MINERSVILLE — On a team filled with offensive juggernauts like Minersville, it’s sometimes easy to overlook the great plays made away from the ball.
Sarah Nawrocki might not have filled the basket, dished out assists or pulled down double-digit rebounds Tuesday, but she quietly did the best job on the court.
Nawrocki blanketed Shenandoah Valley sharpshooter Abigail Snitzer all evening, holding her to just three points, and helped the Battlin’ Miners secure a 51-38 Schuylkill League Division II-III crossover victory.
“It’s not like one person was on her the whole night,” Nawrocki said. “The team would keep switching on and off with her. We’d try to not let her get a shot off.”
Snitzer did get her first shot off early, a 3-pointer in the opening minute, but was kept off the scoresheet the rest of the night.
Anywhere the senior guard-forward went, Nawrocki was with her, eyes fixed on Snitzer’s jersey.
“Snitzer’s that good and you have to take your chances with her,” Minersville coach Jared Homa said. “We weren’t even worried about help-side defense with anybody who was playing her
tonight. Sarah drew that assignment tonight and she did a great job.”
Adrienne Kroznuskie joined Nawrocki on occasion to double Snitzer, and picked her up on screens. Emily Kriston also saw some time on the assignment.
It’s a vast improvement from the defensive struggles Minersville (16-1, 9-0 D-II) saw at the beginning of the season due to its youth.
“We’ve been progressing the whole season,” Homa said. “... Over the last 10 or 11 games, our defensive intensity has picked up. We’re transitioning the defense a lot better and that’s showing up on the scoreboard.”
Of course, it helps to have those offensive juggernauts, too.
Abby Schoffstall led Minersville with 16 points, three steals and five assists. Emily Mealey added a double-double with 13 points, 16 rebounds and a block.
Kristina Nieddu took over offensively for Shenandoah (15-3, 7-3 D-III) with Snitzer covered. Nieddu knocked in game-high 17 points and hit 8-of-10 free throws.
Coming in to Tuesday’s game, Snitzer was the league’s third-leading scorer with 17.4 points per game and was second in 3s per game with 2.8.
“They took her out of the game,” Shenandoah Valley coach Chris Conroy said. “We have probably 100 plays and none of them worked. I couldn’t find the right answer to get her going.
“I’ve got to give credit to Jared, they just did a great job game planning. They took our best player out of it and that’s the difference on the board.”
Minersville got six straight points at the end of the second quarter to start pulling away, taking a 24-15 lead into the intermission.
The Miners then dominated the third quarter, going on a 12-3 run in the middle of the frame. The run was punctuated by Schoffstall crossing over her defender at the point, driving the lane and dishing a pass to Nawrocki to give Minersville a 36-20 lead.
The decision sent both teams in opposite directions in the standings, with the Battlin’ Miners keeping their 2½-game lead on Lourdes in Division II and Shenandoah Valley dropping a game back of Marian in Division III.
Technically, Minersville can’t clinch the division until it secures two more league wins because the Miners travel to Lourdes for the league finale Feb. 5.
One win coupled with a Lourdes loss would also suffice.
Meanwhile, Tuesday’s loss leaves Shenandoah Valley’s Division III title hopes in the hands of Marian.
Shenandoah and Marian split decisions this season, but the Devils’ 46-43 loss to Williams Valley on Jan. 22 gave Marian the edge.
The Fillies play the Vikings on Feb. 5. If Marian wins out, it wins the division. If it slips, a tiebreaker could be in order.
“We lost control of what we could do,” Conroy said. “Coming in, we controlled our own destiny but now we’re going to need some help. Marian has Nativity and Williams Valley and Weatherly, so we’ll be rooting for those teams for sure.
“We’ve got to do our part as well. We’re really not happy with what we did here tonight. ... We’re not out of the woods by any means yet, either.”
Game Summary
SHENANDOAH VALLEY (38) — Demalis 0 0-0 0, Nieddu 4 8-10 17, Teaschenko 0 2-2 2, Creasy 2 0-0 6, Snitzer 1 0-0 3, Wargo 1 0-0 2, Michalik 3 0-0 8, Najera 0 0-0 0. Totals 11 10-12 38.
MINERSVILLE (51) — Nawrocki 2 1-2 5, Schoffstall 6 4-4 16, Bentz 2 1-3 6, Mealey 4 5-12 13, Kroznuskie 2 2-2 7, Wigoda 1 0-0 2, Kriston 1 0-0 2, Polinsky 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 13-23 51.
SV (15-3, 7-3) 8 7 7 16 — 38 Mn (16-1, 9-0) 10 14 12 15 — 51
3-point FGs: Nieddu, Creasy 2, Snitzer, Michalik 2, Bentz, Kroznuskie
JV score: Minersville 54-23