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THROOP — Right from the start, Madison Ashby and the Scranton Prep Classics were on a mission.
After missing their shot at a third straight District 2 title, they weren’t about to miss out on the state tournament, too.
“We definitely had a chip on our shoulder,” Ashby said.
It showed.
Ashby hit the first basket of the game Saturday and Prep was off and running back to the PIAA girls basketball playoffs with a 64-36 victory over Nanticoke Area in the District 2 Class 3A third-place game at Mid Valley High School.
“Give them credit. They were tough on that defensive end,” Nanticoke Area coach Alan Yendrzeiwski said. “They really gave us a hard time. They’re so good defensively.”
The Classics weren’t bad on offense, either.
Ashby, a senior who lives in Jenkins Twp., finished with 10 points and was one of four Prep starters who scored in double figures. Julia Sirotnak also put up 10 points for the Classics, Bridget Walsh came up big on the inside with 14 and Jess Genco swished four 3-point field goals as part of her game-high 18.
That offensive output was more typical of a Prep team that entered districts as the top seed, but fell 41-34 in the semfinal round Wednesday to a Honesdale the Classics easily handled earlier this season.
“We just took all the mistakes and we learned from them,” Ashby said. “We came out tonight with a low of intensity, a lot of dedication to win this game.
“We were concentrating on getting to states.”
And the Trojanettes got caught in a buzzsaw.
Ashby broke the ice with an early layup, Sirotnak and Walsh each scored four points in the first quarter and when Ashby converted her sneaky steal into a three-point play, Prep had a 16-7 lead.
It didn’t get any easier from there for Nanticoke Area, which closed within 12 points on Riley Klepadlo’s 3-pointer late in the second quarter yet trailed by 20 at halftime.
“It sort of snow-balled from there,” Yendrzeiwski said. “You can’t simulate the man-for-man defense that the elite teams in Triple-A are playing. They’re well-prepared, well-coached. Their girls are so mature.”
Playing her final high school game, senior Deanna Thomas matched fellow guard Klepadlo with a team-high nine points, while Kayla Aufiero and Gianna Roberts both finished with eight.
While falling a step shy of the state playoffs, the Trojanettes did win the Wyoming Valley Conference title and opened districts with two consecutive wins before dropping their final two playoff games to finish at 21-5 overall.
“I didn’t think when we started the season it was a guarantee we were goint to be here,” Yendrzeiwski said. “They really earned their spot here.”
And all of them are eligible to return next season, with the exception of senior leader and captain Thomas.
“I think this could be a good spring board for us,” Yendrzeiwski said, “to see where we need to improve to get better and what it takes to be a state champion or a state-contending team. Our young kids stepped up. We talked all year about getting one percent better as the year went on. I thought our kids just kept getting better every game and every day in practice. I hope we can continue that.
“I hope we can keep getting better and make a run at it again next year.”
District 2 Class 3A third-place game
Scranton Prep 64, Nanticoke Area 36
NANTICOKE AREA (36)
Riley Klepadlo 4 0-0 9, Kayla Aufiero 2 2-2 8, Amber Grohowski 0 2-2 2, Gianna Roberts 2 4-4 8, Deanna Thomas 4 0-1 9, Keira Brown 0 0-0 0, Cassie Novakowski 0 0-0 0. Totals 12 8-9 36.
SCRANTON PREP (64)
Julia Sirotnak 5 0-0 10, Bridget Walsh 7 0-0 14, Clare Philbin 2 0-0 4, Jess Genco 7 0-0 18, Madison Ashby 4 1-1 10, Carista Kline 1 3-4 6, Erin Schmidt 0 0-0 0, Abby Schroth 1 0-0 2, Tiffany Powell 0 0-0 0, Clare Schoen 0 0-0 0, Caroline Babinski 0 0-0 0. Totals 27 4-5 64.
Nanticoke Area`9`8`10`9`-`36
Scranton Prep`18`19`20`7`-`64
Three-point goals: NAN 4 (Aufiero 2, Thomas, Klepadlo); SP 6 (Genco 4, Ashby, Kline)