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Feb. 14—HAZLE TWP. — It was just two weeks ago that Crestwood traveled down to Hazleton Area and handed the Cougars their first and only loss against a District 2 opponent this season.
The two teams met again with the Wyoming Valley Conference title on the line. But this time, the Cougars stood tall on their home court.
Hazleton Area shook off a slow start, pushed ahead and held on to beat a very game Crestwood team 60-55 to win their third straight WVC title on Saturday.
Kaitlyn Bindas had 20 points to lead a trio of Cougars in double-figures. Sophia Benyo added 17 points and 10 boards, and Mariah Marolo added 10 points.
"We were so hungry, we all wanted it," Bindas said. "We wanted to do it at home most importantly, we have so many fans that come out every day to support us and we wanted to give them one back."
Two big runs made the difference for the Cougars: A 15-0 run to end the first half, and a 12-0 run across the third and fourth quarters.
"We got the run, we were down there a little bit but we made some plays," Hazleton Area coach Joe Gavio said. "We do some crazy things that upset me, but they make plays. ... That's a good win against a very good team."
Hazleton Area's lead got as big as 15 points in the fourth quarter, but Crestwood was able to play their way back in.
The Comets trailed by just four on two occasions — both times cutting the lead to four on a Cameron Vieney bucket — but that's as close as they could get it in the final minutes.
Crestwood's best stretch was the opening one: the Comets turned Hazleton Area over seven times in the first quarter and led 18-14 after one.
The Comets stretched the lead to 22-14 early in the second quarter, and then didn't score a single point more before the halftime whistle as Hazleton Area finally locked in.
Arguably the biggest factor in Hazleton Area swinging the game was a surge from Benyo, who was held to just two first-half points after foul trouble kept her minutes limited.
When she got back out on the court, her ability to own the glass and to finish at the rim proved near-impossible for Crestwood to stop.
Benyo scored 15 points in the second half, doing a big chunk of the work on that second Hazleton Area run that gave them enough cushion to get to the finish line.
"I was sitting on the bench and thinking that I couldn't wait to get back in," Benyo said. "They're really physical, so I knew we needed to get a lot of rebounds."
Charlie Hiller led Crestwood with 13 points. Jackie Gallagher added 12 and Vieney had 10 points, all scored in the fourth quarter.
Both squads will now look to defend district titles when the District 2 playoffs start this week. Hazleton Area is the top seed in Class 6A, Crestwood the top seed in Class 5A.
Wyoming Valley Conference Girls Championship
Hazleton Area 60, Crestwood 55
CRESTWOOD (55) — Cameron Vieney 4 1-1 10, Charlie Hiller 5 2-3 13, Jackie Gallagher 5 0-0 12, Jordan Andrews 2 4-6 9, Keira Dougherty 4 0-0 8, Norah Sklaroky 1 0-0 3, Addison Korpusik 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 7-10 55.
HAZLETON AREA (60) — Mariah Marolo 3 2-2 10, Sophia Benyo 7 3-5 17, Kaitlyn Bindas 7 4-4 20, Kayla Lagowy 0 0-0 0, Alexis Reimold 3 1-2 7, Addison Fritz 1 0-0 2, Molly Temchatin 1 0-0 2, Juliana Silva 1 0-0 2, Sofia Rodgers 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 10-13 60.
Crestwood'18'4'17'16 — 55
Hazleton Area'14'15'21'10 — 60
Three-point goals: CRE 6 (Gallagher 2, Vieney, Hiller, Andrews, Sklarosky), HAZ 4 (Marolo 2, Bindas 2).
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The two teams met again with the Wyoming Valley Conference title on the line. But this time, the Cougars stood tall on their home court.
Hazleton Area shook off a slow start, pushed ahead and held on to beat a very game Crestwood team 60-55 to win their third straight WVC title on Saturday.
Kaitlyn Bindas had 20 points to lead a trio of Cougars in double-figures. Sophia Benyo added 17 points and 10 boards, and Mariah Marolo added 10 points.
"We were so hungry, we all wanted it," Bindas said. "We wanted to do it at home most importantly, we have so many fans that come out every day to support us and we wanted to give them one back."
Two big runs made the difference for the Cougars: A 15-0 run to end the first half, and a 12-0 run across the third and fourth quarters.
"We got the run, we were down there a little bit but we made some plays," Hazleton Area coach Joe Gavio said. "We do some crazy things that upset me, but they make plays. ... That's a good win against a very good team."
Hazleton Area's lead got as big as 15 points in the fourth quarter, but Crestwood was able to play their way back in.
The Comets trailed by just four on two occasions — both times cutting the lead to four on a Cameron Vieney bucket — but that's as close as they could get it in the final minutes.
Crestwood's best stretch was the opening one: the Comets turned Hazleton Area over seven times in the first quarter and led 18-14 after one.
The Comets stretched the lead to 22-14 early in the second quarter, and then didn't score a single point more before the halftime whistle as Hazleton Area finally locked in.
Arguably the biggest factor in Hazleton Area swinging the game was a surge from Benyo, who was held to just two first-half points after foul trouble kept her minutes limited.
When she got back out on the court, her ability to own the glass and to finish at the rim proved near-impossible for Crestwood to stop.
Benyo scored 15 points in the second half, doing a big chunk of the work on that second Hazleton Area run that gave them enough cushion to get to the finish line.
"I was sitting on the bench and thinking that I couldn't wait to get back in," Benyo said. "They're really physical, so I knew we needed to get a lot of rebounds."
Charlie Hiller led Crestwood with 13 points. Jackie Gallagher added 12 and Vieney had 10 points, all scored in the fourth quarter.
Both squads will now look to defend district titles when the District 2 playoffs start this week. Hazleton Area is the top seed in Class 6A, Crestwood the top seed in Class 5A.
Wyoming Valley Conference Girls Championship
Hazleton Area 60, Crestwood 55
CRESTWOOD (55) — Cameron Vieney 4 1-1 10, Charlie Hiller 5 2-3 13, Jackie Gallagher 5 0-0 12, Jordan Andrews 2 4-6 9, Keira Dougherty 4 0-0 8, Norah Sklaroky 1 0-0 3, Addison Korpusik 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 7-10 55.
HAZLETON AREA (60) — Mariah Marolo 3 2-2 10, Sophia Benyo 7 3-5 17, Kaitlyn Bindas 7 4-4 20, Kayla Lagowy 0 0-0 0, Alexis Reimold 3 1-2 7, Addison Fritz 1 0-0 2, Molly Temchatin 1 0-0 2, Juliana Silva 1 0-0 2, Sofia Rodgers 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 10-13 60.
Crestwood'18'4'17'16 — 55
Hazleton Area'14'15'21'10 — 60
Three-point goals: CRE 6 (Gallagher 2, Vieney, Hiller, Andrews, Sklarosky), HAZ 4 (Marolo 2, Bindas 2).
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