Hazleton Area’s Olivia Wolk aims for the basket while Williamsport players Enya Green-Pratt (front) and Smiyah Little (back) try to deny her during the District 2/4 Class 6A title game.
                                 Fred Adams | For Times Leader

Hazleton Area’s Olivia Wolk aims for the basket while Williamsport players Enya Green-Pratt (front) and Smiyah Little (back) try to deny her during the District 2/4 Class 6A title game.

Fred Adams | For Times Leader

Perfect night for Trivelpiece and Hazleton Area produces 3rd straight district title

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<p>Hazleton Area’s Olivia Wolk and Marissa Trivelpiece celebrate their 58-34 win over Williamsport for the District 2/4 Class 6A girls basketball title Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre Township.</p>
                                 <p>Fred Adams | For Times Leader</p>

Hazleton Area’s Olivia Wolk and Marissa Trivelpiece celebrate their 58-34 win over Williamsport for the District 2/4 Class 6A girls basketball title Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre Township.

Fred Adams | For Times Leader

<p>Hazleton Area’s Kyra Antolick protects the ball from Williamsport defenders Sophia Erb and Whitney Felix during the District 2/4 Class 6A girls basketball final.</p>
                                 <p>Fred Adams | For Times Leader</p>

Hazleton Area’s Kyra Antolick protects the ball from Williamsport defenders Sophia Erb and Whitney Felix during the District 2/4 Class 6A girls basketball final.

Fred Adams | For Times Leader

<p>Hazleton Area’s Marissa Trivelpiece is fouled by Williamsport’s Samiyah Little while going to the basket in the District 2/4 Class 6A girls basketball subregional title game at Mohegan Sun Arena.</p>
                                 <p>Fred Adams | For Times Leader</p>

Hazleton Area’s Marissa Trivelpiece is fouled by Williamsport’s Samiyah Little while going to the basket in the District 2/4 Class 6A girls basketball subregional title game at Mohegan Sun Arena.

Fred Adams | For Times Leader

<p>Williamsport’s Katelyn Wilson (left) and Hazleton Area’s Marissa Trivelpiece battle for the ball during the District 2/4 Class 6A championship game Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena.</p>
                                 <p>Fred Adams | For Times Leader</p>

Williamsport’s Katelyn Wilson (left) and Hazleton Area’s Marissa Trivelpiece battle for the ball during the District 2/4 Class 6A championship game Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena.

Fred Adams | For Times Leader

WILKES-BARRE TWP. — Of all the magical moments and thrilling triumphs seniors Marissa Trivelpiece, Faith Grula and Kyra Antolick shared together on a basketball court, their final district championship game may have been their most memorable.

Not simply because it produced another crown.

It was more about the way the whole game played out.

“This was really, really important,” Grula said. “Not just because it was our third straight district championship, but because we played as a team. That’s the best way for us to win a game. This is the best-case scenario. And it happened.

“Perfect game.”

Actually, one of them really was perfect.

Trivelpiece hit all three of her shots from the floor — each of them from beyond the 3-point line — and swished both of her foul shots to finish with 11 points Friday and Hazleton Area completed its first-ever three-peat of the District 2/4 Class 6A subregional girls basketball championship by waxing Williamsport, 58-34 at Mohegan Sun Arena.

“This one means a little more,” said Trivelpiece, a Cougars starter on all three district title teams. “It’s the last one you’re going to get, the last time playing at the Arena.”

She left one more mark on the place, drilling a 3-pointer midway through the first quarter that triggered a run of three straight Hazleton Area treys and led to eight on the night.

Trivelpiece swished her only two foul shots in the second quarter, then hit two more 3-pointers in the third while converting every shot she took.

“I don’t do that too often,” Trivelpiece, a 5-foot-10 center, said of her outside shooting night, which produced a perfection she wasn’t certain she’d attained before.

“Maybe I have,” Trivelpiece continued. “I was feeling very confident in warmups. But everyone made threes.”

Indeed, point guard Brooke Boretski also buried three of them and finished with a team-leading 12 points, while fellow guard Olivia Wolk and the 6-foot Grula added one 3-pointer apiece.

That gave the Cougars eight 3-pointers on the night and 17 in their two district tournament games.

It’s anyone’s guess how they suddenly transformed from a pressing and fast-break attack into a bunch of long-range bombers.

“I don’t know,” Grula shrugged, “if we’re on, we’re on. We can shoot the ball.”

They do other things, too.

Trivelpiece blocked five shots and pulled down a team-leading seven rebounds. Antolick made six steals to pair with her eight points. And Grula added three rebounds and 11 points while Olivia Wolk added three assists and 11 points as the Cougars beat Williamsport with balance all over the floor.

“Everything’s finally starting to fall,” Antolick said. “If we can play this way the rest of the season, we’re going to go far.”

At 21-5, Hazleton Area will go up against Owen J. Roberts, the No. 9 team from District 1, in a PIAA Class 6A first-round playoff game next Friday while trying to duplicate an all-round effort that sparked double-digit victories during its two district games.

“You have four people scoring in double figures and Kyra — who played great in our press — with eight,” Hazleton Area coach Joe Gavio grinned. “Everybody played well.”

That was signaled from the start, as Trivelpiece ripped a 3-pointer, Boretski followed with another and Wolk popped a third in succession as Hazleton Area stormed to an early 13-2 lead.

“We said we had to come out and make a statement, that we were here to play,” Trivelpiece said.

The Cougars made another one at the start of the second half.

Leading by 15 at intermission, Trivelpiece opened the third quarter by launching her second 3-pointer. And before anyone could blink, Antolick stole the Williamsport inbounds pass and put it right up for a layup — with a swift, sneaky move she’s patented over the past three years — while creating one of the 17 turnovers by the Millionaires.

“We’re starting to really like it here,” said Gavio, whose teams have now won four of the five District 2/4 title games played at the Arena. “Our press was our press, that’s what turned the game around. And we really shot the ball well.

“It was a good, solid game.”

And one that may live forever in the minds of Hazleton Area’s seniors who finished their district careers by going 3-for-3 in title games.

“The three wins, this team is going to go down in history,” Antolick said. “This meant a lot.

“It meant the most.”

District 2/4 Class 6A Subregional Championship

Hazleton Area 58, Williamsport 34

WILLIAMSPORT (34) — Katelyn Wilson 2 0-0 5, Samiyah Little 1 5-5 7, Kailee Helmrich 3 1-2 7, Enya Green-Pratt 1 0-2 2, Sophia Erb 2 0-0 4, Jessica Robinson 2 0-0 4, Emily Pardee 1 0-1 2, Whitney Felix 1 0-0 3, A’Niyah Andrews-Handy 0 0-0 0, Matayah Deitrick 0 0-0 0, Sarina Beiter 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 6-10 34.

HAZLETON AREA (58) — Brooke Boretski 4 1-4 12, Marissa Trivelpiece 3 2-2 11, Olivia Wolk 4 2-2 11, Faith Grula 5 0-0 11, Kyra Antolick 4 0-0 8, Julia Mooney 0 0-0 0, Carley Krizansky 0 0-0 0, Lacie Kringe 0 1-2 1, Jaya Franek 1 0-0 2, Isabella Colyer 0 0-0 0, Layla Buglio 0 0-0 0, Kyle Kellmer 1 0-0 2, Luz Mejia 0 0-0 0, Perla Alamo 0 0-0 0, Paige Kuehn 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 6-10 58.

Williamsport`10`4`17`3 — 34

Hazleton Area`18`11`19`10 — 58

Three-point goals — WILL 2 (Wilson, Felix); HAZ 8 (Trivelpiece 3, Boretski 3, Wolk, Grula).