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Barely six minutes were left in a game that could have gone anyone’s way when Sam Yencha started playing like a person possessed.
So did Karissa Spade. And Aubrey Curley. And Liv Moore and even Faith Sekol off the bench.
And pretty soon, the Holy Redeemer girls basketball team had done it again.
The Royals had wrapped up another spot in the state tournament by making a District 2 title game.
This happens year after year with Holy Redeemer.
It doesn’t seem to matter what players the Royals put on the floor or who’s coaching them.
It doesn’t matter if they play the role of a favorite or go to the postseason as an underdog, the way they were against Riverside on Saturday.
One way or another, they keep finding a way to continue on a long run of success that doesn’t want to slow down anytiime soon.
“It’s the girls,” Holy Redeemer coach John Jezorwski said.
Only, the girls wearing the Royals uniform keep changing.
It was Division 1 college star Alexis Lewis leading the way for Redeemer when this string of nine straight state appearances began back in 2013, and also when the Royals started their streak of six consecutive runs to the District 2 girls basketball finals.
Then it was King’s standout Rebecca Prociak teaming with guard Lydia Lawson and taking the Royals to a Class 2A Distrit 2 crown in 2016.
It was Chris Parker at the helm for Holy Redeemer back then.
Now it’s Jezorwski, who took the reigns of the team for the 2016-17 season and together with senior Yencha, will make it 4-for-4 in District 2 Class 3A title appearances and just as many trips to the PIAA Tournament.
That was settled Saturday, when the Royals didn’t seem to care if just about everyone thought they would lose to Riverside and ran away from the Vikings at the end of a district semifinal at North Pocono High School while winning 78-65.
“It’s just the preparedness,” said Yencha, who finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds against Riverside. “We broke down film. We had multiple options and multiple gameplans.”
It’s more than that.
“Today, people weren’t expecting us to come out as strong as we did,” Moore said. “We didn’t listen to people. We just focused on everything as a team.”
Maybe that’s it.
Maybe it’s simply a matter of the Royals keeping their minds on the moment.
They were the third seed at 20-4 going against the second seed, which had lost only twice to the unbeaten top seed Dunmore, and quickly fell behind at the start of the game.
Redeemer didn’t spend much time coming back from there.
They were up by six points at halftime and by four entering the fourth quarter. Riverside pulled within a basket, but Yencha took off on a sequence where she ripped down a rebound, scored a basket and made a steal at the other end of the floor.
Curley came up clutch with a big 3-pointer and five foul shots in the final quarter to finish with 14 points, Spade turned into the Energizer Bunny while bothering Riverside’s ballhandlers, along with scoring seven of her 17 points in the last period and Moore scored two breakaway baskets to finish with 13 points.
When the horn sounded, they gleefully embraced and jumped around in celebration of accomplishment.
“I’m stoked,” a grinning Moore said. She is more known for her feats on the volleyball court, which led Redeemer to the state title match last season, but came back out to play basketball as a senior for the first time since her freshman year. “This was the game we needed, to get that (championship game) shot at the Arena and secure a spot at states.”
It’s a feeling that’s getting more than familiar to Redeemer.
By now, it’s almost an expectation.
Paul Sokoloski covers area sports for the Times Leader. You may reach him at 570-991-6392, at [email protected] or on Twitter @TLPaulSokoloski