SCRANTON – Scranton Prep faced two halftime deficits through its entire perfect girls basketball regular season, both against Abington Heights.
After escaping in the last two minutes of a visit to Abington Heights, the Classics went to work on deciding the game much earlier in the season finale.
Scranton Prep ran off the first 19 points of the second half, including eight by Maria Belardi, Feb. 12 while clinching the Lackawanna League Division 1 championship with a 52-38 victory at the Xavier Center.
Abington Heights went into the game with a chance to tie for first place and force a playoff for the title, but after a strong start, the Lady Comets were unable to stop the Classics from their third straight 13-0 finish in the league and the first unbeaten regular season in school history.
Scranton Prep coach Bob Beviglia credited a defensive switch with creating the offensive spark. The Classics scored more points during the third quarter than in the entire first half.
“We thought maybe we might shake them up a little bit if we came out in something different,” said Beviglia of a switch from the team’s predominantly man-to-man approach to an aggressive zone defense. “We trapped a little bit and we were able to tag their shooters and they missed. We were able to get rebounds, run up the floor and get good shots.”
All-state guard Rachael Rose finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists. She had five points during the streak, including the go-ahead, three-point play off a steal and floor-length drive.
After Abington Heights limited Scranton Prep to 25 percent shooting while taking a 22-20 halftime lead, the extra chances in transition got the Classics going.
Belardi hit 3-pointers 32 seconds part and a Cecelia Collins layup completed the streak to a 39-22 lead before Rachel McDonald’s 3-pointer settled Abington Heights with 1:40 left in the third quarter.
The Lady Comets had a run of their own left.
Abington Heights closed within 44-37 on an Erin Albright 3-pointer with 2:10 left.
Collins, who matched Belardi in providing 13 points to the Scranton Prep offense, went 5-for-6 from the line in the final 1:33 to thwart the comeback attempt.
Abington Heights finished 11-2 in the division, with the only losses coming to Scranton Prep. The Lady Comets completed the regular season with an 18-4 record.
McDonald, Albright and Clair Marion each finished with eight points. Despite foul trouble that sent her to the bench for much of the game-deciding run, Marion also shared the team rebounding lead of six with Albright and led the Lady Comets with three assists.
The Lady Comets opened leads of 8-2 in the first quarter and 20-15 in the second before their offensive woes started. They went the final 3:25 of the first half without a field goal.
FINAL DIVISION STANDINGS
Scranton Prep 13-0
Abington Heights 11-2
West Scranton 8-5
Valley View 5-8
Scranton 4-9
