Palmerton girls fall to Bangor in CL quarters
BANGOR — Those who watch professional basketball know how much the game has evolved over the past decade. More and more three-pointers are being taken.
The three-point frenzy has seemed to trickle down to the collegiate and high school levels as well. And Bangor might have one of the area’s best one-two punches from beyond the arc.
Casey Walsh hit all five of her 3-pointers in the first half, and Madeline Minner added three more as Bangor defeated Palmerton, 47-40, on Saturday afternoon in the Colonial League quarterfinals. Over half of the Slaters’ field goals were from behind the arc.
“It feels good to finally get the win against this team,” Walsh said. “The last game I think we just expected to win. This game, we knew we were coming out to win. We were more up for the game.”
A little more than a week prior, the Blue Bombers handed the Slaters a 41-35 setback. Bangor, however, was without one of those sharpshooters as Minner missed the game.
Minner hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the first quarter to put the host Slaters ahead 10-2. And then Walsh scored the final 15 points of the half as Bangor took a 25-24 lead into intermission.
Palmerton made its adjustment coming into the third quarter. Walsh missed her only two shots — both three-pointers — in the frame. And the Blue Bombers were able to separate themselves a bit.
Bethany Morgan opened the third with a three-point play on a steal and layup in transition that gave Palmerton its first lead of the game at 27-25. Morgan then recorded a steal, and then found Brianna Moore for a layup that pushed its lead to four points.
The Blue Bombers would lead by as much as five moments later when Raegan Nemeth hit one of her three 3-pointers before Bangor closed out the quarter on an 8-0 run.
“We just made sure we knew where Walsh and Minner were,” Palmerton head coach Dan Beck said. “They are two good shooters. That hurt us a lot.
“(In the second half) our girls did a nice job of knowing where they were at, and making sure they didn’t get an open shot.”
Kaylee Holland, who scored all 10 of her points in the second half, scored on a hook shot early in the fourth that gave the Slaters a 40-35 advantage. A three-point play from Morgan Karasek on the next possession gave Bangor an eight-point lead that would not be threatened.
After scoring 17 points in the second quarter and 10 in the third, Palmerton was held to just six in the final eight minutes.
“I think they stepped up a little bit defensively,” Beck said. “They did a nice job against us defensively. I think the ball was just bouncing their way a little bit, too. We didn’t make the shots that we needed to.”
Nemeth led the Blue Bombers with nine points, while Morgan and Moore each had eight.
Walsh finished with 17 points to lead all scorers. Karasek added 11 for the Slaters.
WHAT’S NEXT? ... With the win, Bangor advances to the Colonial League semifinals, where it will play top-seeded Notre Dame-Green Pond. Game time is set for Wednesday at Catasauqua High School at 7:30 p.m. Palmerton, meanwhile, will prepare for its opening-round District 11 tournament game.
DISPARITY AT THE STRIPE ... Bangor went to the free throw line 15 times and hit 11 of their shots. Palmerton, meanwhile, only went to the foul line five times in the game.
PALMERTON
Papay 2-0-0-6, Cincilla 2-0-0-4, Nemeth 3-0-0-9, Morgan 2-4-5-8, Moore 4-0-0-8, Guedes 0-0-0-0, Nothstein 1-0-0-2, Recker 1-0-0-3. TOTALS: 15-4-5-40.
BANGOR
Walsh 5-2-2-17, Karasek 3-5-8-11, Hess 0-0-0-0, Holland 3-4-5-10, Minner 3-0-0-9, Hendricks 0-0-0-0, Karner 0-0-0-0, Stout 0-0-0-0, Baker 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 14-11-15-47
Bangor 16 9 12 10 - 47
Palmerton 7 17 10 6 - 40
Three-pointers: B - Walsh 5, Minner 3; P - Nemeth 3, Papay 2.
