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York Catholic ends St. Basil run

Throughout its playoff run, the St. Basil Academy girls' basketball team made no secret of what it was all about.

Throughout its playoff run, the St. Basil Academy girls' basketball team made no secret of what it was all about.

The Panthers were going to shoot three-pointers - lots of them - and let the chips fall where they may.

For two rounds, it worked splendidly. But St. Basil finally ran into an opponent it couldn't outgun Tuesday, falling to York Catholic, 45-28, in the PIAA Class AA state semifinals at Reading High's Geigle Complex.

After making 16 three-pointers in the last two rounds of the tournament, St. Basil sank five on Tuesday. But the Panthers had just six other field goals and shot only two free throws.

"You know they scouted us and they weren't going to allow us to sit behind the three and shoot three-pointers," St. Basil coach Terry Mancini said.

"I think that's where the difference was. We were driving to the basket, and there were no calls being made."

York Catholic (29-2) went 8 for 10 from the line in the first half and pounded its advantage inside. Bloomsburg-bound forward Morgan Klunk scored a game-high 14.

St. Basil (20-9) went long stretches without a two-point field goal. The Panthers didn't hit one in the second quarter, and didn't get their first in the fourth quarter until less than a minute remained.

That allowed York Catholic, the eight-time defending District 3 champion, to outscore St. Basil, 26-15, in the second half and claim a spot in the state final for the second straight year.

"We came out flat," Mancini said. "That's the first time in this run where our girls were kind of playing to the situation. I think they were a little in awe of what was going on."

Sarah Wilson led St. Basil with six points. Kate Skalski added five.

The Panthers had been on quite a tear. They had won five in a row and seven of their last nine, including a District 1 title.

"Those girls, for three weeks, came in every day and worked hard," Mancini said. "And we always tell them, 'Hard work is rewarded.' I'm very proud of them."

York Catholic   7 12 16 10 – 45

St. Basil   7 6 10 5 – 28

YC: Amelia York 2, Deanna Chesko 1, Marissa Ressler 9, Morgan Klunk 14, Zeanna Echeverria 10, Hannah Laslo 9.

SB: Molly Greenberg 2, Emily Donahue 3, Kelly Mancini 1, Kalee Fuegel 2, Sarah Wilson 6, Karen Lapkiewicz 4, Courtney Weiss 2, Kate Skalski 5, Maddie Napierkowski 3.