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Neumann girls pull together and win a thriller against Warrior Run

By Chris Masse 6 min read

The Tutler family grows much bigger each winter. St. John Neumann starters Sheiana and Niyah Tutler are sisters, but they feel like so are all their teammates.

This group has played together throughout their basketball lives and the family bond they share helped it become just the second team in program history to reach the Class A state tournament last March. Monday night at the Catholic Community Center, that chemistry and balance produced an exciting win.

Every Neumann player contributed, and the Knights never flinched after Warrior Run took multiple second half leads. Trust, balance and hustle played major roles and Neumann surged late, winning a 55-51 thriller. Every starter scored at least six points, three players reached double-digit rebounds and Sophia Reid and Ella Ballard provided good minutes off the bench as Neumann (8-6) won for the sixth time in eight games.

“We’ve played together for a while. When someone is down, we know and we pick them up and encourage them,” Sheiana Tutler said after scoring 13 points, grabbing a game-high 14 rebounds and blocking three shots. “It’s comforting when we know everyone out there can contribute.”

“They’re all very close outside of basketball,” Neumann coach Helena Floyd said. “We told them at halftime and in the second half you have to keep it together and they kept it together and played really well.”

The Tutler sisters, Gigi Parlante, Lily Reid and Lizzie Weller all are multiple year starters. They have helped this program rise from the ashes the last three years and grown better each season.

How they have done so was on display against a Warrior Run team which is better than its record indicates since it plays in the brutally tough HAC-III. Every player did her part, Warrior Run could not key on stopping just one or two Knights and Neumann grew stronger instead of falling apart whenever the situation became tough.

Each time Warrior Run took the lead in the second half, Neumann nearly immediately answered. After an Alexis Hudson jumper put Warrior Run up one midway through the fourth quarter, Neumann responded with 10-3 run, going up 51-45 on Niyah Tutler’s runner with 90 seconds left.

“When they started coming back, we realized we have to pull together,” Sheiana Tutler said. “We had to pick it up and play good defense.”

“We’ve been coming together as a team,” Floyd said. “Defense wins games and we’ve learned how to play not just man to man, but zone and have learned how to win the game that way. On nights when we’re not shooting well, then that defense is something we can fall back on to win. We did that today.”

In addition to making crucial stops at key times, Neumann also consistently had someone it could go to offensively. Parlante produced another double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Niyah Tutler scored 12 points and Lily Reid added eight. Lizzie Weller was a force in the fourth quarter when she scored six points and pulled down seven of her 10 rebounds.

Weller’s tremendous work on the offensive glass extended Neumann possessions and allowed them to cash in on second and third chance scoring opportunities. She added a free throw which looked like it might clinch the game, putting Neumann up, 52-45 with 32 seconds remaining.

Warrior Run, however, fought back as hard as Neumann did. Hudson drained a 3-pointer with 15 seconds left and, following another Weller foul shot, Peyton Meehan connected on a 3-pointer that made it 53-51 at the four-second mark. Warrior Run then immediately fouled Parlante. The Knights had struggled at the line, but Parlante was calm under pressure and clinched the win, sinking both shots.

“We just have to believe in ourselves more,” Sheiana Tutler said. “We have to know we can win.”

Neumann has done that a lot recently and its tough early-season schedule paid dividends Monday. The Knights have grown accustomed to playing in those close games and thrived when pushed hard against Warrior Run. Reid and Niyah Tutler set the first half tone and combined for four 3-pointers. Reid’s second trey gave Neumann a 28-18 lead, but Warrior Run scored the final five points and cut it to five at halftime.

“It helps a lot,” Niyah Tutler said. “I feel like as soon as someone hits a 3, everyone is picked up.”

Niyah Tutler has done that a lot the last two games, making seven 3-pointers. She and Reid stretching the defense throughout the first half helped Neumann go to work inside in the second half as Parlante, Weller and Sheiana Tutler all surged.

A sophomore, Niyah Tutler is building on her quality debut season a year ago. She is a versatile threat and is playing with more confidence now, giving Neumann yet another threat as it moves forward.

“I feel like I’m not as scared as I used to be,” Niyah Tutler said. “I feel more comfortable out there.”

Sienna Dunkleberger has experienced a similar burst and continued her stellar play against Neumann. The junior forward has come on strong over the last month and scored a career-high 20 points, while adding eight rebounds, four steals and three assists. Hudson hit a series of big shots in the second half, finishing with 15 points and 3 steals and Meehan produced 10 points. Lydia Wertz was strong off the bench, pulling down seven rebounds.

Sheiana Tutler drained an NBA-range, buzzer-beating 3-pointer to close the third quarter and give Neumann a 38-34 advantage, but Warrior Run came back strong and took one-point leads on a Hudson 3-pointer and long-range jumper. Instead of breaking apart, this team which considers itself a family rallied around each other and earned a hard-fought win. That included when Sophia Reid hustled after an offensive rebound and scored off a putback late in the third quarter to trigger a 5-0 run that put Neumann up four entering the fourth.

“It’s another confidence boost,” Floyd said. “I think as a team they’re starting to realize we can do this.”

WARRIOR RUN (51)

Alexis Hudson 6 0-0 15, Sienna Dunkleberger 7 4-7 20, Maura Woland 0 4-7 4, Peyton Meehan 4 0-0 10, Kelsey Hoffman 0 0-0 0, Lillian Wertz 0 0-0 0, Abby Evans 1 0-0 2. Totals 18 8-14 51.

NEUMANN (55)

Sheiana Tutler 4 4-8 13, Gigi Parlante 5 3-5 14, Lizzie Weller 2 2-7 6, Lily Reid 3 0-0 8, Niyah Tutler 5 0-2 12, Ella Ballard 0 0-0 0, Sophia Reid 1 0-0 2. Totals 20 9-22 55.

Warrior Run 9 14 11 17-51

Neumann 13 15 10 17-55

3-pointers: Warrior Run 7 (Hudson 3, Dunkleberger 2, Meehan 2); Neumann 6 (Reid 2, N. Tutler 2, S. Tutler, Parlante).

Records: Neumann 8-6. Warrior Run 4-11.

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