Riding a 12-game win streak and being the lone unbeaten team in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, first year Emmaus head coach Avon Mack knows his team is going to get everyone’s best shot.
Through 16 games this season, the Hornets have been pushed at times and have been able to pass all but one test, that coming back in early December against the state’s No. 1 ranked team in Class 6A unbeaten Hazleton.
Last night at home facing rival Central Catholic for the second time this season, Mack knew his squad would get a better performance from a much-improved Vikettes team this time around than the first meeting which resulted in a 15-point win for the Hornets at Rockne Hall.
And they did.
But again, the Hornets passed yet another test.
Trailing by one of their largest deficits this season – 30-22 at intermission – the Hornets turned to their stellar defensive play and limited the Vikettes to just 18 points in the second half as they rallied for a thrilling 53-48 win before a nice-sized crowd at ‘The Hive.’
“We are going to get everybody’s best effort,” said Mack following the game on the LIVE broadcast on The Eastern Pa. Sports Network. “Teams around the league want to be that one that said they beat us.”
“I think in the second half tonight we did a better job of handling the pressure,” added Mack. In the first half, I think we came out a little lethargic and thinking that things are going to be just given to us and, we kind of got away from our central principles but then we locked in after halftime and cleaned up some our mistakes.
Emmaus, which is just one victory away from equaling its win total from a year ago (17), won for the 13th straight time as they improved to 16-1 overall and 12-0 in the EPC.
Cassie Doemling was a force inside in helping lead the Hornets to the victory, registering a double-double with a career-high 17 points and 10 rebounds.
“She was our Queen of the Court tonight,” said Mack of his 5-foot-11 senior. “She took it upon herself to be a menace on the boards, I think she probably took it personally how many rebounds we gave up in that first half and didn’t let it affect her game, and she went even harder in the second half and came up big for us.
“I’m super proud of her and I knew she had that kind of performance in her.”
Besides the efforts of Doemling, Emmaus also got steady play from its talented backcourt of junior Gabby DeVita (14 points) and sophomore Kayla Snyder (13). Also of note, freshman Olivia Haberl came off the bench in the fourth quarter to convert two key free throws in the waning seconds of the game.
Central Catholic, who entered the game on a five-game win streak, dropped to 8-4 in the EPC and 9-7 overall with the loss. Junior Morgan Seagreaves scored a game-high 19 points to go along with 11 rebounds, while senior Milly Wolf added 11 for the Vikettes who were hurt by 22 turnovers in the game.
“Credit to Central tonight. They were a scrappy team, and they played hard, but I can’t be prouder of my ladies for what they did tonight.”
Emmaus will return to action on Friday at 7 p.m. as they travel to Allen. The Hornets will also have a non-league home game at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday as they host East Stroudsburg South on Middle School Day.
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Emmaus 53, CCHS 48
CC – Aveline Bubnis 0, Shamiya Roberts 2 2-2 7, Annika Spinosa 2 0-0 4, Morgan Seagreaves 7 5-7 19, Milly Wolf 4 3-6 11. Subs: Claire Seagreaves 2 0-0 4, Skylar Taylor 1 1-1 3. Totals: FG 18, FT 11-16, 3s (1 – Roberts)
Em – Kayla Snyder 4 3-3 13, Gabby DeVita 6 0-0 14, Sylvia Sokolofski 1 0-0 2, Sofie Laird 0, Cassie Doemling 7 3-9 17. Subs: Olive Whitney 1 0-0 3, Emma Naccarato 1 0-0 2, Sierra Stevens 0, Olivia Haberl 0 2-2 2. Totals: FG 20, FT 8-14, 3s (5 – Snyder 2, DeVita 2, Whitney)
CC – 17-13-8-10 – 48
Em – 12-10-15-16 – 53
JV – Emmaus 63-34