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WILKES-BARRE — Coming out of halftime in a tight game, Holy Redeemer hit the floor running in the second half, leaving Lake-Lehman in the dust as the Royals pulled away for the win.
A four-point halftime lead grew to as many as 22 points for the Royals, who ended up putting away the Black Knights 53-35 in a clash of two of Division’s 2 best girls basketball squads on Wednesday night.
Brooke Kroptavich scored 16 points and Angelina Corridoni added 12 — all in the second half — as Holy Redeemer took over the game in the second half.
Both teams were dealing with injury issues to start: Lake-Lehman was without Brenna Hunt, while the Royals were down three starters and had to make some adjustments to their rotation.
“We came in a little bit nervous knowing that our top three guards were injured and hurt,” Redeemer coach John Jezorwski said. “People had to change roles and step up and do different things, and I think they really settled into it in the second half.”
Both offenses seemed to be going through the growing pains early on, with each team’s defense dictating the game through the first quarter.
The teams traded leads in the first half, with Redeemer creating offense with ball movement. Lake-Lehman turned to standout junior Ella Wilson, who used her size and athleticism to maneuver through the paint while also stepping out and knocking down what would be Lehman’s only three-pointer in the second quarter.
Wilson ended her night with a game-high 18 points but couldn’t find as many open looks in the second half, giving the Royals a chance to break away.
Out of the break, the Royals flipped a switch and started to work the offensive glass, creating some second-chance points for themselves. On the other end, Redeemer’s defense swarmed the passing lanes and wore Lake-Lehman down, tiring out the Black Knights in order to make a run.
Redeemer’s four-point lead grew to 12 by the end of the third quarter, and the Royals kept up their relentless pressure into the fourth quarter to put the game away early.
“They all know what their roles are. … When they all play the right roles, we’re going to be difficult to beat,” Jezorwski said. “You saw that in the third and fourth quarters, things opened up for us because people did what they were comfortable with and it made it easier for us.”
Holy Redeemer improved to 7-4 on the year with the win, 2-0 in Division 2 and the Royals picked up a key win against a Lake-Lehman squad that they’ll see at least once more this year, and likely more than that. These two teams met five times last season, including in the Wyoming Valley Conference championship game and the District 2 playoffs.
The Black Knights fell to 4-5 with the loss, dropping their first Division 2 contest of the year.
“We’re so used to battling with them, it’s never easy,” Jezorwski said. “Our division is tough. There are teams that will battle you inside and out, but I think our girls are ready.”
Holy Redeemer 53, Lake-Lehman 35
HOLY REDEEMER (53) — Parsons 3 2-4 8, Boylan 2 0-0 5, Kroptavich 6 3-3 16, Racicky 3 2-4 8, Corridoni 5 0-0 12, Pekarovski 1 1-2 4, Quinn 0 0-0 0, Lombardi 0 0-0 0, Khoudary 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 8-12 53
LAKE-LEHMAN (35) — Biscotto 1 3-6 5, Wilson 7 3-6 18, Jenkins 0 1-2 1, Morgan 1 0-2 2, Oliver 3 1-2 7, Corcoran 1 0-0 2, Chipego 0 0-0 0, James 0 0-0 0, Wallace 0 0-0 0, Battin 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 8-16 35
Lake-Lehman`9`11`6`9 — 35
Holy Redeemer`13`11`14`15 — 53
Three-point goals: HR 5 (Corridoni 2, Boylan, Kroptavich, Pekarovski), LL 1 (Wilson).