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By JOHN ERZAR jerzar@leader.net
Friday, March 14, 2003 Page: 3C
Delone Catholic doesn’t conjure pleasant memories for the Meyers girls
basketball team.
A rickety first quarter turned progressively worse and finally into a 59-27
state playoff loss last season.
Some faces have changed, and District 2 runner-up Meyers (27-3) hopes the
result does as well as the Mohawks play District 3 champion Delone (27-5) at 6
p.m. today at Martz Hall in Pottsville in a Class 2A quarterfinal game.
“It was our first trip to states since 1995, so it was a new experience
for all of us,” Meyers coach Curt Lloyd said. “With two big wins under our
belts, there’s really no pressure.”
District 2 Class 3A runner-up Bishop Hoban is the only other Wyoming Valley
Conference girls team alive. The Argents (26-3) play District 2 third seed
North Pocono (27-4) at 7 p.m. tomorrow at Scranton High School in a
quarterfinal matchup.
“We scrimmaged them at the beginning of the year and they’re a nice
team,” Hoban coach Bob Schuler said. “But scrimmages are different. You play
a quarter, then put another team in, play another quarter. You use about 15
players.”
Meyers vs. Delone Catholic
Delone is ranked sixth in Class 2A and has defeated five of its six
postseason opponents by an average of 31.2 points. The Squirettes had their
toughest postseason game Tuesday, a 44-37 victory over District 1 champ Saint
Pius X.
This season’s Delone team differs somewhat from the squad that routed
Meyers. Gone are 6-foot-4 Old Dominion recruit Ashley Eline and standout guard
Kylee Myers. The Squiretttes, though, have six of their top eight players back
and the lineup has been augmented by freshman sensation Meredith Cox.
The 5-foot-11 Cox can play anywhere on the court, including beyond the
three-point arc on offense. Senior guard Krystal Holzer leads the team with a
12-point average, while senior Rachel Gates is a force on the boards.
“They are still very athletic and very quick,” Lloyd said.
Meyers is athletic and quick as well. Starting forward Rose Morgans and key
reserve Sameerah Woods were part of the school’s 400 relay track team, which
finished fourth in the state meet last year. Sabrina Gibson, another top
reserve, is a sprinter on the track team. Point guard Mary Mushock is a
standout on the soccer field. Lloyd believes his team would have won the
district title had she not suffered a broken nose vs. Montrose in the
championship game.
Ashleigh Sawicki, Meyers’ three-point ace, will also play after crashing
into the padded wall against Southern Columbia on Tuesday and suffering a mild
concussion.
The winner plays either District 11 third seed Catasauqua (26-5) or
District 3 runner-up Steelton-Highspire (26-4) on Tuesday.
Bishop Hoban vs. North Pocono
North Pocono ranks as one of the surprise teams still alive. Emily Lynch
was the only returning starter from last season’s 16-8 club, but she has
joined forces with four classmates to form an all-sophomore lineup.
Schuler expects North Pocono will be a different team than the one his
Argents scrimmaged.
“I’m sure they are,” Schuler said. “They have gained a lot of experience
and have come on strong and beat some good teams in the process.”
One of those teams was Abington Heights, the Lackawanna League’s premier
program, which has won eight consecutive D2 Class 4A championships. The
Trojans also pushed eventual district champion Dallas to overtime before
falling 45-42.
A loss to Dallas prevented Hoban from going head-to-head with North Pocono
for the district title.
North Pocono is balanced on offense and relentless on defense. The key
matchup will be 6-foot-2 center Laura Franceski, an excellent shot blocker,
vs. Hoban 6-2 high-scoring senior Meredith Alexis.
The winner plays either District 1 runner-up Nazareth Academy (21-8) or
District 11 champion Allentown Central Catholic (29-1) on Wednesday.