Bears’ Wagner has big Senior Night

Riley Wagner didn’t want to leave the court wondering, ‘what if?’

With one more chance to take the floor at Pleasant Valley, Wagner wanted to make it count.

She delivered a performance to remember. And one the Bears needed.

Wagner sparked Pleasant Valley to a 58-54 Eastern Pennsylvania Conference win over East Stroudsburg South on Tuesday to cap a memorable Senior Night performance.

“It means a lot,” Wagner said afterward. “It’s kind of bittersweet that this is my last game on this court, so we just had to do it for the team.

“This was a game to help us in the district and EPC playoff standings, so we had to get the win.”

Wagner scored 17 of her game-high 26 points in the first half for the Bears (13-6), who won their third straight, and five of their last six.

“She’s just been a sparkplug since she took the court for us her sophomore year,” said Pleasant Valley head coach Nadia Pavuk. “There are so many good things to say about her.

“Her positive attitude, energy, and desire to take on any position I ask her to do is just a testament to who she is as a kid, and a player and a person.”

The Bears took a commanding 42-17 lead at the intermission. Alyssa Wagner scored 14 of her 18 points in the first half, and Cam Caffrey added seven of her 10.

But the Cavaliers (4-13) chipped away over the final two quarters, cutting the deficit to 50-35 at the end of the third period.

Pleasant Valley’s lead continued to shrink in the final frame. A turnaround three-pointer from Courtney Anderson with 9.5 seconds remaining in regulation trimmed the Bears advantage to 56-54.

But it was Riley Wagner who calmly buried two free throws with under seven seconds to play to seal the win.

“It’s very satisfying,” said Wagner. “We came out a little slow after halftime … and they came out strong. But we pushed through and we got it.”

And on this night, there was no alternative.

“It means a lot,” added Alyssa Wagner. “We really wanted to get a win, especially with this being the last time playing on our home court. We’re hoping to get a good place in the Mountain Division, so we had to win against South. There was no other option.”

Kaylan Davy scored 16 points for the Cavaliers, who have lost nine in a row since a 48-37 win over Allen on Jan. 2. Lanita Williams finished with 12 points, while Anderson added 11.

SPECIAL NIGHT ... In addition to Riley and Alyssa Wagner and Caffrey, seniors Maddy O’Neil and Carly Arndt also were honored prior to the game.

AS THEY STAND … Pleasant Valley has already clinched a District 11 playoff spot, and currently sits eighth in the Class 6A standings. The Bears (5-2) are third in the Mountain Division behind Stroudsburg (6-1) and Pocono Mountain West (5-1). “Our mentality is that we need to win,” said Pavuk. “We’re in the final week here, and that’s where we stand, especially with district seeding — and also maybe EPC implications for us — if we continue down that road.”

STRETCH RUN … PV closes out its season with three straight road games. The Bears travel to Nazareth today, before facing Mountain Division rivals Stroudsburg (Jan. 31) and Pocono Mountain West (Feb. 3).

ES SOUTH

H. Williams 0-0-0-0, La. Williams 5-2-3-12, Le. Williams 1-1-3-3, Parkins 2-0-1-4, Cole 3-0-0-6, Anderson 4-2-4-11, Day 1-0-0-2, Davy 7-2-4-16. TOTALS: 23-7-15-54.

PLEASANT VALLEY

R. Wagner 10-2-6-26, Caffrey 4-0-3-10, O’Neil 2-0-0-4, A. Wagner 7-3-8-18, Arndt 0-0-0-0, Morgan 0-0-0-0, Merklin 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 23-5-17-58.

ES South 14 3 18 19 - 54

Pleasant Vy. 24 18 8 8 - 58

Three-pointers: ES South – Anderson 1. Pleasant Valley – R. Wagner 4, Caffrey 2, A. Wagner 1.