ELIZABETHVILLE — It seemed at times as though there was a lid over the Williams Valley basket in the first half of Monday night’s WQLV Tournament championship against Tri-Valley at Upper Dauphin.
The Vikings forced off the lid in the second half.
Hannah Nestor and Caitlyn Pinchorski led third-quarter runs for Williams Valley, which rallied past the rival Dawgs 51-39 to claim the girls’ tournament title.
“We just came out with a lot more intensity than we had in the first half,” Nestor, a senior guard, said. “We talked about what we had to do in order to fix the things that we did wrong in the first half. We knew we could beat this team and we wanted to win this tournament.”
The Vikings (5-2) came out shooting poorly, making just 3-of-11 shots from the field in the first quarter. They did put a six-point run together in the second to pull within one point of Tri-Valley, but the Dawgs (5-4) exploded for eight straight points to up their lead to 21-12 with 25 seconds remaining in the half.
A big 3-pointer by Kate Whelski before halftime cut Tri-Valley’s lead to six.
Both teams played sloppily at times in the first half, combining for 23 turnovers, but the Vikings made some adjustments headed into the third quarter that paid off instantly.
Williams Valley showed a 1-2-2 zone and began pressing the Bulldogs’ guards. Suddenly the turnovers were all pouring out of Tri-Valley and the Vikings reaped the benefits.
“I didn’t think we played that poorly in the first half, but we missed a lot of opportunities,” Williams Valley coach Brian Unger said. “We missed a couple layups, foul shots. Normally we’re a pretty good foul-shooting team. So we just tried to extend the floor (in the third quarter), play them full court, maybe we could get a turnover or two.”
They got eight turnovers,
in fact, while the Vikings committed only three.
Nestor had seven points, two steals and an assist in the third quarter, which was dominated 22-6 by Williams Valley — a big turnaround from the dismal shooting of the first half.
“We know that when we can’t make our shots, especially early in the game, we have to keep shooting, keep taking it to the basket,” Nestor said. “Especially down here, where they call more fouls than in our league. We take it to the basket, get to the foul line, get them in foul trouble and have it our way.”
Sister Haley Nestor added three points to a 12-2 Vikings run to open the third that put them ahead 27-23.
A stretch pass by Rayanne Hawk that was laid in by Whelski finished the run. Hawk had three of her game-high seven assists in the frame and three of her 13 points.
Pinchorski helped Williams Valley finish the quarter strong with back-to-back buckets before collecting a loose ball off a blocked shot and laying it in off the glass just as the quarter ended. The play capped an 8-3 Williams Valley run that gave the Vikings a 37-27 edge going into the fourth.
“Their pressure bothered us in the third quarter,” Tri-Valley coach Clark Romberger said. “We weren’t able to handle it very well. We knew they would do it. We thought we were prepared, but we weren’t. I’ve got to do a better job of getting us ready for handling that pressure.”
The 1-2-2 zone also took away the best scoring option the Dawgs had in the first half, using the high post to distribute the ball to the corners.
Tri-Valley guards Paige Doyle and Reagan Newswanger now had limited options on the point as forwards Madison Scheib and Kelly Romberger were closed down.
“I’m a man-to-man-oriented coach,” Unger admitted. “(Tri-Valley) likes to drive. Doyle and Newswanger, they’re both slashing guards. They were beating us, they were getting by our defense. So I said at halftime, ‘Man-to-man or 1-2-2?’ They said right away 1-2-2.”
Tri-Valley brought the game back to five points throughout much of the final quarter, but could never get any closer.
Newswanger opened the quarter with a 3 — part of her 13 points — and Doyle had a bucket and two free throws on her way to 10 total points before Williams Valley closed on an 8-1 run fueled by forward Alyssa Schadle four points and two rebounds.
The WQLV title is the second Williams Valley has won at Upper Dauphin this season. The Vikings also claimed the Trojans’ tip-off tournament Dec. 6.
Consolation game
Upper Dauphin 59
Millersburg 30
ELIZABETHVILLE — Kelsey Hoffman and Taylor Brown had 16 points apiece to lead the Trojans to a victory over the Indians.
Laura Sweger added 12 points for Upper Dauphin, which held Millersburg to single digits in every quarter and got out to a 26-15 advantage in halftime.
Hoffman scored 10 of her points in the second half, while Brown had 10 in the first half.
Game Summaries
WQLV Holiday Tournament
At Upper Dauphin High School
Championship
WILLIAMS VALLEY (51) — Hawk 6 1-2 13, Han. Nestor 5 0-0 11, Kreiser 0 0-0 0, Hal. Nestor 2 2-4 6, Whelski 4 0-3 9, Schadle 3 0-0 6, Daniel 0 0-0 0, Pinchorski 3 0-0 6. Totals 21 3-9 51.
TRI-VALLEY (39) — Newswanger 4 3-4 13, Doyle 3 4-6 10, Header 3 0-2 6, Harner 1 0-0 2, Scheib 1 2-3 4, Romberger 2 0-0 4, B. Pacenta 0 0-0 0, Deibert 0 0-0 0, Connell 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 9-15 39.
WV (5-2) 6 9 22 14 — 51 TV (5-4) 11 10 6 12 — 39
3-point FGs: Han. Nestor, Whelski, Newswanger 2
Consolation
MILLERSBURG (30) — Fite 0 0-0 0, Armor 5 2-2 12, Casner 1 2-2 4, Sunday 0 0-0 0, Schade 0 4-6 4, Hawthorne 2 0-2 4, Koppenhaver 2 2-2 6. Totals 10 10-14 30.
UPPER DAUPHIN (59) — Uhler 0 0-0 0, Weaver 0 0-0 0, J. Hoffman 1 0-0 2, Shomper 0 2-2 2, K. Hoffman 8 0-0 16, Sweger 5 2-2 12, Bellis 2 0-0 4, Mills 0 2-2 2, Brown 6 4-5 16, Walter 2 1-1 5, Shoop 0 0-0 0, Reed 0 0-0 0, Wise 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 11-12 59.
Mil (1-9) 7 8 6 9 — 30 UD (5-4) 12 14 15 18 — 59
3-point FGs: None