By Tom Robinson, NEPABasketball.com
PLAINS – With its Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 girls basketball lead at stake, the Wilkes-Barre Area defense got stingy.
The Wolfpack did not allow Pittston Area a single offensive rebound in the second half Friday night when the Lady Patriots needed second chances because their first attempts were going nowhere.
With Gloria Adjayi blocking six shots over the last three quarters while altering and discouraging others, the Wolfpack remained unbeaten in the division and stretched their lead in the standings with a decisive, 41-22 victory.
Shelby Ardo-Boyko led the control of the boards, grabbing nine rebounds while Adjayi and Reagan Holden had six and Danayjha Moore added five.
“We knew that Pittston likes to keep games in the 30s,” Wilkes-Barre Area coach Mary Mushock-Namey said. “I told our girls if we could get to 40, we should be OK.”
The Wolfpack did that, keeping the game fast enough for each team to get at least 40 shots while barely letting the Lady Patriots into the 20s.
“I think our defense was phenomenal,” Mushock-Namey said.
Wilkes-Barre Area held Pittston Area to one field goal the rest of the game after the Lady Patriots cut an early nine-point deficit to 16-14 with 3:18 left in the half.
While Pittston Area went searching for its next basket for the next 13:45, Wilkes-Barre Area used a 19-4 run to break the game open.
Moore, who scored a game-high 12 points, and Holden made sure there were no open shots on the perimeter.
The guard-oriented Pittston Area offense instead wound up repeatedly driving into the paint, which Adjayi ruled.
“She’s just such a threat on the court,” Mushock-Namey said. “Whether she’s scoring or not, she has a huge impact on every game.”
Pittston Area coach Jeff Gregory agreed.
“She’s an enforcer down there,” said Gregory, who thought his team would have been more effective pulling up for 10-footers than trying to get past Adjayi. “ … We have to make better decisions. Get by your girl, then pull up for a jump shot.”
With Ardo-Boyko’s constant hard work providing support, Wilkes-Barre Area has been tough to beat inside while going 8-0 in the division and producing District 2’s best overall record at 14-1.
“I just try to have fun,” said Ardo-Boyko, who was the second-leading scorer in the game with nine by making four of her last five shots in the second half. “We always have the motto that defense wins game.
“We work on defense a lot.”
It showed Friday night.
The offense also had its moments, including in the first three minutes when Emma Krawczeniuk, Moore and Holden hit the team’s first three 3-point attempts to make sure Wilkes-Barre Area never trailed. Holden followed with another basket to make it 11-2 with 3:54 left in the first quarter.
Wilkes-Barre Area added the last seven points of the half for a 23-14 lead.
First, Moore hit a shot while on the move on the right side. Then, she banked in a 3-pointer with 45 seconds left and Holden drove to score a second before the buzzer.
Kallie Booth and Daniella Ranieli, Pittston Area’s two season scoring leaders, again led the offense, but each managed just one field goal and six points.
Amanda Fath grabbed eight rebounds for the Lady Patriots, seven in the first half.
Pittston Area dropped to 5-2 and 13-2.
The Lady Patriots continue to lead the race for the top seed in the District 2 Class 5A playoffs while the Wolfpack is on track for the top seed in the District 2-4 Class 6A Subregional.
