SCRANTON — Scranton Prep scored the first six points and never trailed.
The result was a 46-35 win over Abington Heights in the opening matchup of the 14th Lynett Memorial Girls Basketball Tournament Tuesday afternoon at the Lackawanna College Student Union.
Scranton Prep senior guard Calista Kline scored seven of her nine points in the first quarter when the Classics opened up a 14-5 lead. Kline added nine rebounds and two steals for Prep.
“Calista got us going,” Scranton Prep head coach Bob Beviglia said. “She the heart and motor (of the team). The kids follow her lead and she did an outstanding job getting to the basket, which is her strength. She also did a great job defensively and on the boards.”
Beviglia was pleased with the play of the Classics defensive effort. Prep limited Abington Heights to 14 made baskets and forced 13 turnovers.
“We held them under 30 percent shooting from the field and we stayed in front of (Hannah) Kowalski, which was our goal,” Beviglia said. “For us, it all starts with how well we defend and I thought we did a good job keeping them off balance.
“We also made enough plays offensively to get a little bit of a lead.”
Abington Heights junior Paris Koehler, who finished with seven points and eight rebounds, hit a 3-pointer in the closing seconds of the first half to cut the Lady Comets deficit to six.
Senior guard Nicole Nealon, who led Abington Heights with nine points, scored five in the third quarter.
“I was trying a couple different combinations and we really needed that spark,” Abington Heights head coach Deanna Klingman said. “Nicole is playing very well and she gave us great minutes today. I’m really happy with her progress.”
Abington Heights baskets from Kowalski and Koehler cut Prep’s lead to four points with six minutes left in the fourth, but Classics senior forward Julia Sirotnak, who scored 12 of her 14 points in the second half, answered with a 3-pointer.
“I can’t say enough about Sirotnak,” Beviglia said. “She hit big shot after big shot for us down the stretch.”
Prep sophomore guard Kathleen Rose, who finished with a game-high 20 points, also came up big in the fourth quarter by converting seven of 10 free throws.
“We had to be intense on defense and from there we got into a good, working offense,” Rose said. “Our whole team played well, we all got open and found each other.”
Klingman would like to see more consistency from her team as the season progresses.
“We’ve been playing one half of basketball, but we need to put two halves together and start the game better,” she said. “We also have to concentrate more of the offensive end. I felt we had some open looks in the first half and they just didn’t fall.”
Abington Heights (2-6) will play Scranton (2-5) in the consolation game of the Lynett tournament Thursday at 1 p.m.
