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Loyalsock coach Curtis Jacobson usually takes some down time when spring arrives. His door remains open, but only if his players want his assistance.
Every Sunday, Jacobson’s phone lit up. Julie Ellis wanted to work. And work she did, day after day, putting up shot after shot.
The fruits of that labor came bursting out Tuesday against rival Williamsport and Ellis played, arguably, her best high school game. All the Lancers played well, but Ellis announced her arrival as a potential future star while helping Loyalsock win another hard-fought game in a rivalry defined by them.
Ellis scored a game and career-high 15 points, drained all three of her 3-point shots and went 6 for 7 from the field, as Loyalsock defeated visiting Williamsport, 46-34. Ellis added four rebounds, two assists and played strong defense. She also hit most of her shots at key times, helping Loyalsock (5-1) pull away in the fourth quarter and win its third straight game.
“I ask my girls every offseason, ‘How good do you want to be and how much do you want to work at it?’ Julie really embraced that,” Jacobson said. “She would text me on Sundays and we’d set up a schedule for that week and she shot a lot of shots. She’s come a long way. Her ability to shoot the basketball is going to make her a big threat.”
It certainly did Tuesday.
Ellis scored seven second quarter points and had a hand in nine during a 14-3 run which helped Loyalsock turn a one-point deficit into a 25-15 lead. The Millionaires (2-3) fought back and twice pulled within two during the third quarter. But at the perfect time, Ellis showed how far she has come.
Last season, the sophomore provided a boost off the bench but had little outside game and did not score a lot. Now she is a more polished player and looks comfortable whether behind the arc, posting up or attacking the basket. When Katie Ryder spotted Ellis in the right corner and threw her a pass, Ellis did not hesitate. She immediately put up a 3-pointer which hit nothing by net and gave Loyalsock a five-point lead. More important, it shifted the momentum and Loyalsock started creating distance.
“It gives us a lot of momentum when we can get a big shot like that. It helps carry the whole team,” Ellis said. “We get a good stop on defense and then it starts clicking on both ends and we take a bigger lead.”
Loyalsock captured a second straight District 4 Class AAA championship last season, but four starters graduated, including all-state forward Allyia Kennedy and dynamic Mia Patterson. The current team starts no seniors, but the Lancers keep winning. It is a team effort, but Ellis provides a big piece in the puzzle this new-look team is building.
Ellis has the kind of skill set that Patterson and current Elizabethtown standout Summer McNulty possessed while at Loyalsock. She can be a match up problem, but with Williamsport effectively playing a 2-3 zone defense, Loyalsock knew it would need some effective outside shooting. Ellis gave it just that, as did Izzy Dadzie and those two went a combined 5 for 6 behind the arc.
“I’ve been working on it,” Ellis said. “We talked about taking what they give us. They tried to close down what they know is our strength, so we have to be able to hit those outside shots and be confident shooting them.”
What makes defending Loyalsock tough is that Ellis is just one of many scoring threats. Freshman forward Alaina Dadzie leads the team in scoring and produced 10 points and eight rebounds despite Williamsport doing a nice job limiting her touches. Izzy again stuffed the stat sheet, scoring nine points, dealing five assists, pulling down five rebounds and adding three steals.
Ellis and Chloe Kennedy heated up during the second quarter Loyalsock surge and Ryder made some big plays throughout the second half. Natayah Abdul-Hakim shined off the bench as well. Put it all together and Loyalsock won its third game against a 6 or 5A school.
“I keep hinting to them that they remind me so much of my first year with that (2017) sophomore class I started with. We started with a bunch of athletes who became basketball players by their junior and senior years,” Jacobson said. “I told them after the Abington Heights win (last Saturday, that we’re starting to see some basketball players. Athletes are great, but basketball players win games. They’re starting to make basketball plays and we made a ton of basketball plays tonight and that was the difference.”
Williamsport made a lot of plays as well, again playing Loyalsock tough in front of a large, boisterous crowd. The Millionaires also adjusting, replacing several starters and learning a new system under former South Williamsport coach Justin Marnon. The Millionaires continue playing strong defense after limiting three of their first four opponents to season-low point totals but could not sustain the third quarter momentum, scoring seven points over the game’s final 10 minutes.
“We knew we were going to have to battle on the defensive end. I told them we battled really hard, but things just got away from us in the fourth quarter,” Marnon said. “We just have to clean that up. The transition points got away from us in the second half and that’s how they stretched the lead.”
Williamsport started strong and led 11-5 late in the first quarter before the Dadzie sisters scored the final five points. The lead changed hands three times in the second before Loyalsock went up 10. Unfazed, the Millionaires cut it to six at halftime and carried the momentum into the third quarter, twice making it a two-point game via an Ally Chilson free throw and Mia Nieto 3-pointer. The Millionaires had four shots at tying the game or taking the lead but came up empty before Ellis hit her clutch 3-pointer and started altering the game’s complexion.
In defeat, Williamsport showed why it can be dangerous. Payton Baney (10 points, 10 rebounds) produced a double-double and Ella Wilson dealt six assists, while Chilson grabbed six rebounds. Nieto is having a big breakthrough season and did an excellent job running the offense, adding a career-high 13 points and handling Loyalsock’s pressure well.
“Mia is very calm. She knows what she’s doing. She knows when she should take her shot and she knows when she needs to get other people involved,” Marnon said. “I thought she handled things very well for us offensively. She’s definitely been a spark and she’s a great kid to coach.”
Abdul-Hakim provided Loyalsock a shot of energy throughout the second half. Coming off an ACL injury which erased her junior season, Abdul-Hakim produced four assists in a three-minute span bridging the third and fourth quarters. A tenacious defender, Abdul-Hakim then converted a layup following an Izzy Dadzie steal before finding Ellis to make it 40-27 just three minutes into the final quarter.
As those plays unfolded the Loyalsock gym grew louder and louder and gave the Lancers a moment to savor.
“We love these games. We love the big rivalry,” Ellis said. “It brings a big crowd every year and we love that. They have a good team, so they come out hard to play and we come out hard and we play a good game.”
WILLIAMSPORT (34)
Payton Baney 4 2-2 10, Ella Wilson 0 0-0 0, Mia Nieto 4 2-2 13, Ally Chilson 3 1-2 7, Cierra Rainier 0 0-0 0, Abby Mahon 1 2-2 4, Taniyah Martin 0 0-0 0, Sydney Crews 0 0-0 0. Totals 12 7-8 34.
LOYALSOCK (46)
Alaina Dadzie 4 2-2 10, Izzy Dadzie 3 1-2 9, Julie Ellis 6 0-0 15, Natayah Abdul-Hakim 2 0-0 4, Katie Ryder 2 0-2 4, Chloe Kennedy 2 0-0 4, Anna Luxenberger 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 3-6 46.
Williamsport 11 8 8 7-34
Loyalsock 10 15 11 10-46
3-pointers: Williamsport 3 (Nieto 3); Loyalsock 5 (Ellis 3, I. Dadzie 2).
Records: Loyalsock 5-1. Williamsport 2-3.