CLARKS SUMMIT – Archbishop Ryan presented Abington Heights with an opportunity to begin the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class 5A girls basketball state tournament and the Lady Comets seized it.
The Ragdolls showed up for the start of state play with just six players in uniform.
They were overwhelmed early by the Lady Comets, who scored the game’s first 23 points on the way to a 64-26, home-court romp Saturday afternoon.
Maggie Coleman led the way with 18 points, all of which were scored before the three-minute mark of the third quarter. She had 10 points during the 23-0 start.
“I was really proud of the kids,” Abington Heights coach Deanna Klingman said. “They kept their intensity throughout the course of the game and 15 kids got to play in the state playoffs, so I’m really happy with that.”
Abington Heights led 44-14 at halftime, meaning the entire second half was played with the running clock of the Mercy Rule.
Madison Zaleski and Coleman made 3-pointers in the first minute of the second half.
To that point, Abington Heights was 21-for-38 (55.3 percent) from the floor and 7-for-14 (50 percent) from 3-point range for a 50-16 lead.
The Lady Comets bounced back strong from losing to Scranton in the District 2 Class 5A championship game.
“We needed to shoot better than we did in our last game and we did that,” Klingman said.
Abington Heights hit six straight shots for 14 points in 90 seconds, making it 19-0 on a Zaleski 3-pointer with 2:59 left in the first quarter. In the first 5:01, the Lady Comets were 3-for-4 on 3-pointers and 8-for-13 overall.
The final margin could have been even larger if not for two buzzer-beaters by the Ragdolls.
Julianna Croumbley came up court in the final three seconds of the first quarter and hit a 35-footer to make the score 25-5.
Delaney Finn ended the game with a 30-footer.
Points were otherwise hard to come by for District 12 third-place finisher Archbishop Ryan (5-17).
Abington Heights got plenty of balance from its versatile starting lineup.
Emily McDonald scored 12 points, led the team with five assists and had seven rebounds to share that team lead with two others. Zalewski had 10 points, five rebounds and two blocked shots. Peyton Houlihan had nine points and seven rebounds. Kate Scoblick grabbed a team-high four offensive rebounds and hit the only two shots she took.
In addition to leading in scoring, Coleman dished out four assists and led the team in steals with three.
Lily Scoblick came off the bench to grab seven rebounds in less than seven minutes in the first half.
The Lady Comets outrebounded the Ragdolls 50-24.
Finn and Haley Davis led Archbishop Ryan with nine points and six rebounds each. Amber Rothley had four steals.
Abington Heights advances to play District 1 champion Bishop Shanahan (15-11) Wednesday at Bethlehem Freedom at 6 p.m. Bishop Shanahan defeated Mechanicsburg 38-27 Saturday.
CLASS 4A
Scranton Prep held visiting North Schuylkill scoreless in the second quarter Saturday afternoon on the way to a 55-22 rout.
The Lackawanna League Division 1 and District 2 Class 4A champion Classics turned a one-point lead after one quarter into a 22-7 halftime advantage.
Jenna Hillebrand led the way with 18 points. Maya Jenkins added 13 points while Eva Kaszuba and Bella Dennebaum had seven each.
The Classics (20-5) face District 1 champion Villa Joseph Marie (16-9) Wednesday at Easton Middle School at 7:30. Villa Joseph Marie beat Prep Charter 54-22 Saturday.
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