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SUNBURY — In the far corner of a far-away gym, surrounded by a sea of bigger bodies, Alexis Lewis was shielded from the spotlight.
She stole it back by stealing the ball away from a defender, dribbling while doing a tight rope act before before shoveling a pass to midcourt while starting a fastbreak.
And that wasn’t even the highlight of her night.
Lewis scored 27 points Friday while becoming the leading girls basketball scorer in Wyoming Valley Conference history and Holy Redeemer treated its state playoff opener like a WVC Division III game by crushing Central Columbia 57-17 in a first-round PIAA Class 2A tournament game at Shikellamy Fieldhouse.
“We wanted to show everybody we’re not going to fold,” Lewis said, “that we want to keep going.”
The Redeemer doubters grew loud after a District 2 championship loss to Dunmore, which broke a 21-game winning streak and sent the Royals into states as the district’s No. 2 seed.
“It made us want to play harder,” Lewis said.
It showed in the state opener.
Lewis and the Royals (24-2) left little doubt they intend to play for the top spot in the PIAA playoffs as they head off to face North Schuylkill – a 53-51 winner over Imhotep Charter – Tuesday at a time and site to be determined.
Redeemer’s tenacious zone defense frazzled Central Columbia, which managed just three points in each of the first three quarters and trailed 47-9 with eight minutes remaining and entered the fourth quarter with a running clock.
“One thing we practice, that we work on harder than anything, is our defense,” said Lewis, headed to play basketball for Division I Iona next season. “The way we talked and communicated really helped.”
But it was Redeemer’s explosive offense that turned heads from the start.
Point guard Lydia Lawson pulled the trigger on her 10-point night with a short jumper, and before long, Redeemer was out to a 10-3 lead.
That margin blossomed to 22 points when Redeemer opened the second quarter on a 15-point run – a charge that included a pair of 3-pointers and a layup by Lewis and Sam Razja’s three-point play that gave Redeemer a 25-3 advantage.
“Oh yeah, we’re back on track,” said Redeemer coach Chris Parker, who was stung by his team losing a 13-point lead during the district championship loss to Dunmore. “I have a lot of confidence in these kids. They are resilient, I will say that.”
This time, there was no letup.
And Lewis, who entered the night needing 15 points to match the all-time WVC scoring record set by Berwick’s Megan Dellegrotti (who now coaches Bethlehem Catholic), bested the mark by halftime.
Lewis had 16 points by halftime and the Royals had the type of big lead they grew accustomed to while breezing through the WVC Division III unbeaten in 13 league games.
“Honestly, it feels great,” Lewis, who now has 2,323 career points, said of the mark. “I’m glad I was able to reach another milestone in my career and that this season will continue.”
Lewis and the Royals continued pushing the gas in the second half, where she scored 11 more points before leaving the game with Redeemer’s other starters with around four minutes remaining on the game clock.
“I’m so happy for Alexis,” Parker said. “She’s the greatest kid I’ve ever coached, on and off the basketball court. She’s just a wonderful, special young lady. The kid probably surpasses 3,000 points if she didn’t have to come out (with big leads) of most of our games the last couple years. I want to see her earn every accolade she could.”
Accolades were flowing all around for Redeemer.
Starters Brittany Hebda, Megan Corridoni and Rebecca Prociak all produced four points while playing solid defense and helped take District 4 champion Central Columbia out of the game early.
“Our motto is not to give up more than one shot, rebound and get out and run,” Parker said.
The only downer for Redeemer came when reserve guard Alana Wilson couldn’t run.
After just returning to the lineup last month from a torn right ACL that kept her from playing for most of the past two seasons, Wilson suffered an injury to her left knee early in the first quarter. The senior was helped from the floor and didn’t return to the game.
“I’m just hoping Alana Wilson didn’t tear the other ACL,” Parker said. “My heart goes out to her. She’s a great kid.”\
Holy Redeemer 57, Central Columbia 17
HOLY REDEEMER (57) — Brittany Hebda 2 0-0 4, Lydia Lawson 4 2-2 10, Meghan Corridoni 2 0-0 4, Rebecca Prociak 2 0-0 4, Alexis Lewis 11 2-2 27, Alana Wilson 0 0-0 0, Sara Flannelly 1 1-2 3, Brittany Hebda 0 0-0 0, Sam Rajza 1 1-1 3, Leah Mullery 0 1-2 1, Randie Kuhar 0 1-2 1, Lauren Wasiakowski 0 0-0 0, Autumn Kaminski 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 8-11 57.
CENTRAL COLUMBIA (17) — L:indsey Carl 1 0-0 2, Hannah Klingerman 0 0-0 0, Taylor Knorr 0 0-0 0, Allison McCracken 1 2-4 4, Madeline Murtin 4 0-0 11, Ellie McDaniel 0 0-0 0, Abigail Yoder 0 0-0 0, Brooke Klingerman 0 0-0 0, Hannah Harder 0 0-0 0, Kristin Klingerman 0 0-0 0, Anna Jaskiewicz 0 0-0 0, Emily McCracken 0 0-0 0. Totals 6 2-4 17.
Holy Redeemer`10`23`14`10` – `57
Central Columbia`3`3`3`8` – `17
Three-point goals: HR 3 (Lewis 3); CC 3 (Murtin 3)