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BETHLEHEM — It wasn’t so much the ability of St. Basil Academy’s ability to steal the ball away that had Holy Redeemer more than a bit flustered.
It was the way the Panthers played body-to-body, hands-in-your-face defense that caused most of the frustration.
And ultimately, it kept Holy Redeemer from reaching the state quarterfinals for the first time in five years.
Bottled up for most of the night, Casey Remolde got loose for five of her nine points near the end of the third quarter and St. Basil rode a stinging start and solid finish past Redeemer 38-26 in a game dominated by defense.
“I think their double-team really got to us, and their aggressiveness,” said Royals sophomore Sam Yencha, who scored a team-high eight points.
That was clear from the start.
St. Basil bolted to a quick 15-7 lead by the end of the first quarter, holding Redeemer to two baskets on just four shots from the floor.
Open shooting space was at a premium as the Royals hit just four of their 10 attempts from the field in the first half and connected on eight field goals for the game.
“I think (the problem was) their length and their aggressiveness,” Redeemer coach John Jezorwski said. “We don’t get that in our league too much. They’re like and upper version of Nanticoke, but they’re bigger and stronger.”
The Royals — with a few seniors left from the school’s second straight run to the 2015 PIAA semifinals followed by two consecutive trips to the state quarterfinals — refused to back down, though.
They got back in the game with some tight defense of their own, limiting St. Basil to five points in the second quarter. And when Sarah Kuderka came off the bench and popped a 3-pointer and Yencha converted two foul shots 10 seconds before intermission, Redeemer suddenly pulled within 20-16.
“We did a great job holding them after the first quarter,” Jezorwski said. “I’m so proud of the girls. That’s just a good team, with a lot of size, length and aggressiveness.”
The Royals limited St. Basil to one point through the first five-plus minutes of the third quarter and closed the gap to three points on a jumper by Kuderka midway through the period.
The problem was they weren’t scoring much, either.
Redeemer lost a chance to creep even closer at the start of the third quarter, but turned the ball over four consecutive times.
“When we came out in the second half and had four chances and turned the ball over four times, that was the difference, I think,” Jezorwski said.
For the game, the Royals finished with 21 turnovers — with just six coming on St. Basil steals. The bulk of those mistakes came on errant passes or high lobs, with players trying to create things that weren’t available.
“We’re usually a high-scoring team,” Yencha said. “When we came out in the second half and had some unforced turnovers, that was not usual.”
Still, the Royals remained one 3-pointer away from tying the game until the final minutes of the third quarter.
Then Remolde, the leading scorer for the Panthers, got loose for a 3-pointer at the period’s 2:19 mark, then followed with a 16-foot jumper 40 seconds later to boost St. Basil’s advantage to 26-18.
“Those were two big possessions,” Jezorwski said, “and they set double-screens for her to get those. We just didn’t react to it.”
The Royals reacted to the scoreboard, though.
Sam Rajza swished two free throws and Julia Andrejko knocked down a break-away jumper as Redeemer again closed within three points, 27-24, midway through the final quarter. And Andrejko used another jumper to keep the Royals within striking distance, 31-26, with just under three minutes remaining.
But those were the only points St. Basil allowed over the final eight minutes, and Julianna Gura scored the final five of her game-high 10 points over the last 3:35 and Cheryl Remolde, Casey’s sister, hit three foul shots.
“We’re a 50, 60-point team, and we just didn’t get out and run,” Jezorwski said. “St. Basil gets a lot of credit for that.”
That’s why the District 1 champion Pioneers (22-5) will advance to play Neumann Goretti in the PIAA Class 3A quarterfinals while District 2 runner-up Redeemer finished at 23-5.
“We thought we could have gone further and wanted to for our seniors,” Yencha said. “We had lot of fun together as a team. That fun sometimes outweighs the wins and losses.”
PIAA CLASS 3A SECOND ROUND
St. Basil 38, Holy Redeemer 26
HOLY REDEEMER (26) — Julia Andrejko 2 2-2 6, Sam Yencha 2 4-4 8, Lauren Wasiakowski 0 1-2 1, Sam Rajza 1 2-4 3, Cameron Marcinkowski 1 0-0 2, Sarah Kuderka 2 0-0 5, Alyssa Gushka 0 0-0 0. Totals 8 9-12 26.
ST. BASIL (38) — Julianna Gura 4 2-3 10, Elizabeth Deal 0 2-2 2, Cheryl Remolde 2 3-4 7, Casey Remolde 3 2-4 9, Denae Carter 3 1-4 7, Kelly Grant 0 0-0 0, Shannon Reynolds 1 0-0 3, Savanah Whiteley 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 10-17 38.
Holy Redeemer`7`9`4`6 — 26
St. Basil`15`5`7`11 — 38
Three-point goals — HR 1 (Kuderka); StB 2 (Reynolds, Casey Remolde).
