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Loyalsock girls play relentless defense, defeat Towanda and repeat as District 4 champions

By Chris Masse 7 min read

MANSFIELD--The journey was difficult and included several twists and turns.

So maybe what happened Saturday was the perfect district ending. Loyalsock executed well and repeatedly worked for good shots but made just 17 percent of them. And yet, by game’s end they still stood tall.

Through all the battles, through all the ups and downs, Loyalsock remains District 4 Class AAA’s best team.

Playing relentless defense and making just enough big shots at the most opportune times, Loyalsock captured its second consecutive district championship, defeating Towanda, 33-25 at Mansfield University. Allyia Kennedy produced a double-double (13 points, 15 rebounds), the Lancers rallied from a six-point second-quarter deficit, surrendered just 12 points over the final three quarters and won a third title in four years.

After losing three starters from last year’s team, after going through the gauntlet that is the brutally tough HAC-II and after knocking off top-seeded Bloomsburg in the semifinals, Loyalsock completed its district championship journey, showing why it is not only District 4’s best Class AAA team, but maybe it’s toughest.

"It’s been a bloodbath every single game we’ve played. We had to earn it every night and they work and they work and they work," Loyalsock coach Curtis Jacobson said. "When the horn goes off there’s a sense of excitement, but also a sense of relief that with all the work and expectations they found a way."

They sure did.

Loyalsock hit a road bump late in the season but won its last two regular-season games in convincing fashion before blasting Troy in the quarterfinals. The Lancers then avenged two defeats against Bloomsburg with a thrilling semifinal win before overcoming all the frustration NTL-I champion Towanda (23-4) could throw its way.

Every district championship is meaningful. For a team that has overcome so much and silenced doubters along the way, this one feels extra special.

"It feels amazing to be here when a lot of people didn’t expect us to be here. We proved them wrong," sophomore forward Izzy Dadzie said after playing her second straight phenomenal defensive game against an explosive opponent. "As a team we played really well."

"It feels awesome because we proved it ourselves but we also had such good preparation with our years before and our older teammates getting us there before and now us doing it ourselves," point guard Rhandie Jessell said. "We worked all offseason, we worked all season, we put all our time and effort into it and we finally made it."

Jessell is part of a senior class which will graduate having played in the final every year, having won three championships. All the poise, all the growth and all the character Loyalsock built up during that time came bursting out Saturday.

When so much felt like it was going wrong with good shots constantly not falling, Loyalsock never panicked. The Lancers simply moved on to the next play, played swarming defense and added, not just another title banner, but another lesson in why this program has become such an elite one.

"It’s really hard to win district titles and contend with them every year. For these seniors to win three out of four years is really unheard of," Jacobson said. "A lot of credit to all our players for digging in and getting stops and finding a way."

"We’ve gotten so much better at not arguing and staying positive when we’re down. That’s what we did tonight," Dadzie said. "Nobody got mad at each other. We were all thinking positive and trying to keep lifting each other up even when things weren’t going our way."

Offensively, nothing was going Loyalsock’s way in the first half. The Lancers, who play District 2’s Western Wayne in Tuesday’s state tournament opener at a District 4 site, missed 17 of their first 18 shots. They did not connect on a shot from the field until 14 seconds remained in the first quarter.

And yet somehow, Loyalsock surged ahead in the half’s final seconds, taking a lead it never relinquished.

Loyalsock trailed 13-7 after the first quarter but allowed just two second-quarter points. Grace Baylor drained a 3-pointer late in the half to make it a one-point game and end a run of nine straight misses. In the final seconds, Jessell made a steal near midcourt and found Baylor for a layup and Loyalsock led 16-15 at the half despite shooting 15 percent.

"That definitely gave us a lot more confidence at halftime. Mentally, it would have been a lot more of a struggle if we went in down losing," Jessell said. "Going into halftime was a breeze. It was nice to talk in the locker room. We weren’t disappointed. We knew we had to keep it coming."

Loyalsock did just that and repeatedly attacked the basket, earning close-range shots. The results, however, stayed the same. After missing 11 chippies in the first half, Loyalsock missed seven more in the third quarter, going 3 for 19.

In a testament to the team’s maturity, the Lancers never let that impact their defense. They kept forcing turnovers and contesting shots. They remained determined offensively, and Dadzie helped them break through, scoring four third-quarter points to give it a 24-19 lead.

After Towanda pulled back within one, Jessell hit a big 3-pointer and Loyalsock entered the final quarter up 27-23. Freshman Julie Ellis grabbed a key offensive rebound early in the fourth, was fouled and made both shots, extending the lead to six.

Towanda pulled within 29-25 with 2 minutes, 15 seconds remaining, but Loyalsock did not let it score again. Dadzie found Baylor for a layup with a minute remaining and Mia Patterson clinched the championship, calmly sinking both ends of a 1-and-1.

Patterson and Kennedy are the lone starters back from last year’s state quarterfinalist. Fittingly, Kennedy had the ball as the final seconds ticked away, shaking with excitement. When the horn sounded, she was engulfed by happy teammates as they celebrated this championship the same way they won it--together.

"Everybody did their job today. It was awesome," Jessell said. "That’s what we do. Everyone has their part and we pick each other up and we figure out what we have to do to get it done."

Loyalsock did it again Saturday with everybody making a positive contribution when called upon. Kennedy made seven steals, Patterson grabbed six rebounds, Jessell and Baylor were all over the floor and Dadzie sparked the defense. Ellis, Rylie French and Katie Ryder all played vital roles off the bench, too, and left their fingerprints literally and figuratively on that championship trophy.

"We tell them all the time the biggest message is don’t do more than you’re capable of doing. Sometimes in moments like these you try to be a hero and try and take the game over," Jacobson said. "We have a team and we’re better when we play as a team."

Loyalsock snapped Towanda’s 19-game winning streak and the defense went into overdrive after Paige Manchester hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to put the Black Knights up 13-7 after one. Manchester and Porshia Bennett are 1,000-point scorers, but much like they did against Bloomsburg’s dynamic duo of Madeline Evans and Bryn Zentner, Loyalsock put the clamps on and held them to 12 combined points.

The offense never really got going, but the defense always was going hard. Collectively, Loyalsock has been doing hard since the last offseason and that hard work has given it a special place in program history.

"We don’t want to have just one person," Dadzie said. "We want to make it a collective team thing."

Mission accomplished. And what a team Loyalsock has become.

TOWANDA (25)

Paige Manchester 3 4-5 11, Porshia Bennett 0 1-2 1, Bella Hurley 0 0-0 0, Gracie Schoonover 4 0-0 8, Eliza Fowler 1 0-0 2, Destiny Brennan 1 0-0 3. Totals 9 5-7 25.

LOYALSOCK (33)

Allyia Kennedy 2 9-12 13, Mia Patterson 0 4-4 4, Grace Baylor 3 0-0 7, Rhandie Jessell 1 0-0 3, Izzy Dadzie 2 0-2 4, Rylie French 0 0-0 0, Katie Ryder 0 0-0 0, Julie Ellis 0 2-2 2. Totals 8 15-20 33.

Towanda 13 2 8 2--25

Loyalsock 7 9 11 6--33

3-pointers: Towanda 2 (Manchester, Brennan); Loyalsock 2 (Baylor, Jessell)

Records: Loyalsock 19-6. Towanda 23-4.

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