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DANVILLE--Peyton Dincher pulled down and offensive rebound, went up strong and scored a milestone basket. And then she hustled back on defense.
Saturday, any day for that matter, was never about personal milestones for Dincher or her Jersey Shore teammates. It was about winning a district championship. Central Columbia, however, denied the Bulldogs that elusive crown and captured a fifth straight District 4 Class AAAA championship.
Still, reaching 2,000 career points is quite an impressive consolation prize. Dincher joined Kelly Mazzante, Tierney Pfirman and Maria Morgan as the only area girls’ players this century to score 2,000 career points Saturday at the Whitey McCloskey Center but Central started strong and held off repeated attempted rallies, winning 63-47 and securing another championship. The season is not over, though, and Jersey Shore advances to states for a third straight year, playing at District 11 champion Allentown Central Catholic next Saturday.
"We talk about it all the time and just talked about it today that regardless of what you have to work for, basketball or day-to-day, you better find purpose in your work," Jersey Shore coach Mike Schall said. "It’s easy to find purpose right now but we challenge them all the time, whether there is a goal or outcome that we’re working toward or not, every single day, find a purpose. We will do that. We’ll get in and continue to commit."
Jersey Shore has committed hard to its district championship dream the past three seasons and a senior-laden group reached a third consecutive final. Central has formed a Blue and White obstacle every time and used a 19-6 first quarter run to seize control. Jersey Shore pulled as close as five in the second quarter but Central (24-3) pushed the lead to 10 by halftime and held a double-digit advantage the rest of the way.
Freshman Quinlan Blake dazzled, scoring 32 points, making eight steals and grabbing six rebounds. She, Abby Welkom (11 points, 6 rebounds) and Jude Flick (9 points, 11 rebounds) are freshmen starters, but they were not going to let the program take a step back upon their arrival. In fact, they have only strengthened it and Central now has Heartland Conference and district championships this season.
"There was a lot of pressure, a lot of expectations. It means a lot to do it, especially as a freshman. It’s just great," Blake said. "We were confident. We didn’t want to be that group. That was just another thing that kept us working that much harder."
Blake has put together a dominant freshman season, but, considering the ramifications Saturday, this might have been her best game. She was a force in all areas, also playing excellent defense and reaching 20 points by midway through the third quarter. Seemingly every time Jersey Shore threatened in the second half, Blake was there to slam the door, scoring 20 points and making all but three of her shots from the field and foul line.
A Blake 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter stopped Jersey Shore’s momentum after the Bulldogs (17-8) had cut a 16-point deficit to 47-36. After Dincher responded with free throws, Blake converted a 3-point play and Central started putting the finishing touches on a fifth straight district crown.
"It’s such a good feeling. This was the game we were planning for ever since our first game, so hitting those first couple shots was a confidence boost, especially coming off Selinsgrove (in the semifinals) where I didn’t have my best game," Blake said. "Obviously, we were all nervous but as soon the jump ball, we settled in pretty quickly. We got into a groove."
And that knocked Jersey Shore out of rhythm early, forcing eight first quarter turnovers. After a Hannah Heaton to Sophia Stover connection pulled the Bulldogs within 5-4, they fell upon hard times and Central taking a 13-point first quarter lead, ultimately, made the biggest difference since it was nearly even from there.
"The first quarter was tough. We didn’t take care of the basketball. The kids were ready, but we weren’t mentally strong enough with our reads and attacks and that’s what led to the turnovers," Schall said. "We worked really hard; we sacrificed a lot, and we didn’t get the performance or the result we wanted but they’re going to be a heck of a lot stronger from it."
Jersey Shore thundered back in the second quarter and Kylie Schall who excelled off the bench with nine points, hit a 3-pointer to pull it within 22-17. But Central closed the half by scoring the first five points and pushed that run to 10 while taking a 32-17 lead early in the third.
That was when Dincher hit the glass and joined an exclusive club, becoming the first Jersey Shore player to ever reach 2,000 career points. The Le Moyne-bound senior needed five points entering the game to reach 2,000 and finished with 12, in addition to eight rebounds and three assists.
To drive home how impressive the club Dincher joined has been in the 2000s consider this: Mazzante was an All-American at Penn State and two-time WNBA champion. Pfirman played in two Final 4s at Maryland and Morgan was a four-year starter at St. Vincent who recently was inducted into the West Branch Valley Hall of Fame.
Dincher is part of a decorated senior class who has turned Jersey Shore around and fellow senior Cailyn Schall scored 12 points while dealing four assists. Stover had eight points and two steals, Hannah Heaton five boards with three assists.
Jersey Shore never lost its desire or hope and a Kylie Schall 3-pointer pulled it within 59-47 with 98 seconds left. Flick, however, found Erin Prezioso for a layup out of the timeout and the celebration was on as Central sealed victory with two more defensive stands.
"They sold out for each other, regardless of the scoreboard and regardless of how the game was going," Mike Schall said. "They kept selling out regardless of what happened on the last possession. They reset well and kept digging."
JERSEY SHORE (47)
Peyton Dincher 4 4-5 12, Cailyn Schall 3 4-5 12, Sophia Stover 4 0-0 8, Avery DePasqua 2 0-0 6, Hannah Heaton 0 0-0 0, Kylie Schall 3 0-0 9, Gracelyn Frantz 0 0-0 0, Jess Millbrand 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 8-10 47.
CENTRAL (63)
Quinlan Blake 11 5-5 32, Haley Bull 1 0-0 3, Abby Welkom 3 2-2 11, Jude Flick 4 1-4 9, Jada Tucker 3 0-0 6, Erin Prezioso 1 0-0 2, Kayla Foust 0 0-2 0. Totals 23 8-13 63.
Jersey Shore 6 11 19 11--47
Central 19 8 20 16--63
3-pointers: Jersey Shore 7 (K. Schall 3, C. Schall 2, DePasqua 2); Central 9 (Blake 5, Welkom 3, Bull).
Records: Central 24-3. Jersey Shore 17-8.