Peyton Houlihan was named tournament Most Valuable Player Dec. 28 when Abington Heights finished off a Taylor Lions Tournament title by defeating host Riverside, 66-44.
Caroline Murray scored 19 points and Houlihan added 16 in the win.
Murray, who was selected to the all-tournament team, scored 11 points in the first quarter to help the Lady Comets to an 18-9 lead.
Houlihan took over in the post from there. She scored eight points in the second quarter for a 34-22 edge over the Lady Vikes at halftime.
Kate Scoblick added nine points for Abington Heights.
Riverside’s all-tournament players Lillie Pon and Kiley Williams finished with 12 and 11 points.
Abington Heights reached the final by routing Whitehall, 53-17, two days earlier.
Maggie Coleman led a balanced attack in the game with 13 points.
Madison Zalewski and Houlihan had 12 each.
Coleman and Zalewski each scored 10 in the first half as Abington Heights built a 33-9 lead.
The championship came in the second Abington Heights tournament appearance of the season. The Lady Comets had opened the season by finishing last in the four-team field at Hazleton Area.
Notes
Abington Heights recovered from the season-opening tournament to win three straight non-league games before losing at Loyalsock Township, 51-47.
The Lady Comets defeated likely Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 contender Holy Redeemer, 53-43, and rallied in the fourth quarter to defeat two-time defending Lackawanna League Division 4 champion Montrose, 35-26.
Pressure defense from Coleman and Zalewski led the comeback against Montrose.
Their steals created layups off the first three Montrose possessions of the fourth quarter and kick-started a 13-0 run by the Lady Comets.
“We wanted to pressure them in the fourth quarter,” Abington Heights coach Deanna Klingman said. “We didn’t do a good job in the first half keeping people in front. And, what complicated things is we couldn’t buy a bucket.”
Murray went 3-for-7 on 3-pointers. She shared the team scoring lead of 11 points with Coleman.
Zalewski had six steals.
“Maddie Z was excellent on defense,” Klingman said. “She creates a lot of havoc all the time.”
