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Blue Bombers cruise past Catasauqua

The Palmerton girls’ basketball team followed head coach Jeremy Coleman’s game plan to near perfection in Friday night’s 50-24 win over Catasauqua in the Colonial League quarterfinals.

Coleman’s offensive game plan did not take immediate effect during the first eight minutes of the contest. After the Rough Riders took a 5-3 lead on a jump shot by Kaylin Stewart, they earned their final advantage of the game on a driving layup by Hailey Jenkins a minute and a half later.

Once Palmerton’s Mikayla Pengelly sank a baseline three-pointer with 2:20 left in the first period, the Bombers executed Coleman’s offensive game plan exactly the way he drew it up.

“We have some really good shooters,” said Coleman, “and we were able to spread out their defense and make some outside shots, and when they jumped out to stop us, we were able to get the ball inside Courtney Connell, who pretty much dominated from the paint.”

Ahead 13-7 going into the second period, Palmerton continued to increase its lead from the outside and the inside with balanced scoring. A 7-2 rally started with a jumper by Connell. She then made a perfect pass to Ella Baumgardt for an easy layup.

Hailey Barry then lifted the Bombers to a 22-9 lead with triple beyond the key. After Connell scored again with a nifty hook shot down low, Palmerton regained possession. With 49 seconds left before the half, the Bombers kept the ball until Barry scored on a short jumper just before the buzzer sounded.

Coleman’s defensive game plan was set to control Catasauqua’s Jenkins, their high scoring point guard.

“I thought we did a fabulous job on her all game long,” he explained. “We held her to only 10 points, which is well below her average.”

Jenkins, whose signature move is to drive to the rim through traffic, scored only two baskets from the floor, with her other eight points coming from the foul line.

Trailing 26-12, Catasauqua put on a full court press in the third period, which Palmerton had no trouble breaking. Following a put back by Stewart, the Bombers lengthened their lead to 23 points by the end of the period.

The rally began with a trey by Pengally. Barry scored on a scoop in the paint. Connell tallied the final four points on layups, one on a great feed from Barry.

In the fourth, the Bombers proved that they had no problem maintaining a double-digit advantage. They continued their execution of the game plan by scoring from the outside and inside. Catasauqua posed no threat for a comeback, as its shooting percentage dropped off to just 25 percent for the final eight minutes.

The Bombers have now won six of their last seven games, and appear to be peaking in postseason play.

“We played poorly in our last loss, which was to Lehighton,” said Coleman, “but we were able to work on things in practice, a sort of reset to where we had started our season. We have restored our confidence now at the time when we need to be playing our best basketball.”

LEADING SCORERS ... Connell led all scorers with 16 points, and Pengelly added 14 for the Bombers. Catasauqua was led by 10 points from Jenkins.

MOVING ON ... With the quarterfinal victory, the third-seeded Bombers move on to play No. 2 Notre Dame Green Pond Monday in the semifinals at a time and location to be determined.

THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT ... Palmerton was able to get its possessions quickly across midcourt, as many of Catasauqua’s three-point shot attempts bounced near the foul line for long home team rebounds.

BASKETS AND BOUNCES ... Palmerton shot 49 percent from the floor, while the Rough Riders could only manage 19 percent.

LUCKY 13 ... Palmerton scored 13 points in each of the first three periods, and missed doing it again in the fourth by two points.

CATASAUQUA

Jenkins 2-6-12-10, Stewart 2-1-2-5, Roberts 1-0-0-3, Sankari 1-0-0-3, Barna 1-0-0-3. TOTALS:7-7-14-24.

PALMERTON

Connell 7-2-4-16, Pengelly 5-0-2-14, Barry 4-0-0-9, Baumgardt 2-0-0-4, Schneider 2-0-0-4, Morgan 1-1-2-3. TOTALS: 21-3-8-50.

Catasauqua 7 5 4 8 24

Palmerton 13 13 13 11 50

Three pointers: C- Roberts 1, Sakari 1. P- Pengelly 4, Barry 1.

Records: Palmerton 16-5. Catasauqua 11-9.

Palmerton’s Ella Baumgardt tries to drive past Catasauqua’s Kaylin Stewart during the Bombers’ 50-24 win Friday night. MATT BREINER/SPECIAL TO THE TIMES NEWS