Offense deserts Royals in D2 final

SCRANTON—Last year, the Holy Redeemer girls were bounced from the state basketball tournament because they couldn’t seem to make a shot in the second half.

The same problem haunted the Royals, who scored just nine points in the second half in their 28-25 loss to Abington Heights in the District 2 Class 3A championship game at Scranton High School on Saturday afternoon.

However, this time there was a saving grace for the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 champion Royals — they will have a chance to make amends.

Abington Heights (23-3) and Holy Redeemer (20-6) both advanced to the PIAA Class 3A playoffs. The Royals will play next Saturday against an opponent yet to be determined.

“Our lack of offense was definitely the difference,” said junior guard Olivia Francisco, who scored four points. “We couldn’t make a shot today. We were rushing our shots and didn’t execute our plays.”

Holy Redeemer got off on the right foot by taking an early 6-0 lead. The Royals led throughout the first half and held a 16-11 advantage at intermission

They widened the margin to 18-11 on a jumper by Francisco to open the second half, but the Royals offense was suddenly non-existent. Holy Redeemer managed to score only seven points the rest of the game.

Meanwhile, with senior forward Maggie Fruehan leading the way, Abington Heights scored 13 consecutive points to take a 24-18 lead entering the fourth quarter.

Fruehan scored a couple of baskets on perfectly executed give-and-go plays, in which she got wide open behind the Redeemer defense to score easy layups.

“Fruehan really wanted it,” said Royals coach Rich Nemetz. “She made a lot of big plays, and No. 44 (Sam Palucci) also killed us.”

Palucci paced the Comets with 10 points, while the 5-foot-10 Fruehan tallied nine points.

Despite their shooting woes, the Royals defense gave them a chance to win. Redeemer limited the Comets to four points in the fourth period.

Abington Heights took its biggest lead, 26-19, on a backdoor basket by Fruehan with 6:20 remaining in the game. The Royals rallied to draw within 27-25 with 1:11 left on two baskets by 6-2 senior forward Monica Winot.

The Comets forged ahead, 28-25, on a free throw by Palucci with 46 seconds remaining. Redeemer had two possessions in the closing seconds, with its last chance coming with 13 seconds left.

The Royals tried to set a screen for long-range specialist Francisco, but they had to settle for a desperation three-point attempt by another player from the corner that was well-defended.

“Our defense was good,” said Wignot, who led the Royals with 13 points. “However, we didn’t rebound well. We did a poor job of boxing out.”

Redeemer ran out of gas in the fourth quarter, according to senior forward Christine Peterlin. “Abington came out with more intensity in the second half, and we didn’t respond.”

Abington Heights coach Vince Bucciarelli said the Comets picked up the tempo in the second half, and it paid big dividends. “Fruehan was an animal on the boards.”

HOLY REDEEMER (25): Casey 1 1-2 3, Flaherty 1 1-2 3, Peterlin 1 0-0 2, Wignot 6 1-2 13, Francisco 2 0-0 4, Platko 0 0-0 0, Capaci 0 0-0 0, Maximowicz 0 0-0 0, Wempa 0 0-0 0. Totals 11 3-6 25.

ABINGTON HEIGHTS (28): Eagen 0 1-2 1, Frahley 1 0-0 3, Butler 1 0-0 3, Diebert 1 0-0 2, Fruehan 4 1-4 9, Palucci 4 1-5 10, Montaella 1 0-2 2. Totals 11 3-13 28.

Clear 29°

Extras

Holy Redeemer manages only 9 second-half points vs. Abington.

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