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SHAMOKIN — There’s just something about playing in state tournaments that seems to get Liv Moore going.
No matter what sport she happens to be playing at the time.
Moore celebrated her college signing this week to play volleyball for Bloomsburg University by scoring a postseason-high 21 points in her first PIAA girls basketball game Friday, sparking Holy Redeemer to a 55-38 battering of Bloomsburg High School in a first-round Class 3A state playoff opener at Shamokin High School.
“I think it’s that notion of you lose, you’re done,” said Moore, a fierce hitter who helped the Royals volleyball team reach the PIAA finals as a junior in 2018 — their best finish in her four trips to the state playoffs in that sport. “Especially as a senior, it’s that mentality we’ll win.”
The first-round win, Holy Redeemer’s sixth in a state opener over the last seven years, sent the Royals (21-6) into the second round of state play Tuesday against District 12 runner-up Imhotep Charter, which downed Pequea Valley, 58-47 in another state opener Friday.
“When our team contributes, we’re really hard to beat,” Redeemer coach John Jezorwski said.
Victory didn’t appear certain for the Royals at first.
The Royals quickly fell behind 8-2 against the ball-hawking defense of District 4 champion Bloomsburg, were trailing by three points after the first quarter and faced another six-point deficit late in the first half.
But Moore, who hadn’t played basketball since her freshman year before returning to the game as a senior, hit a couple buckets in the final minutes of the second quarter, and Sam Yencha used a free throw to send the teams into halftime tied at 25-25.
From there, it was all Redeemer.
With a 2-1-2 defense collapsing on Yencha every time she touched the ball, Moore got loose for eight points in the third quarter — finishing it by popping a 3-point field goal that set Redeemer up with a 55-38 lead entering the final period.
“For some reason, I just felt more aggressive tonight,” Moore said. “I think we’ve been doing a pretty good job of being able to stay calm. I think what a lot of people don’t realize is, my team was helping create those openings.”
What everyone realized, though, was the play of Moore helped open some space for Yencha.
The senior and Redeemer’s leading scorer on the season wound up with 18 points, after managing just seven in the game’s first 14 minutes.
“My teammates set me up,” Yencha said. “Liv got me some open baskets. We thought Liv had the matchup, she did a wonderful job of taking her girl to the basket. You can’t just stop one person. We have more than one who could score.”
When she wasn’t hitting shots, Moore was finding teammates to complete plays.
“She’s super,” Jezorwski said, “just a gifted athlete. A great kid. You can’t say enough about her. She comes with a great attitude, she keeps the girls up on the floor. She’s always talking to the girls. Her athleticism was fantastic, and got to the point where if they tried to double her, she was making the right passes.”
Moore wrapped up her high-scoring night with four points in the final quarter and Yencha added six more as Redeemer maintained a double-digit advantage for most of the final eight minutes while making a return to the second PIAA round the Royals missed for the first time in six years last season.
“I’ve said this every single game, she’s special,” Jezorwski said of Yencha. “You can’t even put it into words. She does everything the team needs and she’s always in the right spot.”
PIAA Class 3A First Round
Holy Redeemer 55, Bloomsburg 38
HOLY REDEEMER (55) — Karissa Spade 0 0-0 0, Sam Yencha 6 5-6 18, Liv Moore 9 2-4 21, Aubrey Curley 1 2-2 4, Jillian DelBalso 0 0-0 0, Aleia Atherton 1 1-1 3, Alesha Pekarovsky 0 0-1 0, Faith Sekol 2 2-2 7, Lynzie Skoronski 1 0-0 2, Mia Ashton 0 0-0 0, Jenna Santuk 0 0-0 0, Katherine McIngvale 0 0-0 0, Irelyn Karnes 0 0-0 0, Gabby Morgan 0 0-0 0, Ayva Lisowski 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 12-16 55.
BLOOMSBURG (38) — Ellen Hull 0 0-0 0, Kailey Zentner 3 0-0 6, Rylee Klinger 4 0-2 9, Kelsey Widom 3 5-6 11, Madeline Evans 5 1-6 11, Olivia Hull 0 1-4 1, Paige Temple 0 0-0 0, Madison Morris 0 0-0 0, Alyssa Shuman 0 0-0 0, Maizy Aikey 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 7-18 38.
Holy Redeemer`5`20`16`14 — 55
Bloomsburg`8`17`6`7 — 38
Three-point goals — HR 3 (Sekol, Yencha, Moore); BLOOM 1 (Klinger).