Girls' Basketball is Different, But Exciting and Empowering

Traffic was terrible coming from Philly on Friday night, as anyone who has the misfortune to commute could tell you. I doubt anyone at Olney Charter commutes to the Lehigh Valley, so they were taken by surprise and arrived late for the opening round of the state tournament at Freedom High School. To make matters worse, they were up against a very strong Easton Area High School's Girls Basketball team, which is ranked 12th among big schools (6A) statewide and was early. Olney was still given the time needed to warm up, but it probably made no difference. Easton is much bigger and faster. The Lady Rovers had no trouble dispatching Olney, 67-22.

I've watched about five girls' basketball games this year. Contrary to the popular conception, they have been competitive games But what I liked about Easton, led by Leanna Deegan, is that they seem to be really enjoying themselves out there. They're trying to win, but they're having fun, too.

Leanna Deegan by herself might be a reason to watch girls' basketball. As she draws closer to the 1,000 point mark, it amazes me that this Lafayette-bound senior plays two other sports - field hockey and volleyball. Other exciting basketball players that will be around next year. are Taliyah Medina, a Bethlehem Catholic sophomore, and Emily Vaughan, an Allentown Central Catholic freshman.

Girls' basketball is a bit slower, and that is a blessing to me. I try to keep track of assists, steals, rebounds, turnovers and missed shots. I would completely blow that task later Friday night when the Allentown Central Catholic and Greencastle boys' teams faced each other. But it was easier to do with the girls' teams.

There's another difference. The girls are a little less physical.

I've seen Dat Lambert, Chad Kratzer and Jay Vaughan get knocked into New Jersey as they try to make plays. For Keeshawn "the beast" Kelman and Kevin Kern, it's even worse. Those guys are under the boards and are constantly getting nailed with elbows and pokes.But they drive on. An eye can be dangling from Kern's socket and he'll just shove it back in and play.

But on Friday night, when an Easton player tripped over an Olney player, she began to cry. I don't think she was hurt. She was embarrassed.

The final difference is in attire. One of the Olney girls had donned a hijab. Nike has managed to find a way to make them without the safety pins or other details that might harm other players. I heard no one say a word about it, either, which is a hopeful sign of religious tolerance.

What girls' basketball does is empower these young ladies. If they excel in basketball, they can excel in math and science, too.

HS Boys' Hoops: ACCHS to Face Bangor in District XI 5A Finale

Morning Call Senior sportswriter Keith Groller covered four 6A playoff basketball games at two different locations on Saturday. Tonight he was right back in the thick of things, covering a 5A semifinal between Allentown Central Catholic and Pottsville High School. In addition to his excellent recap of Central's 57-41 Monday night win over this always tough team from coal cracker country,  I recommend you check out his tweets, which invariably include video highlights .

The 5A Final is set for Thursday night, 7 pm, at Pleasant Valley High School against Bangor. The Slaters had been playing minus Ben Holland, but he's back. They qualified for the finals on Monday night by demolishing Blue Mountain, 73-57.

When the Slaters and Vikings meet on Thursday night, it will bring back memories for Coach Bron Holland. According to Groller, Holland was one of the Slater Superstars who knocked off the Vikings by two in a game played at. Stabler.

Central knows it will have its hands full on Thursday night fighting off  Tony Jones, Ben Holland  and Big Bernard Davis. Though both teams are now going into the state tournament, they both want to go in as District XI Champs.

There can only be one.   

Box Score

ACCHS - 57, Pottsville - 41

Central Catholic - 13-26-46-57
Pottsville - 12-20-33-41

Pottsville (41)

Kevin Schenk: 3 FG, 2 3FG, 1/2 FTs - 13
Mason Barnes: 2 FG, 1 3 FG, 1/2 FT -  8
Eli Wood: 1 FG, 0/4 FT - 2
Aiden Stanton: 1 3FG, 1/2 FT - 4
Ian Renninger: 4 FG, 3/3 FT - 11
Ryan Kondrak: 1 3 FG - 3
JR Hanner: 0/2 FT - 0

Central Catholic (57)

Jay Vaughan: 3/4 FG, 3/5 3FG, 7 assists, 3 rebounds, 3 steals - 15
Keeshawn Kellman: 3/3 FG, 1 rebounds, 2 blocks
Jordan McChristian: 2/4 FG, 3/7 3FG, 2 assists, 2 rebound, 1 steal - 13
Dat Lambert: 1/2 FG, 2/3 3FG, 2/3 FTs, 2 steals, 3 assists, 5 rebounds - 10
Nick Filchner: 1/4 3FG, 1/1 FG, 3 assists, 1 steak. - 5.
Chad Kratzer: 1/1 3FG, 1/1FG, 3/4 FTs, 2 rebounds, 1 assist
Kevin Kern: 0/1 FT, 1 rebound

Boys' Hoops: Allentown Advances to Semi-Final in EPC Tournament

Morning Call senior sports writer Keith Groller is a lucky man. He was at this year's Super Bowl, and had a series of great stories that made me feel like I was there. But he's #alwayswatching. He somehow managed to keep on eye on things here. Tonight, he covered the EPC quarter final between Northampton and Allentown Central Catholic, which was played at Rockne Hall. His excellent story is here, and I am supplementing it with a box score.

It didn't hit me until about an hour after the game was over that I had just watched my grandson play his last game at Rockne Hall.The team will go on to play in the EPC tournament semifinal on Wednesday. Then there will be districts and possibly even states. But this was the last time that Dat, Jay Vaughan, Jordan McChristian, Dennis Csentsis and Keeshawn Kellman played together at Rockne. Kevin Kern, who injured his ankle earlier in the season, was cleared today and suited up. It was too early for him to play, but it was nice to see him ready to go. These guys are selfless, something that is increasingly rare in high school basketball. But it works.

Having said that, I want to congratulate Northampton's coaching staff, for what its worth. In their last game of the season,one of their players committed a technical foul. The coaches could have played him against Central. No rule prevented it. But the coaches decided  to make the player sit out the game.

In the opening prayer at Central home games, we are reminded that the gym is really a classroom where good sportsmanship is taught.

Northampton's coaches would rather teach a young man a lesson than win a game.

That's class.

On Wednesday, Allentown Central Catholic will face East Stroudsburg South while Bethlehem Catholic will take on the Allen Canaries. At this point, the team is tentatively scheduled to play at Liberty High Schoolat 7:30 pm, following the girls' game.

Box Score

ACCHS - 64, Northampton - 48

Northampton -6-9-19-48
Central Catholic -18-20-15-64

Northampton (48)

Donte Rodriguez: 3  3FGs - 9
Aiden Ellwood: 4FGs, 4 3FGs, 0/2 FTs  - 20
Cory Weisenberger: 1 FGs, 1 3FG, - 5
Zachary Gula: 2 3FG - 6
Michael Torres: 4 FGs, - 8

Central Catholic (64)

Jay Vaughan: 2/4 3FG, 2/4 FG, 2 steals, 10 assists, 4 rebounds - 10
Keeshawn Kellman: 6/8 FGs, 1/3 FTs, 8 rebounds, 1 block -12
Jordan McChristian: 3/4 3FGs, 1/1 FG, 3/4 FTs, 1 assists, 3 rebounds - 14
Dat Lambert: 3/6 3FG, 2/5 FGs, 5/5 FTs, 1 steal, 2 rebound - 18
Nick Filchner: 3/5 3FG, 0/1 FG, 5 assists, 32 rebounds.- 9.

Blogger's Note: You can see scores from other local schools on my left sidebar.