WRIGHT TWP. — Hazleton Area caught Crestwood once Monday night. Catching the Comets again proved futile.
Crestwood held off every second-half comeback attempt by Hazleton Area, handing the Cougars their first conference loss with a 59-48 victory in a Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 game.
Crestwood’s ability to break the press, a couple inside basket by Jackie Gallagher and a couple Hazleton Area turnovers — all in the final 92 seconds — allowed the Comets to distance themselves.
The culmination of those factors boosted Crestwood’s lead from five to the final 11-point margin of victory.
Crestwood (9-2 Div. 1, 13-6) also tightened up the division race as Hazleton Area fell to 11-1 in the division and 17-2 overall.
“Just when Hazleton got closer, I think we pressed on ahead a little bit extra,” Crestwood coach Mary Mushock-Namey said. “We knew coming into the fourth quarter no matter what our lead was that they play their best in the fourth quarter.”
The Cougars’ only other loss was to Scranton on Dec. 5. Only two wins in their 15-game winning streak were under double digits, including a 58-51 overtime victory against Crestwood on Jan. 8.
“Sometimes you just lose a game,” Hazleton Area coach Joe Gavio said. “They play a little better than you and stuff. That’s the bottom line.”
Hazleton Area led just once, 27-25 when Sophia Benyo hit an inside basket with eight seconds left in the second quarter. By the buzzer the lead was gone for good as Crestwood’s Kiera Dougherty nailed a 3-pointer from just inside the midcourt stripe.
Hazleton Area was within three midway through the third quarter when Crestwood’s Jackie Gallagher started an 11-3 run with two layups. Kate Gallagher, her sister, finished off the quarter with a 3-pointer for a 46-35 advantage.
Crestwood didn’t score in the opening four minutes of the fourth quarter, yet Hazleton Area was able to shave just five points off the deficit. Moreover, Crestwood never let Hazleton Area’s press affect the outcome.
“All we talked about is stay calm, play our game and make good passes,” Jackie Gallagher said. “We know if we get it to the middle, get it across the side, we can break it pretty easy. We have a ton of height and we just stayed patient.”
Jackie Gallagher finished with a game-high 20 points. Dougherty had 14 and her ballhandling was instrumental in breaking the press. Kate Gallagher added 12.
Kaitlyn Bindas had 14, Sophia Shults scored 12 and Kayla Lagowy had 10 for Hazleton Area.
Crestwood 59, Hazleton Area 48
HAZLETON AREA (48) — Sophia Benyo 4 0-0 8, Kaitlyn Bindas 5 2-2 14, Kayla Lagowy 3 1-2 10, Alexis Reimold 2 0-0 4, Sophia Shults 4 3-6 12, Olivia Williams 0 0-0 0, Mariah Marolo 0 0-0 0, Evelyn Shults 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 6-10 48.
CRESTWOOD (59) — Charlie Hiller 1 1-2 3, Kendall Petrosky 2 0-0 4, Jackie Gallagher 8 2-2 20, Kate Gallagher 5 1-2 12, Keira Dougherty 4 5-8 14, Jordan Andrews 1 0-0 2, Cameron Vieney 1 1-2 3. Totals 23 9-14 59.
Hazleton Area`11`16`8`13 — 48
Crestwood`15`13`18`13 — 59
Three-point goals — HA 6 (Bindas 2, Lagowy 3, S.Shults). CRE 4 (J.Gallagher 2, K.Gallagher, Dougherty).
