Knoch girls handle rival Freeport
JEFFERSON TWP — With the fixtures on the girls hoops schedule steadily dwindling, Shane McGraw’s team knows his team can’t afford to replicate past lapses.
“They came in focused,” the Knoch coach said of the Knights’ performance in a 52-27 home win over Freeport Thursday night. “It’s an important game, it’s a rivalry game. They played us close last time. We knew the playoff implications. ... They were locked in all night.”
With the WPIAL Section 1-4A victory, Knoch (9-7, 4-4) put some breathing room between itself and the Yellowjackets (7-11, 3-6) in the standings. For right now, the Knights hold on to the final playoff spot in the conference.
“We were not happy about the way that we played last time we played them (a 46-30 triumph on Jan. 2),” said Knoch senior guard CeCe Kosecki, who totaled four points and five steals in the contest. “We did have off. We had Christmas off and I know that that was really hard for us to get back, but we still tried our best and still got the win.
“But, we were very disappointed in the way that we played, because that’s not usually us.”
McGraw recalled that matchup, as well.
“We just weren’t very crisp in our press and just a little out of sorts,” he said. “We’re playing much better basketball this time of year. We’re trending in the right direction.”
The hosts stifled Freeport for the entirety of the night this time around, permitting the ‘Jackets just eight points through the game’s first 14:17. By the time Freeport hit double-digits on the scoreboard, the Knights enjoyed a 17-point advantage.
The ‘Jackets gave the ball away 25 times through the first three frames, including 11 times in the third alone. Knoch cashed a few of those in during the latter stages of a 12-0 run in that quarter, with Neah Ewing knocking down consecutive shots and Adah Fuller sinking a basket to make it 45-15 with 1:13 to go before the fourth.
“It’s hard for the girls to stay composed whenever we compile turnovers at that rate,” Freeport coach Mallory Ketterer said. “It’s hard for us to get into our sets that we know we can run and find our type of game play, our style. But, it was turnover after turnover.”
The Knights’ lead peaked at 32 after back-to-back makes by Fuller early in the final period.
Karlee Buterbaugh paced Knoch with 13 points and added four rebounds and two assists. Naturelle Ewing added 11 points and Neah Ewing 10. For the ‘Jackets, Giacinta Pugliese had a team-high six points and tallied three boards.
FREEPORT 27
Giacinta Pugliese 2 1-1 6, Tessa Keller 1 2-4 5, Lilly Hollway 2 0-0 6, Jaden Gaillot 2 0-2 4, Brooke Kmetz 2 0-0 4, Jaisa Gaillot 0 2-2 2. Totals: 9 5-9 27.
KNOCH 52
Karlee Buterbaugh 4 5-7 13, Naturelle Ewing 5 0-0 11, Neah Ewing 3 2-2 10, Adah Fuller 4 0-0 9, CeCe Kosecki 1 1-2 4, Abby Hawk 1 0-0 2, Aubrey Spencer 0 2-2 2, Liv Foster 0 1-2 1. Totals: 19 11-15 52.
Freeport 5 8 4 10 — 27
Knoch 14 16 15 7 — 52
3-point goals: Knoch 5 (Ewing 2, Fuller, Kosecki, Ewing); Freeport 4 (Holloway 2, Keller, Pugliese)
Monday: Knoch at Derry Area; Highlands at Freeport
