The Herald, Sharon, Pa: Winter sports '97-'98

Published Sunday, March 22, 1998

PA. CHAMPIONSHIPS
Davenport, Harrisburg slam Red Hurricanes

By The Associated Press

HERSHEY, Pa. _ Micah Davenport slammed his way to 27 points to lead Harrisburg past New Castle 69-53 Saturday and give the Cougars their first boys Class AAAA championship.

The quicker Cougars (32-1) never trailed past the first quarter as they were cheered on by a very partisan crowd at the Hersheypark Arena _ just a 10-minute drive from Harrisburg. Even Gov. Tom Ridge showed up to applaud.

It was Harrisburg's first appearance in the state finals, but it didn't look that way. The Cougars used a pressing defense and acrobatic offense to completely overwhelm the Runnin' Red Hurricane (30-2). Harrisburg won every quarter.

Demone Maxwell added 14 points for the Cougars, who out-rebounded New Castle 36-23.

``This wasn't a dream,''' said Harrisburg coach Kirk Smallwood. ``We planned this after last year's loss. We knew if we got our butts to the blackboard and worked our butts off we could get to the championship.''

Smallwood said Davenport wanted to show the Pennsylvania Division I teams that did not recruit him how well he could play.

New Castle, the District 7 champions, had one other appearance in the championship game, a 1982 loss. Ed Pagley led the Hurricane with 16 points, including 12 from behind the 3-point line. David Young added 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Justin Farris, the 6-8 center, was suffering from a knee injury made worse in the Western finals and scored just two points.

``Clearly the better team won tonight,'' said New Castle coach John Sarandrea. ``They're so quick and get to every loose ball.''

Down by one with 1:10 left in the first quarter, Harrisburg went on a 10-3 run into the second period and led 27-19 with 5:08 to go in the half. The Cougars dominated New Castle inside, grabbing offensive rebounds and putting back easy layups.

Harrisburg extended its lead in the third quarter as Davenport and point guard Tamir London picked apart the Hurricane defense. London had seven, including a 3-pointer, and Davenport added five to give the Cougars a 56-43 lead to start the fourth.

Davenport followed a slam dunk with a tip-in basket with 4:53 remaining and Harrisburg had its biggest lead of the game, 62-45.

``I hope this win is an opportunity for young kids to dream,'' Smallwood said, ``and bring some peace and harmony to our community.''

GIRLS AAA

Lewistown 71, Berwick 57 _ Maggie Johnston scored 26 points and led a swarming defense to bring Lewistown its second straight girls AAA championship.

The quick hands and speedy feet of the Lewistown guards were too much for Berwick to handle. The Panthers (31-1) forced 21 turnovers and used breakaway layups to pull away from the Bulldogs (29-2) in the second half. Johnston and Jenna Feathers, who finished with 14, dipped into the heart of the Berwick defense again and again, usually making an acrobatic layup, often times getting fouled.

Krista Gingrich, the all-State guard profiled in Sports Illustrated recently, had 23.

``The momentum turned in the second half,'' said Lewistown coach Kevin Kodish. ``A hectic pace is what we want. 24-20 at the half is not our game.''

Berwick, the District 2 champions, were led by Magan Dellegrotti's 22 points.

Coach Vince Trivelpiece had high praise for the Lewistown guards.

``They're great players. The best I've ever seen,'' he said. ``They can shoot the three and drive to the basket. We tried different defenses and they scored every time.''

Dellegrotti led the way on an 11-1 run in the second period that pushed Berwick to a 24-16 cushion at the 1:15 mark.

The senior guard scored 8 points as the Bulldogs took the ball to the basket and were fouled by Lewistown.

Gingrich hit a jumper to stop the spurt with a minute left in the half, and Johnston's two free-throws at the buzzer pulled the Panthers within six.

Lewistown picked up right where they left off and stormed past Berwick at the beginning of the third period. Johnston's shot with 5:55 to go capped a 15-4 run and put the Panthers ahead 35-28.

But once again the game tightened up.

Cara Labour's 3 points and a Dellegrotti free throw brought Berwick to within two a minute later.

``I thought our kids executed our game plan well,'' Trivelpiece said. ``But Lewistown made a good job of making adjustments at halftime.''

Feather and Johnson got hot in the fourth quarter and combined for 10 points in four minutes to pull Lewistown out front for good.

``This year's team, we play '90s basketball,'' Gingrich said. ``Run and gun with a lot of threes.''

GIRLS A

Mahanoy Area 54, Bishop Carroll 33 _ Tricia Breznitsky did it all for Mahanoy Area, scoring 24 points and leading a stifling defensive effort as the Lady Bears won the girls Class A championship.

Down nine with five minutes to play, the Huskies could only manage two baskets until the final buzzer. The Lady Bears, meanwhile, had their way on offense with Breznitsky dishing assists, grabbing rebounds and scoring layups. She had nine points in the fourth quarter alone.

Mahanoy Area (27-4) won its third state title. The District 11 champions took their first lead, 9-7, with 4:06 left in the first quarter and Bishop Carroll never got any closer than four.

Laurie Scherer added 10 points and four rebounds for the Lady Bears, and Tammy Hutira had eight points.

``(Breznitsky's) been playing like this all year,'' said Mahanoy Area coach Joseph Alansky. ``She never stops on offense or defense. You're not going to see many guards that know what to do with the basketball like her.''

The Huskies (31-2) won their only state title in 1987.

They finished second two years ago.

Breznitsky sat just once during the game for 28 seconds and Alanksy said he knew he'd have to play his starters much of the game.

``My philosophy in 14 years of coaching is you're going to run a lot to be in shape and it pays off here,'' he said. ``This is coal region basketball. It's great for the community

A 3-pointer by Jolene Golden and a lay-in by Dumm brought Bishop Carroll to within four at the 4:34 mark of the third. Breznitsky answered with two steals and three points, and the Lady Bears led 31-24 going into the final period.

Jill Knapic, who averaged 18 points for Bishop Carroll this season, was held to seven points on 2-of-14 shooting. Natalie Dumm led the team with nine points and 10 rebounds. She too was held way below her season average.

``It was just one of those games,'' said coach Bob Gongloff. ``Jill has played well for us all year. The ball just didn't go in the hoop for her.''

The team shot 22.8 percent from the field _ 15 percent in the second half.

Gongloff blamed himself for the loss.

``Their point guard tore us apart,'' he said. ``We weren't prepared for the kind of ball handing and passing she had.''

With the score tied at 7, Breznitsky lead Mahanoy on a 10-0 run to end the first quarter. The fiery guard pressured the Huskie frontcourt and forced turnovers while making cross-court passes that led to easy scores.

But Dumm bullied her way into position and hit twice from close in during a 9-2 spurt before halftime that cut the lead to 25-18.

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Updated March 22, 1998
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