Fillies will play in Class A final

ORWIGSBURG Sometimes statistics are deceiving.

But other times, they're dead on.

For the Marian girls and Paul Brutto, the number that means all the difference in the world is 40.

Whenever the Fillies take the floor their goal is to hold an opponent under that total. And so far this season, they're perfect when doing it.

On Wednesday night in the District 11 Class A semifinal, Brutto's club kept the streak alive by pulling out a 45-35 victory over a scrappy Moravian Academy squad.

The win sends Marian (20-3) into Saturday's district final, where it will face Tri-Valley at Martz Hall.

"We held a team under 40 again and that's our goal," said Brutto. "We're 20-0 now when we hold someone under 40. That's a key number for us.

"They buried some threes and got the momentum early. We hung tough, though, and battled back. Having the lead at half was big. We did a better job defensively in the second half. We were off a couple weeks and we had to shake the rust off. We'll take it."

The fifth-seeded Lions did their best to take it to the Fillies.

After suffering nine first-quarter turnovers and falling behind by eight, Moravian Academy surprised many in Blue Mountain's gym by putting together an impressive run.

Katherine Stone, Ashley Blair and Rachel Ridles all hit three-pointers during a 13-2 stretch that gave the Lions a 16-13 lead three minutes into the second quarter.

"We had to calm down early. Our whole goal today was to try and score more than 40 points," said Lion metor Chris Pachuta, who was fully aware of Marian's magic number. "We figured if we got over 40, we'd have a shot.

"We were going to run and gun like the old Loyola Marymount and UNLV teams. Just go. You're going to get turnovers that way. They're going to happen. I wasn't worried about it. I knew we'd respond eventually. And that's what we did. The girls picked it up."

Moravian was able to maintain the advantage until the Fillies closed the half with a 6-0 spurt.

Redles, who finished with a game-high 16 points, and Blair each added threes early in the third frame to keep the Lions within 28-24 but Marian responded by getting the ball inside on offense and stepping up their play on defense.

Gillian Ferko hit six free throws after getting fouled in the paint while Danielle Tristani hit from the inside and outside to fuel a 15-2 burst that allowed the top-seeded Fillies to pull away.

"We wanted to get the ball inside to somebody, especially since we were struggling from the perimter," said Brutto. "We were shooting the ball way too quick against their zone.

"We had to get some touches before we shot the ball. We wanted to move the ball once or twice more. We figured we could get the same shot or get a better chance to get it inside. That was our strategy."

The Fillies also used the right strategy against Maddie Steen, the Lions' leading scorer, by holding her scoreless.

"We did a great job collectively against Steen," said Brutto. "She likes to pass and cut so we gave some help on her. If she has an average game, it's a whole different ballgame."

Ferko finished with a team-high 14 points and seven rebounds while Tristani added eight points and a club-leading 11 boards.

"The big thing for us is for the first time in three years we're playing for a district championship and we're going to the state tournament," said Brutto. "That's real special. We've worked hard and now we have the opportuntity to play for a title.

"That's a fun experience and it's an experience you remember your whole life. I'm happy for them and glad we were able to get past this stumbling block that we've had the past few years."

MORAVIAN ACADEMY

Stone 2-2-2-7, Ruebeck 0-0-0-0, Blair 2-0-2-6, Redles 5-2-2-16, Steen 0-0-0-0, Burgess 3-0-2-6, Sutton 0-0-0-0, Hess 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 12-4-8-35.

MARIAN

Green 1-1-1-3, Faust 0-3-4-3, McLaughlin 2-0-4-5, Nemeth 0-0-0-0, Gutsie 1-0-0-2, Markiewicz 2-1-4-5, Wilson 0-0-0-0, Shober 1-3-4-5, Ferko 4-6-6-14, Tristani 3-2-5-8. TOTALS: 14-16-28-45.

Moravian Acad. 6 12 8 9 - 35

Marian 11 12 14 8 - 45

Three-pointers: Moravian Academy - Redles 4, Blair 2, Stone 1; Marian - McLaughlin 1.