H.S. GIRLS' BASKETBALL NOTES: Division races taking shape

Charlie Roth, Republican & Herald, Pottsville, Pa.
·3 min read

Dec. 27—And then, there were three.

Unbeaten teams, that is, in Schuylkill League play, with one in each of the three divisions.

North Schuylkill stands alone atop Division I at 4-0.

In Division II, it's Minersville at 3-0, and in Division III, it Marian at 3-0.

Both North Schuylkill (6-0) and Minersville (5-0) are also unbeaten overall. Marian (6-1) has a non-league setback to Allentown Central Catholic as the only blemish on its ledger.

With the addition of two teams and another round during the league playoffs, the remainder of the regular season should prove very interesting.

League play is on hiatus for the holidays, with the next round of games set for Friday, Jan. 6.

Let the chase begin.

Tournament timeThere's no shortage of tournaments through the holiday break.

Blue Mountain, Nativity and Pine Grove are league teams competing at Pine Grove, with ELCO completing the field. ELCO meets Blue Mountain today at noon in one semifinal, with Nativitiy taking on Pine Grove in the other at 1:30. The consolation game is set for Wednesday at noon, with the title game at 3 p.m.

In the Christmas Classic at Shamokin, Mahanoy Area meets Shamokin at 6 p.m. today.

And, in the WQIN Tournament at Tri-Valley, Upper Dauphin meets Williams Valley in one semifinal today at noon, with Millersburg and Tri-Valley slated to meet in the other semifinal at 6 p.m. The consolation game is set for Wednesday at noon, with the title game scheduled for 6 p.m.

North Schuylkill and Lehighton will be competing in tournaments witih Wednesday-Thursday scheduled. The Spartans will be in the State College Holiday Hardwood Tournament, while Lehighton will be the host team in its own holiday event. Complete matchups for both were unavailable.

Behind the arcOver the years, the 3-point shot has become a big part of the game.

A quick look at some numbers gives an indication of just how big it can be.

The three division leaders have all been proficient from long range.

Marian has made the most of any Schuylkill League team with 50 3-pointers made by six different players in seven games played. Kerrigan Digris and Ashley Pleban lead the Fillies with 14 and 10, respectively.

Minersville has converted 37 times and is led by Taylor Conti with 15 and Brooke Kopinetz with 14, including a season-high eight in a victory over Williams Valley.

North Schuylkill has made 29 triples, with seven different players connecting.

Other teams with strong 3-point shooting performances so far include Panther Valley with 46. The Panthers are led by Sera Robin with 17 and have three players with 12 or more. Natalie Vermillion as 13 and Maddison Maynard has 12. Both Robin and Vermillion have at least one triple in each of the Panthers' eight games.

Scoring notesThus far, five different players have games with 25 or more points this season. Panther's Valley's Maynard leads the way with four, including a season-high 34 against Northern Lehigh. She's also hit for 31 against Schuylkill Haven, 29 against North Schuylkill and 28 against Jim Thorpe.

Others with 25 or more in an outing include Jim Thorpe's Gabby Cinicola, who hit for 27 against Tamaqua and also has an area-best 18 triples on the season, Blue Mountain's Kylie Conway with 26 against Panther Valley, Jim Thorpe's Mackenzie Yuhas with 25 against Pleasant Valley and Minersville's Kopinetz, who had 25 against Williams Valley.

Contact the writer: croth@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6025; @repheraldsports on Twitter