Spartans top TribeBig second half leads No. Schuylkill to win

Lehighton had the momentum.

But a freshman sharpshooter from North Schuylkill changed that in the blink of an eye — actually make that six blinks.

Mya Wetzel put on a long range shooting display that would make Stephen Curry jealous. Wetzel went 6-for-6 from three-point range as the Spartans exploded for 36 third-quarter points.

The onslaught turned a close game between a pair of Schuylkill League Division 1 unbeatens into an 84-42 North Schuylkill rout.

“We were in some foul trouble in the first half and I thought that gave Lehighton a little momentum heading into halftime,” said North Schuylkill coach Rich Wetzel. “So we switched from our normal man-to-man defense to a matchup zone to protect some of our girls who had three fouls.

“I thought that gave Lehighton some problems and led to us getting a lot of good looks in transition. We got some steals and forced some quick shots that we rebounded and got up court quickly.”

And once they got up court, the Spartans (9-1, 4-0) didn’t miss.

North Schuylkill shot a sizzling 12-for-16 from the floor in the third, including 7-for-8 from beyond the arc — and no one was hotter than Mya Wetzel.

“Mya works really hard on her shooting,” said coach Wetzel. “She got on a roll in the third quarter and our girls kept finding her. I think all of the threes were from the corner off our secondary break. We did a nice job of driving and then kicking the ball out.

“Mya’s role is to get in the corner and be ready to shoot. She did that and wasn’t missing when she got her chances.”

Wetzel’s 18 third-quarter points and Sam Shinkus’ 11 points in the period helped the Spartans stretch their lead to 64-29 heading into the fourth.

“They are a great team,” said Lehighton coach Joe Berezwick. “They are strong and physical and can wear you down with both their defense and their power game inside.

“When they start hitting shots like they did in the second half, they are tough to beat. Wetzel couldn’t miss from that corner. She put on quite the display. Actually their entire team did. They were definitely clicking on all cylinders.”

SECOND QUARTER MOMENTUM ... Lehighton (8-2, 3-1) trailed by 14 early in the second quarter but battled back to within 28-20 at the break. Skylynn Faust led the second period surge with eight of her game-high 24 points Aubrey Blasiak had six of her 11 points in the period. The Indians also benefited from Spartan star players Averi Jordan and Shinkus both sitting out the final minutes of the half with three fouls apiece.

MRS. INSIDE/MRS. OUTSIDE ... Jordan finished with 24 points to lead North Schuylkill. Wetzel added 20, all of them in the second half.

THE NUMBERS ... Lehighton struggled to find it rhythm against North Schuylkil’s pressure defense, shooting just 14-for-59 (24 percent). The Spartans were 30-for-53 (57 percent). NS also had a 45-30 rebounding advantage. Faust had seven boards and Emily Miller added six for the Indians.

NORTH SCHUYLKILL

Werzel 7-0-0-20, Shinkus 6-2-6-18, Koutch 0-0-0-0, Wagner 3-0-2-6, Wittig 0-0-0-0, Guerro 2-2-2-6, Mogish 0-0-0-0, Green 3-0-1-6, Jordan 8-8-10-24, Stitzer 1-2-2-4. TOTALS: 30-17-23-84.

LEHIGHTON

Brown 0-0-0-0, Frey 1-1-2-3, Long 0-0-0-0, Hibbler 0-0-0-0, Blasiak 3-4-6-11, Miller 2-0-0-4, Faust 8-7-9-24, Buchinsky 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 14-12-17-42.

North Schuylkill 15 13 36 20 - 84

Lehighton 5 15 9 13 - 42

Three-pointers: NS - Wetzel 6, Shinkus 1; Lehighton - Faust 1, Blasiak 1.