Tamaqua girls knock off Northwestern

There have been some great moments in Tamaqua girls’ basketball over the decades, especially during the most critical time of the season – playoffs!

From the state championship that Cindy Miller helped to produce in 1978, to do-it-all standout Amy Zehner several seasons back, the Raiders have had some special players over the years.

Emma Kuczynski is the latest Tamaqua standout to make a name for herself in the postseason.

Since she first broke onto the scene last season as a freshman, there has been greatness draped all over this special talent.

Saturday afternoon at Northern Lehigh High School, Kuczynski stamped her validity when she poured in a game-high 33 points, en route to leading her team to a scintillating 58-51 upset victory over Northwestern Lehigh in the Class 4A quarterfinals.

“Everything was just flowing for me today,” said Kuczynski. “I just wanted to help our team win. It’s all about the team. We have some great players, and when we are clicking, we feel confident about winning.”

Kuczynski literally carried this team in the first half when she poured in 15 of her teams’ 24 points. There were side shots, short jumpers, triples and fade aways.

“She put us on her shoulders in the first half,” said her coach Erika Davis, once a scoring machine in her own right for the Blue Raiders (12-11).

Kirstin Jones was also a huge part of the dramatic victory. The lone senior starter had her work cut out inside where she rebounds deftly and fearlessly. Jones hauled in a whopping 17 rebounds, seven of which came in the final quarter when her team kept staving off charges by a tough bunch of determined Tigers.

“She’s been doing this all season long,” said Davis of Jones’ effort. “She gets rebounds.”

Jones had to contend with taller Northwestern players in Leighanna Lister (6-0), Abigail Chisdak (5-8), and frosh Emily Sekerak (5-10). They combined for most of the Tigers’ 35 rebounds, with Lister and Sekerak each hauling down 10.

An early 9-2 lead by Tamaqua helped to fuel its confidence, but No. 2 seed Northwestern regrouped around Jessica Williamson and Lister to grab a 25-24 lead at halftime.

“We weren’t shaken by that spurt,” said Davis. “We knew that we were capable of scoring points.”

The Raiders put together a late run in the third quarter to grab a 39-33 lead.

“I thought a real key to the game was at the end of the third quarter where they made a run there and went up (six),” said Northwestern coach Chris Deutsch.

Trailing 43-36, Northwestern fought back as Williamson and Lister scored four points each and the Tigers eventually tied the game at 46-46 with 94 seconds to play.

“We made that run, and I really felt like we were going to overtake them at that time,” said Deutsch. “But they made a couple more plays then we did at the end. ”

Indeed, the Raiders made plays down the stretch. A Jamie Zuber free throw broke the tie, before Kuczynski took charge again, scoring six points as Tamaqua built a 54-48 lead with just 49 seconds to play.

This time, the Tigers weren’t able to answer.

UNSUNG … Tamaqua’s defense was the difference late in the game, enabling it to secure the victory. Emily Titus was heady enough to not force the game and let it come to her. Ditto to Jen Frederickson, Rebekah Hromyak and Sophia Boyle.

SHOOTING IT UP … Tamaqua shot 20-for-48 from the floor. The Tigers were 17-for-55

RECORDS ... Tamaqua is now 12-11 and will play Allentown Central Catholic on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Whitehall. Northwestern ends its season at 18-6.

TAMAQUA

Kane 0-0-0-0, Zuber 1-3-7-5, Hromyak 1-0-0-3, Jones 1-4-6-6, Boyle 2-0-0-4, Titus 2-1-3-5, Frederickson 1-0-0-2, Kuczynski 12-8-12-33. TOTALS: 20-16-29-58.

NORTHWESTERN

Lister 5-2-3-12, Chisdak 2-0-0-5, G. Sevrain 3-1-2-7, S. Sevrain 2-2-2-7, Sekarak 2-1-2-5, Williamson 3-8-8-15, Christopher 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 17-14-17-51.

Tamaqua 13 11 15 19 - 58

Northwestern 9 16 8 18 - 51

Three-pointers: T - Hromyak 1, Kuczynski 1; NW - Chisdak 1, S. Sevrain 1, Williamson 1.