Pictured above: Maya Jenkins, shown in the district final, kept Scranton Prep rolling through the first round of state play with 20 points. (Tim Drewes Photo).
By Tom Robinson, NEPASportsNation.com
SCRANTON – Brent Sample did enough film study to know just how good an opponent his Lewisburg girls basketball team was running into to begin the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class 4A state tournament.
Sample understood there were things his Green Dragons had to do well, but that they would still need Scranton Prep to have an off-shooting day.
The Classics did not.
Maya Jenkins went 5-for-6 from 3-point range to lead the way as Scranton Prep opened state play with a Mercy Rule rout, 68-35, on its home court.
“We knew what we were getting into,” Sample said. “We knew that they were an excellent team.
“ … We knew that any team that tries to run an offense against them, they get steals and turn them into transition points. So, we wanted to go down and shoot our shots, try to get some stops and hopefully they miss some of their 3-pointers.”
The Classics shot 60 percent (9-for-15) from 3-point range with five players hitting at least one. They were 25-for-42 (59.5 percent) overall through three quarters by the end of which the game was already being played under the running clock of the Mercy Rule.
“They shot really well and it just got away from our girls,” Sample said.
Jenkins went 3-for-4 on 3-pointers in the first 6:10. She had 13 of her 20 points in the first 7 minutes, including all the scoring in a 10-2 run from the game’s last tie to a 19-11 lead after one quarter.
“We just knew in the beginning, we didn’t come out how we wanted to defensively,” Jenkins said. “After that, we had to make some adjustments.
“Once we did that, I think we did much better.”
Jenkins finished 6-for-8 overall.
“My teammates just gave me the ball in the right spots,” said Jenkins, a sophomore who leads the balanced team in scoring. “Whenever I’m open, they give me the ball.
“The great thing about our team is no matter who’s night it is, nobody cares about who gets the points. We just want to get the win.”
Claire McGrath, another sophomore guard, was a perfect example of that. She took just three shots and scored five points, but dished out eight assists, six of them in the first half.
All up and down the lineup, coach Bob Beviglia could point to players who shot well and/or made other contributions to the team cruising through the first round with its eighth straight win. The Classics have won each by double-figures margins, averaging victories by 26.3 points.
“The thing that amazed me is we keep having these layoffs,” said Beviglia, whose team earned a bye to start the district tournament. “We had 11 days off between the end of the league and the start of the district tournament. Then we had six more and we just had (eight) more, so I didn’t know what I was going to see.
“What I was pleased about was how well we shot it. I thought we shared the ball; running our base offense, we were able to get whatever we wanted.
“I look up at halftime and we’ve got 38. I thought they played pretty well offensively; they have some big strong kids inside who were able to make plays for them. But I think the pressure wears them down after a while, and I knew if we scored in threes, they would have a hard time.”
After Jenkins made three shots from beyond the arc in the first quarter, McGrath, Jayna McIntyre and Ashlynn Moore each made one in the second quarter on what turned out to be their only tries of the game.
Scranton Prep led 38-18 at the break, then went 9-for-12 in the third quarter with Bella Dennebaum making all three of her shots, Jenkins hitting another two 3-pointers and Rita Collins and Moore each scoring twice for a 61-28 lead.
“I can’t say enough about Ashlynn Moore,” Beviglia said. “She was phenomenal today. We knew that she was capable of a game like that.
“She played with so much confidence; played great defense; handled the ball; and scored when she had opportunities. We were thrilled with the minutes we got from her.”
Moore went 4-for-5 while scoring nine points and made a team-high five steals to lead a defense, which offset its early difficulties with Lewisburg’s post game by forcing 20 turnovers.
Forwards Dennebaum and Collins combined to shoot 11-for-17 while finishing with 12 points each. Dennebaum led the team in total (six) and offensive (three) rebounds. Collins made three steals.
“I told the kids downstairs that I have zero complaints about what we did up here today,” Beviglia said. “Given everything, we were very sharp.
“The effort was great and you can tell they have fun out there with one another.”
Scranton Prep plays District 1 champion Nazareth Academy, another Mercy Rule winner in the first round, Wednesday to open a doubleheader that also includes the school’s boys team at the Easton Middle School.
“It all starts for us with how well we can pressure defensively,” Beviglia said, “and when we shoot the ball like that, we’re a tough out for anybody.”
The Classics will try to keep rolling against the champions of the suburban Philadelphia district (13-12).
“We try to save our best basketball for right now,” Jenkins said. “We know we’re going to play the hardest teams and we want to get as far as we can in the state tournament.”
