Breaking News
Local Sports

Loyalsock’s Lacey Kriebel’s best game was her final one in Hershey

By Chris Masse 5 min read

As Loyalsock celebrated Thursday night, Lacey Kriebel carried a friend, navigating both interviews and greeting so many well-wishers.

It was like having a celebrity alongside her as Kriebel carried that Class AAA state championship trophy. Pursuing that trophy caused Kriebel some pain and stress the last four years, but now it belonged to she and her teammates. The reward will go inside the school's trophy case but what Kriebel did to help Loyalsock earn is a memory she will carry forever.

In her final game, Kriebel played the best game of her outstanding high school career. The Lock Haven-bound senior scored 23 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, dealt three assists and drained five 3-pointers, helping Loyalsock defeat Shady Side Academy, 55-43 to capture the program's first state title.

"I always dreamed of it but when that buzzer went off it was like, 'Holy cow,! We just won the state championship," Kriebel said. "I can't wait to get our rings."

That championship ring came after Kriebel conquered so many challenges along the way these past four years. Her father Dean battled cancer during Kriebel's freshman season but she provided him inspiration and helped South Williamsport reach the state quarterfinals for the first time in more than 30 years.

This past season, Kriebel played through physical pain, battling an injury throughout the season, earning a fourth straight first team league all-star honor in the process. Through it all she kept moving forward and kept heating up.

And when the games grew their toughest, Kriebel elevated to the highest level. That says so much, too, since Kriebel's high school career includes 101 wins, 1,449 points, 605 rebounds, 344 steals, 272 assists and 214 3-pointers.

Kriebel put on a shooting clinic against Dunmore in the quarterfinals, scoring 16 third quarter points and helping Loyalsock rout a 24-win team which had won 18 straight games. She then nearly generated a triple-doubled against Imhotep in the state semifinals, going for 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.

Then, a player who has dreamed about winning a state championship pretty much since she first picked up a basketball turned the Giant Center into her own personal playground. Kriebel set the early tone, scored 15 first-half points, produced a double-double by late in the third quarter and hit to the go-ahead 3-pointers which pointed the way to victory.

"Her last three games have been the best she's ever played," Loyalsock coach Curtis Jacobson said. "The best basketball she's ever played in her life came at the right moments."

"It's the energy factor," fellow senior captain Julie Ellis said. "When she's able to knock down big shots like that and then keep doing it, it brings energy to the whole team."

Kriebel's plays seemingly provided Loyalsock a 1.2 gigawatt jolt and helped her team overcome Shady Side's own blistering first half shooting as the Lancers built a 30-28 halftime lead. The game was tied late in the third quarter when Kriebel again took center stage and buried consecutive 3-pointers. Those put Loyalsock up, 43-37 entering the fourth quarter and Loyalsock never trailed again.

"There's a stigma that it's hard to shoot here because of the depth perception. I just blocked that out," Kriebel said. "Every time the ball went through the net the crowd went crazy. That created a lot of momentum and really helped us keep pushing forward."

As has been the case throughout the season, Kriebel's offense took on a dual purpose. In addition to igniting Loyalsock, it also opened the paint for Alaina Dadzie who flourished over the final three quarters, scoring all 21 of her points there.

Shady Side swarmed Dadzie throughout the game, but especially early, denying her opportunities. But with Kriebel lighting it up, Shady Side had to pick its poison. The problem was that both proved lethal.

Kriebel scored the third quarter's final six points, Dadzie scored four straight quick ones in the third, and every Lancer moved the ball well, leaving Shady Side in a furious but often futile pursuit of denials.

"Lacey stepped up and shot the heck out of the ball," Dadzie said. "She brought it for all of us and it helped us all offensively and defensively."

Kriebel spent her high school career filling up the stat sheet and it was no different in the state final. Her work on the boards was phenomenal throughout states and Kriebel went over 600 rebounds. She also frequently disrupted Shady Side's offense, handled the ball well and delivered precision passes.

An athlete who twice has earned third team all-state honors left no doubt that she was one of this year's top six Class AAA players.

"There's probably not a player who has dreamed of this moment more than her. She's a basketball kid," Jacobson said. "Handling the ball, making big shots, moving the ball, she did it all. She was locked in on film; locked in at practice. She's a girl how never wanted the season to end. It ends tonight but it's a good way to end it."

Four buses of Loyalsock students and so many community fans so the finished product Thursday. So many did not see how it happened. A relentless worker, Kriebel never stopped working. From traveling throughout the East Coast playing AAU to hoisting seemingly endless amounts of shots, Kriebel kept seeking improvement.

It all paid off, too. Every extra shot, every extra drill, every extra sprint led to a moment like the one Kriebel encountered when she entered the Giant Center.

And she owned it.

"She's been putting in the work. She makes sure she puts up extra shots," Ellis said. "It's just a great way to cap her senior year."

"So few get this opportunity. The odds are so slight. We're going to be coming back for reunions and things like that," Kriebel said. "I'm so excited for that. We'll always remember this."

Starting at /week.