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Mount Carmel girls again peaking at right time as they defeat Jersey Shore in HAC Tournament semifinals

By Chris Masse 7 min read

SUNBURY–Whenever the calendar hits mid-February, there is a strong chance the Mount Carmel girls’ basketball team is surging. A program which has made 13 straight state tournament appearances, won 10 district titles since 2011 and captured the 2021 Class AA state championship, often is at its most formidable come playoff time.

This year looks no different.

Mount Carmel excelled in all facets during Wednesday’s Heartland Conference Tournament semifinals at the Shikellamy Field House. Jenna Pizzoli ignited a stifling defense, Alyssa Reisinger dominated inside, and the Tornadoes defeated HAC-I co-champion Jersey Shore, 41-18. Reisinger scored 20 points, Katie Witkoski played a super all-around game and Mount Carmel (21-2) won its 12th straight contest while earning a spot in Friday’s championship against HAC-III rival Bloomsburg.

“The way we’re able to mesh together, it’s really showing now in the second season. We’re really clicking at the right time,” Reisinger, an all-state center, said. “Honestly, I don’t think there is any time soon that we’re going to stop. I’m just so proud of this team and how everyone plays. We just work so well together.”

They did so again Thursday against an excellent Jersey Shore team. The Tornadoes allowed just one first-half field goal while building a 26-4 halftime lead. Jersey Shore (17-6) scored the second-half’s first five points, but Mount Carmel countered with a 9-0 run and continued squeezing the life from a dangerous offense.

Although Mount Carmel has produced super players each season during this remarkable 13-year run and is well-coached, it is hard work and relentless determination which provides the foundation. Like the other excellent teams before them, this one fiercely competes for every rebound, loose ball and possession. There is no ball these players think they cannot reach, and they never take a play off.

Doing so has helped Mount Carmel flourish despite facing a meat grinder of a schedule in the brutally tough HAC-III and in non-conference play. It also has helped a team which has made consecutive state semifinal appearances earn the top seed for next week’s District 4 Class AAA tournament.

“We can’t ask for much more. They give us everything that they have,” Mount Carmel coach Lisa Varano said. “They’re great kids; they work hard, so we’re really proud of all of them.”

Jersey Shore has plenty to be proud about as well.

Obviously, the Bulldogs were hoping for a different result Thursday, but this program has come a long way. From winning three games two years ago, Jersey Shore captured a share of its first league championship since 1996 and competed at the HAC Tournament for the first time. Everything the Bulldogs hope to achieve is still out there, too.

The effort was there Thursday, but Jersey Shore ran into a terrific team operating at peak capacity. Facing that quality of opponent should prepare the Bulldogs well for the playoffs and they will host rival Montoursville in next Thursday’s District 4 Class AAAA quarterfinals after earning the tournament’s No. 2 seed.

“They’re pretty down in there but it’s just a matter of shrugging it off. We’ll get back to work and we have time to get ready and we get a home game,” Jersey Shore coach Darrin Bischof said. “We worked hard for that, so it’s just a matter of us moving forward.”

Jersey Shore gave Mount Carmel a battle on its home court last December, trailing by just two in the third quarter before losing, 48-35. Mount Carmel often is a much more dangerous team, however, come February and wasted little time showing that, scoring the game’s first eight points. Jersey Shore held the Tornadoes scoreless over the final 4 minutes, 45 seconds of the first quarter but could not get the offense going and trailed 8-2 entering the second.

A lot of Jersey Shore’s struggles were related to Mount Carmel’s defense. But those problems were exasperated when the Bulldogs produced could shots but could not get them to fall. They competed hard and were down just 13-4 midway through the second quarter but when Jocelyn McCracken (8 points, 8 rebounds) picked up her third foul and went to the bench, everything changed.

Reisinger started dominating inside, the Tornado offense came alive, and Mount Carmel closed the half on a 16-0 run.

“I thought it was a tough matchup coming down. They’re good defensively and they didn’t let us get into any rhythm,” Bishcof said. “I thought in the first quarter we had some opportunities at the rim that we just didn’t finish, and you have to finish against them because they’re going to take advantage of every mistake that you make.”

Pizzoli was a defensive force and helped limit the area’s leading scorer Peyton Dincher to a season-low seven points. Dincher does a super job moving without the basketball and did all she could to free herself but Pizzoli, as well as Witkoski and Ava Chapman at times, tenaciously followed the dynamic sophomore wherever she went and limited her to seven shot attempts.

Dincher drained one of those, a deep 3-pointer early in the third quarter. That followed a McCracken jumper and Jersey Shore cut the deficit to 26-9. As soon as it seemed like the Bulldogs might be setting the stage for a big comeback, Mount Carmel dashed those hopes and it allowed just seven points over the game’s final 14 minutes.

“I think our defense has really improved this season,” Reisinger said. “Coach is always saying our offense will come, but it’s our defense that wins games. I think that really showed tonight.”

Reisinger earned all-state honors last year and played a huge role on the 2021 state championship team. The 6-footer was a matchup problem since Jersey Shore does not have a lot of height, but the Bulldogs limited her touches early in the game. Reisinger, though, is an unselfish player and does a good job setting up her teammates. Reisinger playing facilitator not only gives her teammates opportunities, but also creates fewer double teams and allows her to eventually get more touches.

That happened against Jersey Shore and Reisinger had a hand in the first half’s final 13 points, scoring 11 and adding an assist. Reisinger produced another assist during the game-clinching 9-0 third-quarter run, went 8 of 12 from the field, grabbed seven rebounds and added three steals.

“We’re definitely not a one-player team. It doesn’t always show up in the stats, but there’s always someone who’s handling the ball well, gets steals, gets their hands on the ball, rebounds and gets putbacks and things like that,” Reisinger said. “It really shows when it comes to games like this.”

Witkoski is one of those consistent Mount Carmel stat stuffers. She seemingly was everywhere against Jersey Shore, playing swarming defense, helping the offense click and setting a blistering tone. Witkoski scored 10 points, made five steals, pulled down six rebounds and added three assists.

Witkowski also illustrated another key facet which makes Mount Carmel so dangerous. Pizzoli is the team’s second-leading scorer but her primary role was defense against Jersey Shore. Witkoski picked up the scoring load for a team which almost always finds a way to play complementary basketball.

“Sometimes Katie gets overlooked because of her size but she plays like a big out there. She gets a lot of rebounds and steals for us and tonight she worked for some easy backdoor layups,” Varano said. “She always is kind of in the right place at the right time and she works hard.”

JERSEY SHORE (18)

Peyton Dincher 2 2-2 7, Jocelyn McCracken 4 0-0 8, Cailyn Schall 0 0-0 0, Sophia Stover 1 0-0 2, Celia Shemory 0 0-0 0, Rachel Lorson 0 0-0 0, Jaymison Stellfox 0 0-0 0, Paige Wheary 0 1-2 1. Totals 7 3-4 18.

MOUNT CARMEL (41)

Alyssa Reisinger 8 4-7 20, Jenna Pizzoli 2 0-1 5, Ava Chapman 0 2-4 2, Rachel Witkoski 0 1-3 1, Katie Witkoski 5 0-2 10, Abby Kolkis 0 1-2 1, Karli Berkoski 1 0-0 2. Totals 16 8-19 41.

Jersey Shore 2 2 9 5-18

Mount Carmel 8 18 13 2-41

3-pointers: Jersey Shore 1 (Dincher); Mount Carmel 1 (Pizzoli).

Records: Mount Carmel 21-2. Jersey Shore 17-6.

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