamy coach Lew Dellegrotti said. “We missed a lot of foul shots. They don’t miss foul shots. They’re a good team. When you’re playing a good team you got to take advantage of all the things. We didn’t.”
The Braves gained some momentum in the third quarter, holding Montoursville to eight points while cutting the deficit down to seven points off a free throw with 1:01 to play in the third by Jaden Carper.
Despite the fact Montoursville’s lead kept getting cut into single digits, the Warriors never allowed Shikellamy to gain any momentum and take a lead or tie the game at all. The closest the Braves made it in the second half was a seven-point deficit twice and trailed by eight three separate times.
O’Malley was solid in the fourth quarter in keeping the lead for Montoursville, hitting a shot with 3:39 to play that put the Warriors ahead, 34-25. The junior also drained three of her four foul shots in the fourth in the final 2:33.
The Braves only had one basket from the floor in the fourth off a 3-pointer with 1:14 to play by Abigail Walter (eight points, nine boards) that made it an 8-point deficit, 36-28.
Shikellamy didn’t have any players hit double-figures as they were led by TraLyn Hummel’s nine points, as she fouled out late in the fourth quarter.
Shikellamy (28)
Abigail Walter 2 2-2 8; Coryn Sempko 1 3-4 5; Riley Barrett 0 0-0 0; Tori Smith 0 0-0 0; Rebekah Amerman 1 0-0 3; TraLyn Hummel 3 3-6 9; Jaden Carper 0 3-6 3. Totals 7 11-18 28.
Montoursville (37)
Lauren O’Malley 2 4-6 8; Ashlynn McQuillen 0 0-0 0; Lexi Marchioni 2 6-7 10; Rebecca Reeder 1 0-0 3; Gillian Mitchell 2 0-3 4; Lydia Albert 4 0-0 8; Shelby Kurtz 1 0-3 2; Marlene Bassett 1 0-0 2; Kaitlyn Dawes 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 10-19 37.
Shikellamy 4 4 13 7 — 28
Montoursville 12 10 8 7 — 37
3-point goals: Shikellamy 3 (Walter 2, Amerman 1), Montoursville 1 (Reeder 1).
Records: Shikellamy (9-15), Montoursville (22-2).
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