Girls’ Basketball Roundup: Blue Mountain knocks off Schuylkill Haven
Blue Mountain's Mila Fleagle is introduced prior to Thursday's game against Schuylkill Haven (Photo by Mel Rose).
SCHUYLKILL HAVEN — The defending champions aren’t dead yet.
Callie Peel scored a team-high 17 points as Blue Mountain outlasted Schuylkill Haven 52-49 in a Schuylkill League Division I girls’ basketball game Thursday night at the CACL Center.
Peel converted 11-of-13 free throws as the Eagles (6-9, 5-4 D-I) kept their league playoff hopes alive. The victory moved Blue Mountain one game behind Tamaqua (13-3, 6-3) in the race for the third Division I playoff berth. The Eagles host the Blue Raiders on Monday.
Mila Fleagle got Blue Mountain off to a strong start, scoring seven of her 12 points in the first quarter as the Eagles opened a 15-10 lead. Mckayla Keck then tallied five of her nine points in the second period as Blue Mountain took a 27-21 lead into intermission.
Peel asserted herself in the second half, mostly at the foul line. She was 10-of-12 from the stripe in the second half, including 7-of-8 in the fourth quarter. As a team, Blue Mountain shot 20-of-30 from the free-throw line.
Mckenna Runkle led all scorers with 19 points and pulled down 10 rebounds for Schuylkill Haven (11-4, 7-2), which made things interesting with a fourth-quarter run. Alea Porter added eight points for Haven, which was 14-of-25 from the line.
BLUE MOUNTAIN (52) — Henninger 2 0-0 5, Fleagle 5 1-2 12, Canfield 0 0-0 0, Place 2 0-0 4, Ka. Koch 0 0-0 0, Peel 3 11-13 17, Ke. Koch 0 0-0 0, Campbell 1 2-6 4, Fishburn 0 1-2 1, Keck 2 5-7 9. Totals 15 20-30 52.
SCHUYLKILL HAVEN (49) — Runkle 6 7-10 19, Siket 2 2-2 6, Hutchinson 2 0-0 4, Schaeffer 1 1-2 3, Porter 2 3-7 8, Ulsh 2 0-0 4, Terefencko 0 1-4 1, Haag 2 0-0 4. Totals 17 14-25 49.
BM (6-9, 5-4) 15 … 12 … 11 … 14 — 52
SH (11-4, 7-2) 10 … 11 … 11 … 17 — 49
3-point FGs: Henninger, Fleagle, Porter
JV Score: Tied 31-31
Officials: Wojociechowsky, Wood
North Schuylkill 58, Pine Grove 48
PINE GROVE — Mya Conti continued her hot streak, scoring a game-high 20 points as the Spartans downed the Cardinals in a Division I game.
The victory, North Schuylkill’s fifth straight, coupled with Schuylkill Haven’s loss to Blue Mountain gives the Spartans (11-3, 9-0 D-I) a two-game lead in the Division I standings over the Hurricanes (11-4, 7-2).
Conti scored 11 of her points in the first half as North Schuylkill forged a 29-25 halftime lead. She added six more in the third as the Spartans took a 42-36 lead into the fourth.
Pine Grove made a final push, slicing the deficit to 51-48, before the Spartans scored the game’s final seven points. Monica Selgrade had a pair of buckets in North Schuylkill’s surge, while Jadeline Stitzer converted a three-point play.
North Schuylkill shot 7-of-8 from the foul line in the second half, 4-of-5 in the fourth quarter. Stitzer finished with 11 points, while Gianna Capone added 10.
Ayla Schneck-Haines led Pine Grove with 16 points, scoring six in the fourth quarter. Callee Leffler hit a trio of 3-pointers and had 11 points for the Cards.
NORTH SCHUYLKILL (58) — Conti 9 0-0 20, Monahan 1 0-0 2, Capone 3 3-3 10, Ja. Stitzer 3 5-7 11, Kane 3 0-0 7, Selgrade 3 0-0 6, Balicki 1 0-0 2. Totals 23 8-10 58.
PINE GROVE (48) — Seltzer 3 1-2 7, Leffler 4 0-2 11, M. Umbenhauer 1 3-4 5, Zimmerman 1 0-0 3, Leininger 1 0-0 2, Schneck-Haines 6 2-4 16, Sampson 2 0-0 4. Totals 18 6-12 48.
NS (11-3, 9-0) 18 … 11 … 13 … 16 — 58
PG (9-7, 4-5) 18 … 7 … 11 … 12 — 48
3-point FGs: Conti 2, Capone, Kane, Leffler 3, Zimmerman, Schneck-Haines 2
JV Score: North Schuylkill 38-30
Officials: Je. Misstishin, Merwine
Tamaqua 52, Pottsville 39
TAMAQUA — Millie Black dominated the paint, scoring a career-high 21 points and pulling down 18 rebounds as the Blue Raiders toppled the Tide in a Division I game.
Lauren Ligenza added 11 points for Tamaqua, which used a 19-9, second-quarter run to break things open.
Jes Siminitus paced Pottsville with 15 points.
POTTSVILLE (39) — Goodman 2 0-0 5, Brennan 1 0-0 3, Davis 1 1-2 3, Fegley 0 0-0 0, Barnhart 2 2-2 6, Siminitus 5 4-6 15, Jones 3 0-0 7. Totals 14 7-10 39.
TAMAQUA (52) — Robb 1 0-2 2, M. Black 10 1-3 21, Ellington 0 0-0 0, Scott 0 0-0 0, Plasha 3 3-4 9, Ligenza 4 3-9 11, Miller 0 0-0 0, L. Black 4 1-2 9. Totals 22 8-20 52.
Potts (4-10, 3-6) 10 … 9 … 6 … 14 — 39
Tam (13-3, 6-3) 15 … 19 … 10 … 8 — 52
3-point FGs: Goodman, Brennan, Siminitus, Jones
JV Score: Tamaqua 35-19
Officials: Hibbler, Caruso
