SL Girls’ Basketball Playoffs: Schuylkill Haven edges Marian, reaches league final for 1st time
Schuylkill Haven celebrates after defeating Marian 41-39 in Tuesday's Schuylkill League girls' basketball semifinals at Martz Hall (Photo by Kelly Wiley).
POTTSVILLE — Audrey Hutchinson was all smiles as she posed for cameras to do post-game interviews.
She had a big reason why.
For the first time in school history, Schuylkill Haven is going to the Schuylkill League girls’ basketball championship game.
Hutchinson scored six points and assisted on another bucket in a key fourth-quarter stretch as the Hurricanes knocked off Marian 41-39 in a Schuylkill League semifinal Tuesday at Martz Hall.
Schuylkill Haven (19-5) advances to play Division I champion North Schuylkill (18-5), a 39-38 winner over Tamaqua, in Friday’s title game at 6 p.m. at Martz Hall.
“It feels amazing,” Hutchinson said. “This has been our goal and we got there. I’m so excited for all of us.”
Hutchinson’s game is defense, with her quick hands and tenacious ball pressure often forcing steals that lead to baskets on the offensive end.
The junior guard showcased her skills in the first minute of Tuesday’s clash, stealing a Marian pass at midcourt and driving in for a layup.
“Coach said all week she’s going to put the ball out front, take it if you can,” Hutchinson said. “I saw a few passes go by, I made a step, made a layup, got my team up.”
It was in the fourth quarter, however, where her ability to make plays rose to the forefront.
With the Hurricanes trailing 34-32 with just over 4 minutes left, Hutchinson swiped a steal and scored on a layup to tie the contest.
On the inbound pass, Anna Schaeffer poked the ball away from a Marian player right to Hutchinson, who scored again. In a 12-second span, Haven went from down two to up 36-34 with 3:49 remaining.
“Defense is what we do best, all the time, all season,” Schaeffer said. “Hutch has been playing so hard. That sequence of events is really what kept the momentum going for us in the right direction.”
Hutchinson then came up clutch again moments later, hitting a 15-foot jumper with 1:54 remaining to put Haven up 38-35.
Her biggest play might have come next. After Marian’s Deanna Pugh missed a 3-point attempt, Haven held the ball to work time off the clock against the Fillies’ zone.
With Marian overplaying, Hutchinson found a wide-open Schaeffer underneath the basket for a layup that put Haven up 40-35 with exactly 1 minute left.
Schaeffer, who sat most of the first half with two fouls, scored all 10 of her points in the second half.
“We had a good, encouraging halftime talk and it put some inspiration in me to go out there and have a good second half,” Schaeffer said. “I think I was well-rested and ready for that.”
A pair of free throws by Carley Hasara sliced the lead to 40-37. After each team missed a pair of foul shots, Schaeffer iced it with a foul shot with 28.6 seconds left.
A jumper by Pugh as time expired set the final outcome.
“I’m super excited for these girls,” Sanders said. “They work extremely hard in practice, in the offseason.
“I’m excited for them. It’s been a long road, but they’ve persevered. Our seniors were a part of those classes that weren’t real strong, but they’ve stuck with it and this is the end result.”
Schuylkill Haven opened the game on a 7-2 run but Marian answered with a 14-1 spurt to go up 16-8 with 5:30 left in the first half. Pugh had eight of her 14 points in the run, while Addy Fritz hit a pair of 3-pointers. She finished with 13 points.
Just when it looked Marian was about to dominate, Haven bounced back up and made another run, led by its defense.
A jumper by Kylie Siket started what would end up being a 20-4 run. Mckenna Runkle had all six of her points, Siket hit a 3-pointer and Hutchinson had a steal and layup as Haven took a 21-18 halftime lead.
Siket had 10 of her team-high 13 points in the first half. She was one of three Haven players in double figures, as Hutchinson finished with 11 points and Schaeffer had 10.
Two big keys to the first half: Haven forced 13 turnovers and outrebounded the much-taller Fillies 20-15.
“We preach it all year … tough defense and make sure we’re boxing out on both sides of the ball,” Sanders said. “We talked about (rebounding) all week at practice. We knew they were bigger and they were taller. We did a good job.”
The lead stretched to 28-20 before Marian made its push. A 3-pointer by Fritz tied it at 30-30, and she had two more buckets to make it 34-32 before Hutchinson stole the show.
And put Haven in the Schuylkill League ‘chip for the first time.
“I’m thrilled,” Schaeffer said. “I can’t believe that my season is ending here and my career at Haven is ending up here. My freshman and sophomore season, I never believed it would. I’m really proud of my team and I’m excited to play Friday.”
