COAL TOWNSHIP - Marian coach Paul Brutto couldn't have asked for a better beginning.
His Fillies scored the game's first 10 points, built an 18-point lead by the end of the first quarter, and went on to defeat Shamokin 50-26 in the opener of the 18th annual Lourdes Tip-Off Tournament on Friday.
Marian will play Lourdes, a 51-24 winner over Sunbury Christian, in the tournament championship game at 3 p.m. today.
Sophomore Vanessa Whitecavage scored eight of her 10 points in the opening quarter, including a pair of 3-pointers.
The Fillies jumped out to a 10-0 lead before Shamokin scored its first basket, a 3-pointer by Olivia Bonshock with 4:10 remaining in the first quarter.
But instead of allowing a furious rally by the Indians, Marian continued to control the action and pushed its lead to 23-5 by the end of the first quarter.
The early onslaught left Shamokin looking like a student that had to take a mid-term exam on the first day of class.
"We had a bad start to the game, but beginning in the second quarter we fought and worked hard," Shamokin head coach Bill Callahan said.
Shamokin sliced Marian's early lead to 33-20 midway through the third quarter before the Fillies closed out the last two minutes of the third quarter with a 10-2 run.
"Most of the third quarter we played well, but from two minutes to go in the third we wore out," Callahan said. "Their depth (hurt us). I think they go 10 deep, and they have an all-star at every position.
"I'm very proud of my girls, but Marian is the best
team in the area and they have a chance to be in Hershey at the end of the season. I thought our girls fought really hard and I'm proud of them."
Abby Whildin scored a game-high 12 points for Marian, which forced 30 Shamokin turnovers. Bonshock had nine points and 10 rebounds for the Indians, while Gabby Lahr had eight rebounds.
Part of what aided the Indians' second and third-quarter climb back to respectability was the foul situation. Shamokin went to the foul line seven times in the second quarter, but what was good for the Indians also hurt them. Lahr was whistled for two early fouls and sat out the entire second quarter.
"The physicality of the game hurt us," Callahan said. "We couldn't get into our sets because they're extremely physical. They can take chances and be physical because they're so deep."
Still the Indians can take several good things out of the loss. Catelin Pancher hit two 3-pointers and the team got valuable minutes off the bench from Gabby Erb and Sarah Popewczak.
"There were more positives out there than they think," Callahan said. "It's a shame we game up those points late. It's all a learning experience. Our girls need to realize they can't quit and our leaders have to realize they have to focus for 32 minutes. When we do that, we're going to be good."
SHAMOKIN (26) - Forbes 0 2-4 2, Pancher 3 0-0 8, Bonshock 2 4-6 9, Pesarchick 0 0-3 0, Lahr 1 2-2 4, Erb 1 1-2 3, Popewczak 0 0-1 0, Zimmerman 0 0-0 0, Pennypacker 0 0-0 0, Tobias 0 0-0 0, Breslin 0 0-0 0. Totals 7 9-18- 26.
MARIAN (50) - Green 1 1-2 3, Whildin 5 1-5 12, A. Fannick 2 0-0 5, Whitecavage 4 0-0 10, Sofanko 2 2-2 6, E. Fannick 0 0-0 0, Nemeth 2 0-2 5, Mahon 0 0-0 0, Baranko 0 0-0 0, Nilsson 0 0-0 0, Krusinsky 0 4-6 4, Karnish 0 0-0 0, Radel 1 1-2 3, Stayer 1 0-0 2, Holman 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 9-19 50.
3-point FGs: Pancher 2, Bonshock, A. Fannick, Nemeth, Whildin, Whitecavage 2.
Lourdes 51 Sunbury Christian 24
COAL TOWNSHIP - Rachel Schultz scored a game-high 17 points, while Bailey Trell added 12 as the Red Raiders built a 32-8 halftime lead and never looked back.
Caitlin Funk did the dirty work for the Red Raiders, scoring two points, but she had four assists and six rebounds.
SUNBURY CHRISTIAN (24) - Billing 2 0-1 4, Stuck 3 0-0 7, Erdman 3 3-5 9, Schroth 1 0-2 2, Gingrich 1 0-0 2. Totals 10 3-8 24.
LOURDES (51) - Long 2 0-0 4, Komara 1 0-0 3, Wheary 0 0-0 0, Trell 4 2-2 12, Krebs 0 0-0 0, Khana 1 0-0 2, Bickel 2 0-0 6, Schultz 8 1-4 17, Conner 0 0-0 0, Funk 1 0-0 2, DeLong 0 0-0 0, Kulick 0 0-0 0, Mastusack 0 0-0 0, Pennypacker 1 1-2 3 Smith 1 0-0 2. Totals 21 4-8 51.
3-point FGs: Stuck, Komara, Trell 2, Bickel 2