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EXETER — Since coming back from a COVID-19 stoppage, the Holy Redeemer girls basketball team has been unstoppable.
Even an extremely rare weekday afternoon game like Tuesday couldn’t slow down the Royals, who built an early lead and kept Wyoming Area an arm’s distance away the rest of the game for a 54-39 Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 victory.
Jillian DelBalso led Redeemer with 14 points and added 10 rebounds. Aubrey Curley scored 11, including seven in the second quarter that helped bump the advantage to double digits for most of the game. Morgan Janeski scored 18 for Wyoming Area.
The game was moved to a 4:15 p.m. to allow Wyoming Area coach Chad Lojewski to head to Dallas to be with his son Drew for Senior Night. Wyoming Area hasn’t allow spectators during the pandemic, so the time change had no effect on anyone wanting to attend.
Redeemer improved t0 8-2 in Division 2, maintaining a half-game lead over Lake-Lehman, and bumped its overall record to 10-3. The Royals have won seven in a row since returning to the court Feb. 10 after a COVID-19 situation closed down things for over two weeks.
“We take it one game at a time,” Redeemer coach John Jezorwski said. “The girls are doing a great job. Everybody is starting to buy in. We’re behind because where COVID has us. We didn’t have an offseason, no summer, the preseason was really short.”
Wyoming Area (4-6 Div. 2, 4-7) lost for the sixth time in seven games. The Warriors, who were minus a couple key players Tuesday, entered in ninth place in the District 2 Class 4A standings. The top eight teams and any others with at least a .500 record qualify for districts.
Based on Wyoming Area’s remaining three games and who the Warriors are chasing, it’s likely they’ll have to win out to make the postseason.
“We’re OK with being the underdogs. I’m cool with that,” said Lojewski, whose team’s final three opponents entering Tuesday were a combined 5-26. “We just got to improve on some of the fundamental things that at this point of the season we should be doing a little bit better and a little bit easier. It’s not coming as smoothly as I would like it at this point.”
Redeemer didn’t have point guard Faith Sekol, who was injured in a recent game against Hanover Area. The Royals were shaky early with eight first-quarter turnovers, but a decisive rebounding edge, one they would maintain throughout, resulted a 12-5 lead.
Redeemer went on an 11-4 run to start the second quarter, boosting its advantage to 23-9. Wyoming Area made a run at the deficit about three minutes into the third quarter. Janeski hit a pair of jumpers and Rosalind Tart scored inside to move the Warriors within 34-25.
The Royals, though, pretty much sealed the game when DelBalso’s 3-pointer to start the fourth began a 7-0 run. They finish their WVC season with consecutive games with Tunkhannock the next two days.
Holy Redeemer 54, Wyoming Area 39
HOLY REDEEMER (54) — Karissa Spade 4 0-0 8, Lynzie Skoronski 2 0-0 4, Katie Quinn 0 0-0 0, Nicole Yencha 1 0-0 2, Aubrey Curley 5 0-0 11, Lauren Whitman 0 0-0 0, Aleia Atherton 3 0-4 7, Mia Ashton 2 3-4 7, Jillian DelBalso 6 0-0 14, Paige Kroptavich 0 0-0 0, Kandra Santuk 0 1-2 1, Isabella Granteed 0 0-0 0, Angie Corridoni 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 4-10 54.
WYOMING AREA (39) — Grace Washney 1 0-0 2, Olivia Allen 0 0-2 0, Kaitlyn Slusser 1 0-0 3, Rosalind Tart 1 1-2 3, Halle Kranson 2 2-4 7, Ashley Songalia 0 0-0 0, Erika Holweg 1 0-0 3, Morgan Janeski 5 8-8 18, Alana Aufiere 0 0-0 0, Anna Wisnewski 1 0-0 3. Totals 11 11-16 39.
Holy Redeemer`12`16`10`16 — 54
Wyoming Area`5`12`12`10 — 39
Three-point goals: HR 4 (Curley, Atherton, DelBalso 2). WA 4 (Slusser, Kranson, Holweg, Wisnewski).