Fillies enjoying the moment

HAMBURG Marian's Paul Brutto has been down this road before.

But for the players on his team this season, the state playoffs are a new experience.

Because of that, the talk after advancing another round wasn't about what to expect from the next opponent. It was on enjoying the moment.

"I'm happy for the kids," said Brutto, who earned his 600th coaching win Wednesday after the Fillies built an early lead against Harrisburg Christian and cruised to a 56-39 victory. "I'm trying to get them to understand the rarified air they're in with four teams left in our side of the bracket and eight total in the state and how special that is because it's hard to achieve.

"I want them to realize it because it's over that quickly whether you go all the way or not. It's over in a heartbeat, especially if you don't go all the way. It's just like somebody slams a door in your face. It's done. So I think you need to treasure the moments that you have with each other and where you're at. You just can't keep looking ahead. You've got to take a minute to savor it."

There wasn't much for Marian to savor, however, at the start of their PIAA second round contest against the Knights (24-5).

Three missed shots at the offensive end, coupled with a driving basket, a putback and two free frows from Harrisburg Christian, put the Fillies in an early 6-0 hole.

But thanks to its reliable pressure defense, Marian quickly erased the deficit and built a sizeable lead.

Brutto's club forced 11 turnovers in the Knight's next 12 possessions, which in turn also sparked the team's offense. Kelly Shober and Gabby Green each hit for six points, and Danielle Tristani drained a three-pointer, as Marian went on a 19-2 run.

"That was not the start we wanted, by any means," said Brutto, who used an early timeout to help settle his players down. "I wasn't happy with the defense or the rebounding early. And we just didn't seem in sync on offense. Just bad execution, bad movement.

"We wanted to up-tempo it ... We thought we could get these guys a little helter-skelter. And at times, we did. Twenty (first-half turnovers) is good work."

While Harrisburg continued to give the ball up in the second quarter, the Fillies (21-6) were able to extend their advantage. Three treys, two from Lindsay Nemeth and one from Green, helped boost the margin to 32-15.

"Getting them sped up and getting them all over the place ... that's our specialty," said Shober, who finished with a team-high 18 points and 11 rebounds. "We like to run around. We have really quick girls on our team and up front they trap really well. If we got them moving, we thought we could create turnovers."

While the Knights adjusted better in the second half and received consistent offense from their talented sophomore guard Creslyn Van Dyck (game-high 23 points), they could never manage to get the margin into single digits. The District 3 third seed pulled within 12 points on three seperate occasions in the third frame, but Marian answered back every time.

And thanks to that, the Fillies are doing what their coach wants enjoying the moment.

"It's really exciting," said Shober. "This is my first time here as a senior, not like when my sister [Libby, who was a member of the 2008 state championship team] was here. It was really exciting then and I loved going to her games. It's awesome to have this opportunity to play with these girls now."

Green ended with 11 points in the contest while Tristani and Kaysi McLaughlin netted seven. Sam Faust was also key on the boards, collecting eight rebounds.

Marian will try to continue its run when it faces District 2 champion Old Forge on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Hazleton in the state quarterfinals.

HARRISBURG CHRISTIAN

Cr. Van Dyck 8-7-7-23, Ca. Van Dyck 1-0-0-2, Caylor 0-3-4-3, M. Campbell 2-0-0-5, Bechtel 1-0-0-2, Dixon 0-0-0-0, Parlin 0-0-0-0, Matsko 1-0-0-2, Bower 0-0-0-0, Schwalm 1-0-0-2, B. Campbell 0-0-0-0, Seibert 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 14-10-11-39.

MARIAN

Green 4-1-3-11, Faust 1-3-4-5, McLaughlin 3-0-0-7, Bray 0-0-0-0, Sofranko 1-0-0-2, Nemeth 2-0-0-6, Wilson 0-0-0-0, Shober 7-4-6-18, Tristani 3-0-2-7. TOTALS: 21-8-15-56.

Harrisburg Chr. 10 5 15 9 - 39

Marian 19 13 12 12 - 56

Three-pointers: Harrisburg Chr. - M. Campbell 1; Marian - Nemeth 2, Green 2, McLaughlin 1, Tristani 1.