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Allyia Kennedy often has been a defensive stopper the last three years. Kennedy retains that role now, but the senior 6-footer also has gone offensive.
Kennedy leads the area in scoring, averaging 18 points per game. Her game has expanded and the Elizabethtown-bound is still growing. Nobody knows yet what the finished product will look like, but Loyalsock certainly is grateful it still has Kennedy and her all-around skills until college beckons next year.
Kennedy showed off all her tools Wednesday, shaking off a slow start, producing a double-double and providing a lift on both ends as Loyalsock pulled away from visiting Hughesville for a 59-35 win. Kennedy scored 20 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, dealt five assists and added five steals as the Lancers (9-3) won their fifth straight game, scored 46 second-half points and turned what was a tenuous one-point halftime lead into a 28-point fourth-quarter cushion.
“Allyia has a skill set that a lot of people still haven’t seen. I think as she continues to grow up and she continues to get stronger that skill set is going to come out,” Loyalsock coach Curtis Jacobson said. “I’m certainly happy to see as much of that as can happen this season, but the next couple of years that she gets to play basketball I think she’s going to make E-Town pretty happy with her unique skill set.”
Kennedy is making Loyalsock quite happy these days. So are her teammates who all contributed and played large roles in Loyalsock outscoring Hughesville, 44-21 in the second half. Mia Patterson scored a game-high 22 points and added nine rebounds; Izzy Dadzie pulled down nine boards and Rhandie Jessell dished out five assists. The Lancers also used their swarming full-court press to speed the game up, force 13 turnovers and score 26 fourth-quarter points.
It was again a true team effort for this young squad, but Kennedy still stood out. The three-year starter struggled in the first half, turned the ball over a few times and did not look like herself. That drastically changed in the second half as Kennedy made all eight shots from the field and line. She also had three second-half assists and made four of her five steals.
Kennedy’s interior defense was crucial to Loyalsock winning league and district championships, as well as state tournament games, the past two seasons. Now she not only scores a lot, but also in a variety of ways while also seeing the court and handling the ball well. Through it all, she remains selfless and humble and will deflect any compliment back toward her teammates.
“I knew our roles (she and Patterson) were going to change and we probably had to put the ball in the basket more than what we did last year, but I didn’t have any doubt about the other players out there,” Kennedy said. “They’ve really shown how crucial they are as well as us. We might be getting the points in the basket, but they’re making the passes, they’re getting people involved and they’re working their butts off on defense.”
Put all that together and Loyalsock was able to land a knockout blow against a determined Hughesville team which was missing three players in its rotation but which did everything it could to pull the upset. All three players out are guards, so Hughesville knew an already tough challenge was going to be especially difficult, but it handled the pressure well throughout the first half, rarely turned the ball over, dictated the pace and trailed 15-14 at halftime.
Hughesville (5-6) held Loyalsock scoreless for the final 4 minutes, 16 seconds of the first half and scored the final five points, making it a one-point game. The Spartans kept battling and were down 11 early in the fourth before Loyalsock finally started creating some distance.
“Our girls played valiant and played really hard. At halftime I knew even if we put together another strong 16 minutes we weren’t going to hold them to 30 points the whole game,” Hughesville coach Ryan Callahan said. “Their pressure is too relentless and it was going to wear us down without that depth.”
Hughesville dug in defensively that first half and slowed an offense which produced 60 points against previously undefeated Southern Columbia two nights earlier. The Spartans forced five first-quarter turnovers and defensive ace Grace Pysher made five steals, building off her tremendous performance in Monday’s win against Jersey Shore. Breanna Bobak (9 points) moved from shooting to point guard and handled the ball well; freshman Alli Anstadt (8 points, 6 rebounds) continued her strong season and Ava Snyder (7 points, 5 rebounds) also made a good impact.
The Spartans have just one starter back from last year and start two freshmen as well as a sophomore. Still, they continue revealing their potential, leading undefeated Bloomsburg at halftime, defending District 4 Class AAAA champion Central Columbia at halftime and being down just one against defending Class AAA champion Loyalsock. As this group gains more experience it likely will become more dangerous.
“We’ve played with some really good teams. I personally believe we’re on the ascent,” Callahan said. “We’re doing good things, but it’s a step up we have to take to get over those established teams that have been there and that have won district championships and that go to states every year. There’s another level we have to get to, but we have plenty of time.”
Loyalsock again made the most of its time at halftime and dramatically changed the game’s complexion. A Loyalsock staple the last two seasons has been putting together dominant second-half performances in close games or contests it was losing. The Lancers did it again Wednesday, making 17 of 28 second-half shots, forcing 13 turnovers and controlling all facets.
It’s part adjustment, part motivation, part reflection … and it again was quite impressive.
“We were obviously a little slow in the first half. We all know what we have to do better and he (Jacobson) knows it, too,” Kennedy said. “He kind of reiterates what we’re all thinking and tells us what we’re doing wrong. It puts a little bit of fire into us because we know how to take it and we know how to dig down deep and come out with a win rather than a loss because it hurts a lot more to lose.”
“You have to make in-game adjustments but they don’t have to be anything that is a complete change of course. For us, a lot of time it’s just moving a body from one spot to another or taking away that pass or on the offensive end getting different people in different spots,” Jacobson said. “You get 10 minutes, you might as well use them. We have work to do. Instead of coming out here and standing around we’re going to use our time.”
Loyalsock used it well and Jessell and Dadzie helped spark a game-changing 18-4 third-quarter run. Jessell drilled a 3-pointer on the half’s first possession and added two assists during that spurt. Dadzie pulled down four rebounds and dealt two assists in the first three minutes of the third quarter and five players scored during the third. That number increased to six in the fourth as Loyalsock moved the ball well and unselfishly, while turning offense into defense.
The Lancers produced 19 assists on 24 field goals and continued their upward trend. Kennedy and Patterson are the only players back from a year ago who entered the season with significant varsity experience. Loyalsock lost three close games during a 4-3 start but is gaining both confidence and momentum now.
“I think those first games of the season we were still trying to figure out who we were and trying to figure out the chemistry,” Kennedy said. “It was just hard trying to figure out because we’re generally a new team this year but these past five games we’ve been figuring it out. We’ve got our defense down pat. We’re getting the tips and deflections that we need and it’s really starting to come together and these past five wins really show it as well.”
HUGHESVILLE (35)
Alli Anstadt 4 0-0 8, Breanna Bobak 3 2-2 9, Ava Snyder 2 3-4 7, Lucy Myers 2 0-0 4, Grace Pysher 2 0-0 5, Kayleigh Rooker 0 0-0 0, Aubrey Hamm 1 0-0 2. Totals 14 5-6 35.
LOYALSOCK (59)
Mia Patterson 9 4-5 22, Allyia Kennedy 9 2-2 20, Grace Baylor 2 0-0 4, Izzy Dadzie 0 1-2 1, Rhandie Jessell 1 1-4 4, Rylie French 1 0-4 3, Julie Ellis 1 0-0 2, Anna Luxenberger 0 0-0 0, Chloe Kennedy 1 0-0 3, Lauren OáMalley 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 8-19 59.
Hughesville 7 7 6 15-35
Loyalsock 9 6 18 26-59
3-pointers: Hughesville 2 (Bobak, Pysher); Loyalsock 3 (Jessell, French, C. Kennedy).
Records: Loyalsock 9-3. Hughesville 5-6.