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By JOHN ERZAR jerzar@leader.net
Tuesday, March 11, 2003 Page: 1B
The numbers game.
Record, state ranking, seeding. Take your pick. Each has a number attached
that, if believed, should be enough to determine a state playoff winner in
girls basketball.
Even the players know that not living up to a certain number could be
somewhat embarrassing.
“We were the top-seeded team and never in this position,” Dallas forward
Jackie Hardwick said after Saturday’s 64-59 victory over Notre Dame Green
Pond. “So we would have gotten a lot of …”
Hardwick never completed her statement, but the polite word would be grief
had Dallas fallen. After all, the District 2 Class 3A champion losing to the
sixth seed out of District 3? Surely, some cybermud (another polite word)
would be slung on the Internet sites that cater to state girls hoops.
Now Dallas and its two surviving Wyoming Valley Conference comrades –
Bishop Hoban and Meyers – get twisted into the numbers game once again.
District 2 Class 2A runner-up Meyers is up first. The Mohawks (26-3) play
District 4 champion Southern Columbia (21-7) at 6 p.m. today at Martz Hall in
Pottsville.
Meyers has the better record; Southern the better seeding. Neither is
ranked.
D2 Class 3A runner-up Hoban (25-3) also gets a game at Martz Hall. The
Argents play District 1 third-seed Villa Maria (24-2) at 6 p.m. tomorrow.
Going into the opening round, Villa Maria was the 10th-ranked Class 3A team
in the state, according to the Patriot-News of Harrisburg, despite one of its
losses coming to a team that lost eight games. Meanwhile, Hoban has been a
perennial honorable mention although its three losses came to teams with a
combined record of 72-11.
Dallas (23-5) gets District 1 runner-up Nazareth Academy (20-8) in a Class
3A game at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow at Parkland High School in Allentown. The
Mountaineers have the seeding and record edge. Nazareth Academy defeated a
better District 3 team, third-seeded ELCO, in the first round.
There were 64 girls games this past weekend. Eight ranked teams packed the
equipment, including top-ranked Greensburg Central Catholic in Class 2A,
second-ranked Trinity in Class 3A and fourth-ranked Cedar Crest in Class 4A.
Five others won by seven points or less against unranked teams, including
third-ranked Class 4A Council Rock, which edged a 16-11 Warwick squad 44-40.
Teams with a higher winning percentage than their opponents lost a third of
their games during the weekend. And nine of 35 district champions were ousted.
So no matter how it’s sliced up – record, ranking or seeding – only one
number matters. The final score.
Meyers vs. Southern Columbia
Another run-and-gun opponent for Meyers. Southern Columbia likes a
fast-paced game, and Meyers will oblige with running as well. The Tigers like
to go inside on offense to either 5-foot-10 Jen Clark, who averages 12.3
points; or 6-foot Chelsea Lonoconus, who averages 11.8. Meyers coach Curt
Lloyd said his team’s toughness will offset a slight height disadvantage.
Southern Columbia also has a pair of three-point shooting guards – senior
Missy Timko and junior Kami Ross – so all is not lost if the Tigers don’t get
the ball inside regularly.
The winner plays Friday against either District 3 champion Delone Catholic
(26-5) or District 1 champion St. Pius X (17-10).
Bishop Hoban vs. Villa Maria
Villa Maria, an all-girls Catholic school in Malvern, bumped off
second-ranked Trinity 54-46 by playing stellar defense. Center Alison Brown, a
5-foot-11 senior, played an excellent game against Trinity’s inside standout
Jill Glessner, who has signed to play at Loyola College in Maryland.
Now Brown gets 6-2 Meredith Alexis, who has signed with James Madison
University. Alexis scored 39 points in Hoban’s 85-24 pummeling of Southern
Lehigh. The 61-point margin was the largest of the 128 first-round state games
played in both girls and boys.
Villa Maria’s backcourt, though, has a reputation for quickness, so its
matchup with Hoban’s guards could be a deciding factor.
The winner plays Saturday against either District 2 third-seed North Pocono
(26-4) or District 1 champion St. Basil (20-8).
Dallas vs. Nazareth Academy
Nazareth Academy trailed 38-32 early in the fourth quarter, then held ELCO
scoreless the rest of the game for a 41-38 victory. While ELCO hadn’t exactly
been a scoring juggernaut in the postseason, averaging 50 points in the
District 3 tourney, shutting down the Raiders is still quite impressive.
Sophomore guard Mary Kate McDade led the victory with 16 points. Danielle
Alexander and Kristen Krouchik are also top players.
At the same time Nazareth Academy was silencing ELCO, Dallas was
squandering a 13-point lead late in the third quarter to Notre Dame Green
Pond. The Mountaineers recovered to win 64-59, but may not be able to afford
another such slump.
The winner plays Saturday against either District 3 runner-up Lancaster
Catholic (24-6) or District 11 champion and two-time defending state champion
Allentown Central Catholic (28-1).