Nazareth pulls away from PV

CATASAUQUA — Nazareth entered Friday night’s game as the District 11 Class 6A top seed.

The Blue Eagles had a highly-touted starting unit, a deep bench, and a 19-3 record on the season.

Pleasant Valley, the No. 8 seed with a record of 13-9, knew it had its work cut out for itself.

But the Bears weren’t intimidated, and in the first half, it looked to be anyone’s game.

Eventually, however, Nazareth played up to its lofty credentials and pulled away for a 52-31 win.

Too many turnovers proved to be the downfall for the Bears, who committed 25 in the contest. That, coupled with some strong outside shooting eventually opened things up for the Eagles.

“We talked about where to follow their shooters in the zone during practice and we did that in the first quarter,” Pleasant Valley head coach Nadia Pavuk said. “Then in the second quarter, we just lost them and things kind of downward spiraled from there.”

Up until the 5:48 remained in the second period, Nazareth received all of their nine points from junior Talya Brugler. But that’s when sophomore Kelly Leszcynski hit a triple from the top of the key to give her team the lead back. It started a 13-0 run that turned an 11-9 deficit into a 22-11 lead with 2:42 remaining before halftime.

“I think they really just began to wear us down,” Pavuk said. “We weren’t really in sync with each other and it showed at times, and it cost us.”

However, early on in the game, an 11-4 run showed why the Bears deserved to be on the stage, giving the Eagle faithful some reason to sit upright.

Alyssa Wagner got the Bears on the right track early on with her team’s first six points, before Maddy O’Neil’s trey made it 9-5 Pleasant Valley with 1:43 left in the first. A fastbreak layup by Riley Wagner made it 11-7, before the Eagles’ big push.

But that wasn’t ‘all she wrote’ for the Bears, as even after facing that 22-11 deficit, they scratched and clawed their way back into it and trailed just 26-20 at the break.

But Nazareth gradually pulled away after intermission.

For the Bears, a season that featured plenty of strong showings came to an end. That means four multi-year starters — O’Neil, Riley Wagner, Alyssa Wagner and Cameron Caffrey — played their finals games for PV.

“Riley, Alyssa, Maddy and Cameron really set the bar high for what is expected to be a Lady Bear this year and throughout their careers,” Pavuk said. “We’re going to miss them and it’s hard to see their playing careers end tonight, but we’re excited for the challenge of rebuilding next year.”

TOP SCORERS ... Bruglar led Nazareth with 22 points.. Alyssa Wagner topped the Bears with nine points.

UP NEXT ..., Nazareth moves on to play Parkland in the 6A semis on Tuesday.

RECORDS ... The Blue Eagles improve to 20-3. Pleasant Valley ends the season at 13-10.

PLEASANT VALLEY

R. Wagner 2-0-0-4, Caffrey 2-0-0-5, O’Neil 2-0-0-6, A. Wagner 2-4-4-9, Williams 0-0-0-0, Muir 0-0-0-0, Arndt 0-0-0-0, Morgan 0-1-2-1, Merklin 1-3-3-5, Mattson, 0-1-2-1, Lacoe 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 9-9-11-31.

NAZARETH

Leszcynski 6-2-2-18, Novack 0-0-0-0, Shuler 0-0-1-0, Zelasko 0-0-2-0, Kea 0-0-1-0, Brugler 7-8-11-22, Ahearn 3-0-0-8, Griffin 0-0-0-0, Berner 0-2-3-2, Zborezny 0-0-0-0, Paulson 0-1-2-1, Fortner 0-1-2-1, Maholick 0-0-0-0, Puccio 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 16-14-24-52.

Pleasant Valley 9 11 5 6 - 31

Nazareth 7 19 13 13 - 52

Three pointers: PV - O’Neil 2, A. Wagner 1, Caffrey 1; N - Leszcynski 4, Ahearn 2.