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District 2 Girls 6A First Round (Hazleton Area vs. Pennsbury)
 

District 2 Girls 6A First Round (Hazleton Area vs. Pennsbury)

Written by: Jon K on March 10, 2024

 

 

March 8, 2024 (Girls 6A First Round)

 

Hot Shooting, 360-Defense Advances Hazleton Area

 

Hazleton Area 63, Pennsbury 48

 

HAZLE TOWNSHIP – It’s one thing to get invited to the PIAA basketball party.  But, it’s a whole different situation after getting a First Round win as that’ll earn you a lot more respect.  The Hazleton Area Lady Cougars, with a lineup of two freshmen, two sophomores, and a junior, played with incredible veteran maturity on Friday night as they soundly defeated a surging squad from District 1, Pennsbury, 63-48 to advance to Tuesday’s Second Round against perennial Philly Catholic League powerhouse Cardinal O’Hara (12-2, 22-4).  The sizzling first half shooting pace (15 of 18) allowed the Lady Cougars to consistently set up their swarming, trapping 360-defense to create numerous turnovers, many of which turned into easy, uncontested layups.  Hazleton Area displayed crisp ball movement throughout the contest as all five starters are skilled ball handlers.

Pennsbury took their only lead of the game off the opening tip as 1,000-point scorer Sophia Vitucci darted in for a layup.  Kaitlyn Bindas then took over using a combination of pinpoint passes inside for scores along with back-to-back triples that gave HA a 14-2 lead just three minutes into the contest.  The Lady Cougars forced 8 turnovers in the frame, but also had their share of unforced miscues as well.  After trailing by as many as 13 points (19-6), the Falcons rallied to trim it to 19-11 after a triple by Joley Hohman that ended the first quarter.

Hohman added another score off a Hazleton Area turnover to cut it to 19-13, but the Lady Cougars would then go on a 12-0 run over the next 4+ minutes to go up 31-13.  A pair of triples by Bindas and another by Alexis Reimold keyed that run capped off by an inside score by Sophie Benyo off another Pennsbury turnover.  Sophia Shults and Bindas connected from long-range as Vitucci also put together an 8-point Falcon scoring spurt including a pair of treys.  Hazleton Area took a 39-24 advantage into the locker on the heels of hitting 83% of their shots and getting 20 points from Bindas.

The second half did not begin any better for the Falcons as their cascade of turnovers continued.  HA expanded their lead to 43-24 forcing Pennsbury into taking a pair of early timeouts.  The teams then played even throughout the period.  Danielle Sherman and Daniella Macdonald netted triples for the Falcons, but their top-scorer (Vitucci) was being held in check by some stellar defensive play by Kayla Lagowy.  Bindas dazzled with her speed and heads-up play in one sequence as she got the ball back to Benyo underneath the basket for a layup.  This one headed into the final stanza with HA in firm control, 49-34. 

Sophia Shults got the final period started with a corner triple.  Following a layup by Vitucci, Bindas drove down the lane for a score and popped a jumper from the foul line to give the Lady Cougars their largest lead of the game, 59-37.  Pennsbury would finish the game on an 11-4 run as they got a triple from Hohman and 5-point spurt from Presley Foote as this one ended 63-48.

Hazleton Area was led by Kaitlyn Bindas with 27 points, Sophia Shults with 17 points, and Sophia Benyo with 10 points.  Alexis Reimold and Kayla Lagowy combined for 9 points.  The Lady Cougars (24-4) hit 9 triples and connected on 6 of 8 free throws.

Pennsbury was paced by Sophia Vitucci with 20 points and Joley Hohman with 10 points.  Presley Foote, Daniella Macdonald, Layla Matthias, Danielle Sherman, and Maggie Burns combined for 18 points.  The Falcons (20-8) netted 7 triples and made 9 of their 12 opportunities from the charity stripe.      

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