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District 2 Girls Game Recap (Wilkes-Barre vs. Hazleton Area)
 

District 2 Girls Game Recap (Wilkes-Barre vs. Hazleton Area)

Written by: Jon K on February 4, 2023

 

 

February 2, 2023

 

Lady Cougar Defense Too Much for Wolfpack

 

Hazleton Area 52, Wilkes-Barre Area 39

 

By Phil T.

PLAINS – The Lady Cougars used an incredible defensive effort to erase an early 8-2 deficit en route to a 52-39 victory over Wilkes-Barre Area Thursday evening.

After coming out of the gate a bit slow, Hazleton Area reevaluated their gameplan and came back with a near-unstoppable defensive front.  The new scheme allowed the Lady Cougars to outscore their opponents 35-19 over the middle periods.

The highlight of the stellar defensive effort came as both teams returned from the halftime break.  The Cougars were able to shut down the Wolfpack with three steals and three offensive boards leading to five field-goal attempts, contributing to four points and a 10-point lead, before the Lady Wolfpack would gain possession and get back on the scoreboard. 

Olivia Williams would open the scoring with a triple, but the ‘Pack responded quickly.

Eternity Aiken would get WBA on the board with a putback and add another bucket soon after.  Two additional buckets from Shelby Ardo Boyko would see the Wolfpack out front and in early control.

The faults began to appear as the Wolfpack ended the opening stanza with points left off the board.  WBA would fail to make another field-goal in the frame and would only convert two of their six chances from the charity stripe as their opponent began to heat up.

Ardo-Boyko would slow the HA attack by striking first in the ensuing period, but the Lady Cougars’ momentum shift was already in full effect.

Hazleton Area would then go on an 11-0 run to retake the lead for good.  A Brianna Kennedy triple would soon give them their first double-digit lead of the night, 24-14.

Facing a 28-16 deficit before the halftime break, the Wolfpack need to make a run.  A six-point spurt to end the half, capped by a steal and finish from Mackenzie Evans before the buzzer, saw the Hazleton advantage cut in half, 28-22.

But, coming out of the break, WBA wouldn’t be able to keep pace with the Cougars.  Hazleton Area would go on 8-2 and 7-2 runs in the frame to give them a controlling 43-29 lead as the game headed into the final eight minutes.

To start the fourth quarter, Hazleton Area was contempt to run as they did not attempt a field-goal until halfway through the stanza.

Wilkes-Barre turned up their defensive pressure as Diamond Thorton and Ardo Boyko would each force steals and complete the finish to cut the Lady Cougars’ lead down to eight points.

Side effects of a pressing defense quickly began to hurt the Wolfpack as their team foul count rose rapidly and the Lady Cougars found themselves in the double-bonus with almost five minutes left to play.  Hazleton would soon be able to finish out the game and walk away with the 52-39 victory.

Sophia Shults led all scorers with 15 points to go along with six rebounds in Hazleton’s victory.  Brianna Kennedy added 11 points and forced four steals in the contest.

Wilkes-Barre featured eight scorers, led by Shelby Ardo Boyko with 9 points in the contest.

Hazleton Area has now swept the season series with a 47-41 victory coming earlier in the season.  Both teams currently sit atop the District 2 AAAAAA power rankings, Wilkes-Barre as the top seed and Hazleton sitting in the second spot, potentially leading to an additional matchup inside the Mohegan Sun Arena.

Both teams are currently eliminated from winning the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 Regular Season title, but both have a chance to qualify for the 4-team WVC tournament as Wyoming Valley West, Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton all sit within one game of each with two games left on the schedule.

After winning four of their last five games, Hazleton Area will hope their hot-hand continues as they host the second-place team in their division, Valley West, in their next matchup.

After coming up short in their last two games Wilkes-Barre will look to get back on track when they travel to Berwick on Monday.

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