Raiders fall to Central
NORTHAMPTON — Tamaqua never had a feel Saturday afternoon in its District 11 Class 4A quarterfinal game against equally-matched Allentown Central Catholic.
What it came down to it, the Raiders’ 45-31 loss to the Vikettes came down to Central’s ability to peck and hunt with pick and rolls and using the length of 5-8 junior Morgan Seagreaves — who punched home 16 points — along with the play of slick point guard Annika Spinosa, who hit for 12 points.
Tamaqua could never gather momentum, even though it was in good position for a while to open the second half.
The Blue Raiders trailed 26-21 to open the period after Tamaqua’s Lauren Ligenza and ACC’s 5-10 Milly Wolf traded baskets at the start. But then Tamaqua got a quick shot in the arm thanks to Samantha Plasha’s steal and Millie Black’s bucket. Plasha continued her high energy defensive play with another steal and bucket.
Suddenly it was 28-27 with 4:28 to play in the third quarter.
“That was a nice run, but to be honest, we never had the momentum to sustain (the rally),” Raider head coach Erika Davis said. “Our problem, we turned it over far too much in key situations. We (played) flat, and just couldn’t put the ball in the bucket.”
Tamaqua also failed to hit any baskets after the Vikettes got a breath of fresh air, closing the third quarter with a 6-0 run. Taylor hit a bucket, and then Seagraves scored the next four points, lifting Allentown Central to a 34-27 lead.
Things slowly got away from the Raiders, even though Kolbe Robb — Tamaqua’s spit-fire guard — scored to open the final period. Thereafter, things took a dour look for the Raiders.
The Vikettes felt the mojo swing in their favor when they went on a 6-0 run thanks to the lanky Seagraves, who sank a pair of foul shots and then rolled to the basket getting an assist from Taylor. With 5:38 to play, the EPC team was in front, 40-29.
The eventual winners used the charity stripe, nailing five-straight shots to secure the victory.
“They got a lot more second-shot opportunities,” Davis said, as her team was out-rebounded 31-23. “There was a lot of emotions afterward. We thanked our seniors and all their accomplishments.”
ACC now advances to meet top-seeded Northwestern Wednesday at Northern Lehigh for the right to play in the district championship game.
MATCHUPS … At times it’s all about the matchups. There were moments when Tamaqua was caught short-handed in the post, but still found a way to battle on every possession.
ON THE HORIZON … The Raiders will be reckoned with come next winter. Ligenza, Kendle Miller, Millie and Leah Black will all return for Tamaqua, which should give it strong inside play.
FOUR TAKE BOWS … Tamaqua loses four solid seniors — including two starters in Robb and Plasha. Also leaving are Jordan Rehrig and Veronica Scott.
NUMBERS ... Tamaqua struggled from the floor, going 12-of-32, but had 15 turnovers. ACC went 17-of-42 and committed nine turnovers.
TAMAQUA
Robb 3-0-0-8, M. Black 1-0-0-2, Plasha 1-2-4-4, Ligenza 5-2-2-12, Miller 1-0-0-3, L. Black 1-0-2-2. TOTALS: 12-4-8-31.
CENTRAL CATHOLIC
C. Seagraves, C. 0-0-0-0, Roberts 1-2-4-5, Spinosa 4-2-2-12, M. Seagraves 7-2-2-16, Taylor 2-1-4-6, Wolf 3-0-0-6, Hursh 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 17-7-12-45.
Tamaqua 7 14 6 4 - 31
Central Cath. 15 11 8 11 - 45
Three-pointers: Tamaqua - Robb 2, Miller 1; ACC - Spinosa 2, Roberts 1, Wolf 1.
Records: Tamaqua (18-7); Central Catholic (13-9).