North Schuylkill senior center Hannah Kane

FOUNTAIN SPRINGS — Rich Wetzel’s screaming voice could probably have been heard in Ashland.

“Don’t let them out … don’t let them out,” the North Schuylkill coach kept yelling when his team was on defense.

His Spartans listened very well.

Utilizing a smothering, full-court trap press, North Schuylkill used a dominating second-quarter run to cruise past Pine Grove 63-29 in a battle of Schuylkill League Division I girls’ basketball unbeatens Tuesday night at the Cesari-Hope Gymnasium.

The Spartans (2-0, 2-0 D-I) forced 15 turnovers in the second frame, using a 26-4 run to turn an 11-10 deficit after one quarter into a 36-15 halftime advantage.

Pine Grove (3-1, 1-1 D-I) never recovered.

“That’s how we have to win,” Wetzel said afterward. “What I’m gifted with is athletes and a whole bunch of kids who practice really, really hard. You have to be in shape to play like that.

“That’s what we have right now and that’s what we have to go with. We still turn it over way too much on our own. We have to get the other team to do it more than we do and we were able to sustain that.”

Wetzel’s squad applied full-court pressure from the outset but the Cardinals were able to overcome it early.

A 3-pointer by Meadow Umbenhauer sparked a quick 6-0 spurt midway through the frame and a layup by Ayla Schneck-Haines off a perfect feed by Hannah Leininger with 1 second remaining in the period gave Pine Grove an 11-10 lead after eight minutes.

“I thought we played a great first quarter,” Pine Grove coach Allison Rizzo said. “That was very optimistic. The turnover game put us in a really big hole.

“They did exactly what they planned to do. They push off to the sideline, get traps and have girls throw over the top. Their back line comes up hard so they get those steals.

“We prepped for it, we practiced for it and unfortunately it just didn’t go our way.”

The key to a successful press, most coaches will tell you, is scoring on your offensive end. It allows you to catch the other team on its heels and then be really aggressive when they tried to inbound the ball and advance it up the court.

When North Schuylkill started to find its groove offensively in the second quarter, the press got better.

Way better.

The Spartans opened the second quarter on a 15-0 run, scoring most of their points off turnovers. Gianna Capone, who led all scorers with 17 points, buried a pair of 3-pointers and had eight points in the outburst.

Mya Conti had a pair of layups, Jadelin Stitzer had a putback and Monica Selgrade hit a free throw as North Schuylkill went ahead 25-11.

“She can score,” Wetzel said of Capone, a 5-foot-7 sophomore. “She has a soft shot, no matter if it’s from 3, in the paint or a pull-up. She has to get a little stronger. She can shoot since seventh grade.”

A layup by Kaylee Seltzer with 2:47 left in the quarter ended Pine Grove’s scoring drought but North Schuylkill kept pouring it on.

Stitzer hit a short jumper, Hannah Kane, Ella Digris and Selgrade converted layups and Capone drained another 3-pointer as North Schuylkill took control of the game.

Not only did North Schuylkill force 15 turnovers, the Spartans outshot Pine Grove 24-7 in the frame and outrebounded the Cards 14-5.

“We had to keep that intensity up and play like we always play,” Capone said. “Good defense … our shots will come … and get in the flow.

“We really run at practice and condition hard, so in the game it’s easier for us. I think we did good with that (tonight).”

Wetzel gave a lot of credit to Kane, the Spartans’ 5-10 senior center, for his team’s success with its press.

Kane pressured the ball on the inbounds pass, then quickly doubled the player who received the pass. Her length combined with the quickness of North Schuylkill’s guards were often too much for Pine Grove to get through, as several of the turnovers came before the Cardinals reached halfcourt.

Pine Grove finished the game with more turnovers than points, 34-29.

“She plays on the ball at this end and on the back line at this end,” Wetzel said, pointing to the different ends of the floor. “And she wreaks havoc. She plays 90 feet on the court.”

Conti added 11 points for North Schuylkill, while Kane had eight points and five rebounds and Stitzer pulled down nine boards.

Callee Leffler paced Pine Grove with eight points.

“It’s a big win. It feels good to be 2-0 now,” Capone said. “We just have to keep going.”

Game Summary

PINE GROVE (29) — Leffler 2 3-3 8, Umbenhauer 1 0-0 3, Zimmerman 1 1-1 3, Schneck-Haines 2 2-2 6, Sampson 3 0-0 6, Seltzer 1 0-2 2, Leininger 0 1-2 1, Fidler 0 0-0 0, Heming 0 0-0 0, Devine 0 0-0 0. Totals 10 7-10 29.

NORTH SCHUYLKILL (63) — Conti 5 0-2 11, Monohan 3 0-0 6, Capone 7 0-0 17, Stitzer 3 0-0 6, Kane 3 1-2 8, Balicki 1 0-0 3, Selgrade 2 1-2 5, Digris 1 0-0 2, Urbanowicz 2 0-0 5, Klingerman 0 0-0 0, Conapinski 0 0-0 0, Halko 0 0-0 0, Kowalonek 0 0-0 0. Totals 27 2-6 63.

PG (3-1, 1-1)         11 … 4 … 10 … 4 — 29

NS (2-0, 2-0)        10 … 26 … 21 … 6 — 63

3-point FGs: Leffler, Umbenhauer, Conti, Capone 3, Kane, Balicki, Urbanowicz

JV Score: North Schuylkill 48-26

Officials: Jacoby, Scicchitano