District 2 Girls Game Recap (Abington Heights vs. Scranton Prep)

Written by: Jon K on January 15, 2020

January 15, 2020

Scranton Prep Rallies to Defeat Top Rival

Scranton Prep 61, Abington Heights 53

CLARKS SUMMIT – Playing on the road against an inspired rival and finding themselves in some unchartered territory on the scoreboard, Scranton Prep dug deep on several occasions to rally and pull out a gutsy 61-53 victory over Abington Heights Wednesday night. The Classics have several go-to players on their roster and each of them provided clutch performances when they most needed a spark, at critical points when the Lady Comets seemed to establish some momentum. It was a highly-entertaining matchup that gave fans some early indication of how exciting both these teams will be when district and state playoff time arrives.

After a frantic pace through the first six minutes of the game had things deadlocked at 11, Erin Albright got a putback followed by a triple and another basket by Clair Marion to give AH an 18-11 lead late in the first period. Cecelia Collins got a big offensive rebound and bucket just before the buzzer to trim it to 18-13. Looking back, it was an indication of how this game would unfold. In the second quarter, the Lady Comets had their home fans cheering after they got a layup from Anna Scoblick to take their largest lead of the game, 23-13. Prep responded with a 5-0 spurt via scores by Maggie Mills and a triple by Maria Belardi. AH countered with baskets by Albright and Lauren Lombardo to go back up by nine (27-18). But another key Belardi trey and basket by Rachel Rose wrapped around a Marion FT kept things close. The first half concluded with a Rachel McDonald triple and basket by Rachel Rose for a 31-27 Lady Comets advantage. Some key halftime takeaways included the Classics doing extremely well on the offensive boards (especially in the second stanza), Abington Heights missing a few scoring opportunities around the basket, and Erin Albright picking up her third foul in the closing seconds of the half.

The second half started with a scoring spree of Marion (AH) and Belardi (Prep) trading baskets and triples capped off with a Maria Tully trey for a 41-33 Lady Comet advantage. But that’s when Scranton Prep tightened up their defense and went on a 9-2 run (three baskets by Collins and a triple by Rose) to trim the game to a single point heading into the final eight minutes, 43-42. AH took a 46-43 lead following a Marion triple, but Prep responded with a 6-0 run to go back up 49-46. Marion came back with another basket followed by a Tully triple for their final lead of the night, 51-49. Rapid fire scores by Rose, Belardi, and Lizzi Neville gave the Classics the start of a game-clinching 10-0 run to secure the impressive 61-53 victory.

Scranton Prep placed four players into doubles – Cecelia Collins with 18, Rachel Rose with 15, Maria Belardi with 15 (including 3 big triples), and Lizzie Neville with 11. Abington Heights was led by Clair Marion with 17, and 12 each from Anna Scoblick and Rachel McDonald (on 4 treys). After hitting 10 points and being an offensive impact in the first half, Erin Albright was held to a pair of free throws in the second half.

Let’s all circle February 12 and do it all again in Scranton.

Rachel Rose (Scranton Prep) hit this buzzer-beater to cut the halftime deficit to 31-27. A great game deserves another look back. pic.twitter.com/AUR0cOAnNN

— LLHoops Neast Beat (@LLHoopsNEPbeat) January 16, 2020