JIM THORPE — As difficult as it was for Pottsville to swallow its narrow loss to Parkland in the District 11 Class AAAA girls’ basketball quarterfinals Friday night, it most certainly marked a bellwether moment for the program.
While the Crimson Tide weren’t able to take home a victory over the Trojans, head coach Rick Wojciechowsky talked to his girls in the locker room about continuing to build a belief in themselves.
Pottsville went toe-to-toe defensively with the perennial district title contenders for four quarters.
A tough foul call with 5.6 seconds left that led to Erin Bross’s game-winning free throw and a missed 28-footer at the buzzer only stood between Pottsville and at least two more games.
As it turned out, Parkland secured a 42-41 victory over the Crimson Tide that left Pottsville disappointed but hopeful to continue building its budding program.
“I’m disappointed for our girls because they played so hard, but I’m super proud of them,” Wojciechowsky said. “I remain super proud of them through the whole season, how hard they’ve worked, (how) they’ve stuck together and what they’ve accomplished for our program.”
The final sequence ended up being Pottsville’s undoing.
Kyra Schenk knotted the game at 41 with a free throw with 1:21 left.
“They were clutch free throws there, but we had played hard to get to that point,” Wojciechowsky said. “We played through some adversity, and then we went down and had a nice defensive stand at the other end.”
Parkland held for the final shot as the Tide defense kept the ball on the perimeter, forcing a Trojan timeout with 14.5 ticks left. Continuing to defend with man out of the timeout, Bross dipped under a Pottsville defender for an off-balance shot that drew a whistle and two freebies.
Bross missed the first, prompting a Tide timeout with 5.6 seconds left. She nailed the second for a one-point lead after the timeout.
“I thought we played very good defense. We executed what we wanted to coming out of that timeout on the defensive end,” Wojciehowsky said. “We forced a bad shot. Unfortunately, she was able to get the two opportunities for the free throws.”
Pottsville missed a runner after breaking Parkland’s press that closed out the game.
The game went back and forth all night with neither team leading by more than five points.
Pottsville’s man-to-man defense did its part against a long Trojan squad.
Parkland’s zone forced the Tide into difficult shots all night as Pottsville rarely got easy looks at the bucket from the perimeter or in the paint.
“I think you see that more consistently now once you get to the district level and the playoffs,” Wojciechowsky said. “People are buckling down and people are playing extra tough, fighting through screens, helping each other out. One or two lapses during the course of the 32-minute game can come back to bite you. In this case, it did, unfortunately.”
Sadie Cresswell drilled five 3-pointers, mostly off the dribble, for the Tide, while Schenk finished with 10 points.
“That’s a compliment to everyone that was on the floor,” Wojciechowsky said. “When those people are getting open for their scoring opportunities, other people are setting good screens (and) other people are making good passes. When we do that five strong, we’re very strong. We have to get to the point we’re doing that throughout the game.”
The lapses came in 16 turnovers and ill-timed fouls for Pottsville.
Still, the Tide had opportunities throughout the night.
After back-to-back trips to the Schuylkill League playoffs following a tough stretch early during Wojciechowsky’s tenure, Pottsville has turned things completely around.
“We knew coming in they’re the defending district champs and they had a history of winning. We need to get our girls to believe in themselves, to believe in our program, to understand how good they are, but to also understand how good they can become if they keep working,” Wojciechowsky said. “That’s what we’re going to achieve.”
Game Summary
District 11 Class AAAA quarterfinals
At Jim Thorpe
PARKLAND (42) — Erin Bross 4 1-3 9, Krause 0 0-0 0, Beidelman 1 0-0 2, O’Keefe 0 0-0 0, Erica Bross 0 0-0 0, Piston 2 0-0 5, Stagaard 6 0-0 14, Allsop 0 2-2 2, Ewald 4 2-6 10. Totals 17 5-11 42.
POTTSVILLE (41) — Sherakas 1 2-4 4, Burnhauser 2 0-0 6, Eckley 0 0-0 0, Cresswell 5 2-2 17, Kondrack 2 0-2 4, Connors 0 0-0 0, Schenk 4 2-4 10, Purnell 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 6-12 41.
Park (15-9) 11 9 14 8 — 42 Potts (19-5) 13 8 11 9 — 41
3-point FGs: Piston, Stagaard 2, Burnhauser 2, Cresswell 5