A year ago, it was Liberty that put an end to one of the most successful seasons in Emmaus girls basketball history.
The Hurricane stunned the Hornets in the third place game of the District XI Class 6A Tournament 54-40, denying Emmaus an opportunity to reach the PIAA State Tournament for the second consecutive season.
It was bitter taste in the mouths of head coach Avon Mack and his players, and they certainly remembered that feeling when two teams met for the third consecutive season on Friday night at Catasauqua High School in the opening round of the playoffs.
Emmaus had their way with Liberty when the two teams met during the regular-season in Bethlehem rolling to a 32-point win (72-40) and not much changed in the second meeting.
Led by the dynamic duo of seniors Gabby DeVita and Olive Whitney who combined for 34 points, the Hornets steamrolled their way to an even larger margin this time as they dominated the Hurricane in a 65-37 victory.
DeVita wound up leading all scorers on the night as she tallied a game-high 19 points, while the 3-point specialist Whitney drained four 3s from beyond the arc and finished with 15 as third-seeded Emmaus got the revenge they were looking for in improving to 19-6 on the season.
Senior Sierra Stevens and sophomore Gracie Ervin each chipped in with nine points for the victorious Hornets.
After building a seven-point lead after the first quarter, the Hornets dominated the middle quarters putting up 37 points while holding the Hurricane to just 10.
With the victory, Emmaus punches their ticket to the semifinal on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Whitehall High School opposite rival Parkland, who rolled to a 53-18 blowout win over Freedom. The game will be carried LIVE on The Eastern Pa. Sports Network beginning with pre-game coverage at 5:45 p.m.
This will be third consecutive year that the Hornets and Trojans have met in the semifinals with Parkland winning the two previous meetings. The two teams split during the regular season with each team winning on its home court.
For Liberty which ended its season at 13-12, senior Ava Kopetskie led the way with a team-high 14 points, seven points under her season average of 21.
There were a combined 15 3-pointers in the game with Emmaus draining eight from beyond the arc and Liberty seven.
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Emmaus 65, Liberty 37
Lib – 9-5-5-18 – 37
Em – 16-19-18-12 – 65
Lib – Nayaly Torres 0, Addie Smith 2 0-0 6, Emma Miller 2 0-0 6, Ava Kopetskie 4 4-5 14, Chloe Rummelhart 4 0-0 8, Delaney Foster 1 0-0 3, Christina Ramos 0, Juliet Broskey 0. Totals: FG 13, FT 4-5, 3s (7 – Smith 2, Miller 2, Kopetskie 2, Foster)
Em- Olive Whitney 5 1-2 15, Eva Glover 1 1-4 3, Gabby DeVita 8 2-2 19, Gracie Ervin 3 3-4 9, Sierra Stevens 3 2-2 9, Kaitlyn Grochowski 1 0-0 3, Olivia Haberl 1 0-0 2, Camryn Harp 1 0-0 2, Makayla McGinnis 1 0-0 3, Gabby East 0, Ariana Tranguch 0. Totals: FG 24, FT 9-14, 3s (8 – Whitney 4, DeVita, Stevens, Grochowski, McGinnis)