POTTSVILLE — Typical first half Tuesday night. Untypical third quarter.
Unbeaten Hazleton Area looked well on its way to a 28th victory through two quarters. The Cougars forced Bethlehem Liberty into a bundle of turnovers, resulting in a 15-point lead after the first quarter. The advantage was 17 at halftime.
But instead of putting away Liberty, Hazleton Area had to fight its way to a 62-48 victory in a PIAA Class 6A girls basketball second-round game at Martz Hall.
District 2 champion Hazleton Area (28-0) will play District 1 champion Perkiomen Valley (25-3) in the quarterfinals on Friday. Perkiomen Valley routed District 3 third seed Lebanon Valley 73-32.
Hazleton Area caused 10 turnovers and used eight points from guard Kaitlyn Bindas to build a 20-5 lead after one quarter. Mariah Marolo and Olivia Williams came off the bench to combine for nine points in the second quarter as the Cougars took a 36-19 lead into halftime.
“I thought we were ready to put it away,” Hazleton Area coach Joe Gavio said. “You start looking ahead, it looks real good at halftime. They made a big three before the half. Their stud (Anijah Davis) makes two threes (in the third quarter) and we have to go box-and-one on her.
“They started making shots, but to our credit we didn’t collapse.”
Instead, Hazleton Area teetered.
Davis led a 7-0 burst to start the third. A 3-pointer by Kendall Medina moved Liberty within 38-36 at 1:40. Meanwhile, the Cougars were uncharacteristically sloppy with the ball. They committed 11 turnovers in the quarter and didn’t make a field goal until Bindas hit a 3-pointer at the 1:25 mark.
“Everyone makes a run. We knew it was going to be a tough game,” said Hazleton Area senior Sophia Shults, who scored 13 points. “We made a good run in the beginning and they came back with another one. We just had to gather our composure and come back and play as a team.”
Hazleton Area closed the third quarter strongly as Shults and Alexis Reimold, who had a game-high 14 rebounds, hit baskets for a 47-39 lead entering the fourth.
“We kept our cool and we knew we had to push through that,” said Hazleton Area’s Sophia Benyo, who finished a rebound shy of the double-double with 12 points and nine boards.
A 3-pointer by Reimold and a drive by Bindas finally brought the lead back to double digits, 52-42, with 5:38 remaining. Liberty made one last push, but consecutive baskets by Bindas ended the Hurricanes’ final threat.
Bindas finished with a game-high 19 points despite hitting just one basket in the middle quarters.
Liberty 6-foot-3 senior Shawna Beatty was a menace inside, blocking seven shots and grabbing 13 rebounds while missing a chunk of time in foul trouble.
PIAA Class 6A Second Round
Hazleton Area 62, Bethlehem Liberty 48
BETHLEHEM LIBERTY (48) — Shawna Beatty 1 2-4 4, Anijah Davis 7 0-2 18, Kendall Medina 5 1-1 12, Tula Sobrinski 0 0-0 0, Ava Kopetskie 3 5-6 14, Chloe Rumelhart 0 0-0 0, Emma Miller 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 8-13 48.
HAZLETON AREA (62) — Sophia Benyo 4 4-4 12, Kaitlyn Bindas 8 2-2 19, Kayla Lagowy 1 0-0 2, Alexis Reimold 2 2-4 7, Sophia Shults 5 3-4 13, Mariah Marolo 2 0-0 5, Evelyn Shults 0 0-0 0, Olivia Williams 2 0-0 4. Totals 24 11-14 62.
Bethlehem Liberty`5`14`20`9 — 48
Hazleton Area`20`16`11`15 — 62
Three-point goals: BL 8 (Davis 4, Medina, Kopetskie 3). HA 3 (Bindas, Reimold, Marolo).
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