WILKES-BARRE — Three months earlier, Holy Redeemer won against Bloomsburg by 14 points.
The Royals wanted to forget about that game and came up against Bloomsburg again on Friday night in the first round of the PIAA Class 3A girls basketball playoffs.
“We all remembered it,” Redeemer junior Megan Albrecht said, “but we understood that this is the state tournament and we needed to start strong and have confidence to get the win.”
Redeemer started strong, causing turnovers and building a 14-point lead within a minute into the second quarter. Then the Royals resisted a serious Bloomsburg comeback to secure a 45-30 victory.
District 2 champion Redeemer (22-5) will face District 3 third seed York Catholic (19-7) in the second round on Tuesday at a time and place to be announced. York Catholic beat District 12 champion Imhotep Charter 37-34.
District 3 third seed Bloomsburg finished 14-12.
Redeemer pressured Bloomsburg into nine turnovers in the first quarter for a 12-1 lead. A rebound basket by senior Angelina Corridoni and a free throw by Albrecht made it 15-1 at 7:03 of the second quarter.
“We got a little too comfortable with the lead,” Corridoni said. “That’s what often happens for us. But then we eventually realized that they’re not going to give up easily and we had to come back. We finished it off.”
Redeemer wasn’t very sharp on offense, maybe because of the two-week break since the District 2 championship game. The Royals only made 4 out of 16 shots in the second quarter, resulting in a 23-13 halftime lead but also giving Bloomsburg an opportunity.
Led by top scorer Brynna Zentner, Bloomsburg closed the gap to 31-25 with 5:18 left in the fourth quarter. Zentner scored nine of her game-high 15 points in the middle periods. Meanwhile, Redeemer went over three minutes without a field goal in the third quarter.
However, turnovers troubled Bloomsburg throughout the game — the Panthers ended up with 33 of them — which led to the comeback attempt fizzling out.
Just after Bloomsburg reduced the deficit to six, Albrecht made a 3-pointer from the corner off a turnover. Another 3-pointer — this time by McKenzie Chimock with two minutes remaining — gave Redeemer a 43-30 lead. Brooke Kroptavich finished off the scoring with a layup off Bloomsburg’s 32nd turnover with a minute to play.
Albrecht and Corridoni both finished with 13 points. Albrecht also had the most rebounds with eight while Corridoni and Bella Boylan had six each.
“Everyone knows their role,” Redeemer coach John Jezorwski said. “It doesn’t always show up in the stat book, but there are things that calm things down. The panic button was never really pressed because we have such great leadership from our seniors Lucie (Racicky) and Angie.”
Lake-Lehman 50, Notre Dame GP 43 2OT
Lake-Lehman outscored District 1 champion Notre Dame Green Pond 8-1 in the second overtime as the Black Knights started the PIAA Class 3A playoffs with a win.
District 2 third seed Lehman (18-10) will play in the second round against District 4 second seed Loyalsock (25-3). Loyalsock narrowly beat District 3 third seed Columbia 51-49 in its state opener.
Notre Dame ended its season with a 22-5 record.
Ella Wilson of Lehman scored nine of her 24 points in the two overtime periods. Brenna Hunt added 11 points.
Notre Dame took the lead late in the fourth quarter, but Lehman fought back to tie the score 34-34 at the end of regulation.
Delcia Biscotto made a 3-pointer with three seconds remaining, forcing a second overtime. This was her only field goal of the game. Lehman secured a spot in the state playoffs with a last-second shot against Western Wayne in the District 2 third-place game.
The PIAA Class 3A First Round
Holy Redeemer won 45-30 against Bloomsburg
BLOOMSBURG (30) — Devine 0 2-2 2, Pistoia 2 2-2 6, Zentner 5 5-9 15, McGinley 1 0-0 3, Bower 1 0-0 2, Serrano 1 0-0 2, Hunter 0 0-0 0, Magill 0 0-0 0. Totals 10 9-13 30.
HOLY REDEEMER (45) — Albrecht 4 3-4 13, Boylan 3 0-3 6, Kroptavich 3 1-2 7, Racicky 0 0-0 0, Corridoni 5 1-2 13, Chimock 2 0-0 6, Parsons 0 0-4 0, Khoudary 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 5-15 45.
Bloomsburg`1`12`8`9 — 30
Holy Redeemer`12`11`8`14 — 45
Three-point goals — BL 1 (McGinley). HR 6 (Albrecht 2, Corridoni 2, Chimock 3).
The PIAA Class 3A First Round
Lake-Lehman won 50-43 against Notre Dame GP in 2OT
LAKE-LEHMAN (51) – Biscotto 1 1-2 4, Hunt 4 2-2 11, Corcoran 0 0-0 0, Wilson 7 8-10 24, Jenkins 3 0-0 6, Morgan 0 0-2 0, Oliver 2 1-2 5. Totals 17 12-18 51.
NOTRE DAME GP (43) – E.Schweitzer 1 1-2 4, O.Schweitzer 5 7-8 21, Zambo 0 0-0 0, Howlett 0 0-0 0, Lessig 5 4-6 14, Campbell 1 2-4 4. Totals 12 14-20 43.
Lake-Lehman`9`8`10`7`8`8 – 50
Notre Dame GP`6`5`15`7`8`1 – 43
Three-point goals – LL 4 (Biscotto, Hunt, Wilson 2). ND 5 (E.Schweitzer, O.Schweitzer 4).
