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It’s been 34 years since Crestwood went to either a district championship game or a state playoff battle.
Then Kylie Doherty showed up this season.
And the Comets accomplished both feats.
Coincidence?
Maybe not.
The Comets insist that the wheelchair-bound Doherty, a seventh-grade student who served as the team’s honorary captain for 2017-18 while battling cerebral palsy, has been more than a good luck charm.
It turns out, she’s given the team motivation.
“We all want to play really hard,” Crestwood senior point guard Sara Hopkins said, “to make it a great experience — not only for ourselves, but for her, just to be part of a winning program this year.”
The Comets have been winning big.
They captured the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 title, then made it to a District 2 title game for just the second time in school history — and the first since 1984 — before falling to Abington Heights in the Class 5A championship showdown. But that showing sent 17-8 Crestwood to the school’s first PIAA girls basketball playoff game since that ‘84 season, taking on District 3 No. 4 team Susquehannock at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Wilkes’ Marts Center.
And the girl who rolled onto the court while being announced as Crestwood’s honorary captain before all the team’s home games has delighted in every second of it.
“She definitely brings a lot of energy to the bench,” Crestwood star scorer Julia Makowski said. “We could hear her yelling sometimes.”
Crestwood coach Ed Stepanski tells the story of how Doherty sometimes gives the team a charge, and reason to pause, at the most curious moments.
“We were playing Pittston Area up at Pittston and Helena Jardine was at the foul line,” Stepanski said. “Kylie yelled out, ‘Go Helena!’ Helena heard her, stopped, looked over and smiled. It’s been great. I think the girls have gotten as much out of it as she has. But it’s been great. Yes, it is about winning, it is about the team, it is about success.
“But there’s a lot more to it than that.”
The idea of joining the school basketball team came from the 13-year-old daughter of Frank and Jackie Doherty of Rice Township. Initially, she considered joining Crestwood’s cheerleading team, but decided to ask permission to join up with the girls basketball team, since she often practices the game in her driveway.
“I ask my parents if I could do it, and they said yes,” Kylie Doherty said.
Initially, the Comets greeted her with some apprehension.
“Honestly, I’ve never dealt with anyone like that before,” Hopkins said. “But it’s a really good learning experience. Especially for me. I want to go to college to be a teacher, and I’m going to have to interact with (special needs) children like her. She definitely brings a lot of happiness and an uplifting feeling to everybody on the team. Her being here and being a part of the team, it’s really nice.”
Stepanski said Doherty comes to every practice and every game, home and away, and that she especially enjoys playing catch at practice — often with Crestwood’s field hockey and girls basketball standout Sarah Richards.
“She does get to play catch, she has been involved with the clock,” Stepanski said. “When we win, we have pizza, so we’ve had a lot of pizza parties this year. She really enjoys that.”
And during their run of success, the Comets have enjoyed having Doherty by their side.
“It’s special,” Makowski said. “It’s definitely different, but I think everybody adjusted to it quickly. We look at her as a real teammate, nothing different. She loves being a part of this team.
“And we love having her.”
Five teams from the WVC would love to win opening-round state games this weekend as they seek to advance to the second round of PIAA play next week.
FRIDAY’S GAMES
CLASS 2A
Northwest (14-1) vs. Southern Columbia (17-8)
5 p.m. Shamokin H.S.
The Rangers were on quite a roll that took them to the first state playoff game in the school’s girls basketball history, spinning off nine consecutive victories to win their second straight WVC Division 3 title and then making it 10 straight with a District 2 semifinal victory.
That stopped abruptly in a District 2 title loss to Old Forge, as the Blue Devils went on a 16-2 run over the game’s final six minutes to claim a 41-33 title victory and the District 2 No. 1 slot. Northwest will have to recover in a hurry as the District 2 runner-up.
The Rangers open state play against District 4 champion Southern. Behind 1,000-point career scorer Madison Klock and Abby Hager, who scored 15 points in the District 4 title game despite battling Crohn’s Disease, Southern Columbia captured its first district title since 2003 by downing South Williamsport, 46-32.
Northwest is down but not out after surrendering 10 foul shots in the final four minutes in its District 2 title defeat. The Rangers will ride leading scorer Brenna Babcock and outside ace Reagan Harrison, who hit three 3-pointers and scored a game-high 17 points against Old Forge before fouling out in the final minute.
Class 3A
Hughesville (16-9) vs. Holy Redeemer (22-4)
6 p.m. Wyoming Area HS
The Royals ran into problems trying to defend Dunmore’s 6-foot-2 Victoria Toomey, who scored 28 points to hand them a District 2 title game defeat. Holy Redeemer won’t see anyone that size in its state opener.
What the Royals will see is a scrappy, pressing defense that forced 19 turnovers in a 51-28 victory over Bloomsburg in a District 4 semifinal victory that sent the Spartans to states. Hughesville comes in as the No. 2 District 4 team after dropping its district title game to Mount Carmel, 52-31.
The Spartans are sparked by athletic sophomore Jade Cordrey, who scored 18 points against Bloomsburg, and lean heavily on senior Emily Akers.
Redeemer, which has won six consecutive state openers, revolves around 6-foot center Sam Yencha, the scoring ability of Julia Andrejko and the outside aim of Cameron Marcinkowski. But the secret to their sixth straight 20-win season is ball sharing, which helped the Royals win a division title for the ninth time in 10 years in the WVC and reach the District 2 finals for the fourth consecutive season.
CLASS 6A
Neshaminy (18-8) vs. Hazleton Area (15-9)
7 p.m. Berwick
That pestering, pressing defense that’s been a staple of Hazleton Area under coach Joe Gavio finally showed up this season, just in time to win a District 2 title. After struggling with execution and late-season injuries that sent the Cougars into district on a four-game league losing streak that cost them a shot at the WVC Division 1 title, that started to click while outscoring two district opponents by a combined 37 points.
Rather than create countless turnovers, the Cougars simply wore down a weakened Scranton team in the second half of a 52-37 win in the District 2 finals and earn the district’s lone state spot by flying around the ball defensively.
They’ll need similar defensive productivity against the dangerous Lady Skins and their heady sophomore point guard Kristin Curley. Brooke Mullin scored 22 and then 21 points during a pair of losses by a combined seven points in the District 1 tournament that sent Neshaminy to states as the disrict’s No. 8 seed and Allison Harvey added 13 points in a 51-47 loss to Council Rock North in the District 1 seventh-place game.
Maddie Mrochko is Hazleton Area’s leading scorer, but if she’s bottled up by special defenses, Virginia Yurchak can be a handful — she popped a game-high 17 points against Scranton.
SATURDAY
CLASS 4A
Danville (17-8) vs. Nanticoke Area (21-5)
3 p.m. Wilkes University
After rolling through most of the season on a 17-game winning streak, Nanticoke Area lost some steam down the stretch. The Trojanettes dropped three of four games heading into the District 2 playoffs, including a 10-point loss to Holy Redeemer for the WVC Division 2 title, and their district title game got away in the second half of a 45-29 defeat to Scranton Prep.
That made Nanticoke Area the District 2 No. 2 team in the state tournament, but the district finals also highlighted a glaring weakness that sent the Trojanettes to late-season struggles. They seem to lose their way for about a quarter. That was evident when Wyoming Area scored began the regular season finale on a 17-2 run, caused problems when Redeemer ended the league title game on a 12-5 run and proved costly when Prep’s 16-2 run in the third quarter proved pivotal in the District 2 finals.
Can Nanticoke Area get it corrected in time for states?
Three-point ace Lisa Radziak, explosive scorer Alyssa Lewis and defensive dynamo Katie Butczynski sure hope so, as the Trojanettes look to press their way to the second round of states for the second straight year.
Danville has other plans. The Ironmen recovered from an eight-point loss to Lewisburg in the District 4 semifinals to earn the district’s No. 3 spot with a 55-30 mauling of Shamokin in the district’s third-place game.
They’re ignited by energetic sophomore Corinna Petrus, who spearheaded Danville’s run to six victories in its past seven games.
Berwick (17-8) vs. Bethlehem Catholic (24-3)
4:30 p.m. Freedom H.S.
A late-season surge put Berwick into the PIAA playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time in 20 years, and the Bulldogs had to battle to get there.
Behind leading scorer Reese Mensinger and the inside play of 6-footers Megan Dalo and Roni Isenberg, the Bulldogs broke free to win a battle with Wyoming Area to win the District 2 third-place game and earn the district’s final state slot.
Their reward?
A date with the defending state champ.
Bethlehem Catholic routed its rival Allentown Central Catholic, 45-19 to win the District 11 title in a game where the Golden Hawks allowed only two points the entire second half.
They hope that was only the start of more big things to come.
Senior point guard Morgan Orloski, who’s headed to Division 2 Chestnut Hill College, drives team team and 6-foot center Taliyeh Medina scored a game-high 17 points in the District 11 title game. Hope Brown is a versatile weapon, as evidenced by her 11 points and stingy defense against Allentown Central Catholic.
CLASS 5A
Susquehannock (22-6) vs. Crestwood (17-8)
4:30 p.m. Wilkes University
A spirited comeback late in a 51-45 District 2 championship loss to Abington Heights has Crestwood hopeful of winning its first state playoff game.
The Comets reached the PIAA playoffs only once before, in 1984, and suffered a heartbreaking 58-56 loss to Bethlehem Catholic.
They plan to change that fate this time around, and showed some promising signs even during their district title game defeat.
When that game seemed to be getting away as Abington Heights took a 15-point lead into halftime, Crestwood kept rallying into striking distance throughout the second half.
And while the Comets’ two mainstays, top scorers Julia Makowski and Sara Hopkins, did plenty of damage in the comeback, Crestwood’s role players found time to shine.
Hard-nosed guard Sara Richards, a defensive dynamo, scored seven points in the second half of that loss and converted her steal into a three-point play that had the Comets within five points with 1:32 left. Meanwhile, Andrea Shipton added 10 points in the district final and Helena Jardine was strong under the boards when she wasn’t battling foul trouble.
Crestwood will need all of those pieces to battle Susquehannock, a defending state semifinalist and the District 3 No. 4 team.
Junior Jaden Walker is the Warriors leading scorer, passer and defensive spark plug. But senior guard Taylor Tannura, an expert press breaker, and junior 3-point ace Jayla Galbreath are also viable options in a balanced Susquehannock scoring attack.
The Warriors aren’t invincible, though. They enter states on a two-game losing streak, after dropping a District 3 semifinal game to Lower Dauphin, 45-32 and coming up short to Twin Valley, 48-44 in the third-place game.
