Parkland was the team that ended Emmaus’ hopes of winning a District XI Class 6A Championship a year ago.
Gabby DeVita and her teammates remembered that bitter feeling when the two teams hooked up in a big early-season EPC showdown on Saturday afternoon at home at ‘The Hive.’
DeVita, fresh off of scoring her 1,000th career point in a victory over Dieruff earlier this week, ignited a big second half for Emmaus as she scored 15 of her game-high 19 points after halftime as the Hornets gained a bit of revenge while also remaining perfect in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference handing Parkland its first loss in an entertaining 51-45 victory.
Sophomore Gracie Ervin also provided a spark reaching double figures for the fifth straight game and finishing with 12 points, while classmate Eva Glover added eight points and senior Sierra Stevens seven for the Hornets who won their seventh straight game in improving to 7-0 in the EPC and 7-1 overall.
“We challenged the girls defensively and it seemed like we were a step short early on in the game and then they figured it out,” said Emmaus head coach Avon Mack following the game on the LIVE broadcast on The Eastern Pa. Sports Network. “I thought they played tremendously on the defensive end, especially with the firepower that Parkland has.
“It was nice for our girls to embrace the challenge and take it head on,” he added. “For one, we had to come back from an early deficit and then we had to play with the lead and finish the game. I just loved the effort from these ladies today.”
Parkland, who entered play unbeaten, raced out to a 15-9 lead after the first quarter behind eight points from sophomore Carly Spang, but Emmaus outscored the visitors 16-10 in the second to tie the game at 25-all at the break.
In the third quarter, DeVita scored 12 of her team’s 14 points as the Hornets started to pull away in building up a double-digit lead before the Trojans made a late game rally.
“Defense is the standard here at Emmaus,” said Mack whose unit held Parkland to its lowest point total of the season. “Compete for 16 more minutes and cement your legacy and I think they did that. Our girls responded and I love that about them.”
Parkland was led in scoring by senior Isabella Hallal who had a team-high 12 points. Spang added 11 for the Trojans who dropped 6-1 in the EPC and 7-1 overall.
With the victory over the Trojans, Emmaus closed out a perfect 3-0 week and now has a few days off before competing in the Easton Rotary Club Tournament on December 29 at 1:30 p.m. against Executive Education.
“It was a tough stretch of games,” said Mack. “Any time you have three games in one week is tough. Parkland scouts well so we had to put in all new sets not even 24 hours before the game.
“Our girls are resilient. They came into practice yesterday, figured it out and we were able to have a little bit of success today.”
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Emmaus 51, Parkland 45
Park – Carly Spang 4 1-2 11, Arielle Brown 1 0-0 2, Isabella Hallal 3 5-6 12, Cheryllana Cunningham 0, Addison Fritzinger 1 0-0 3, Aneri McGalla 1 1-2 4, Savannah Gonzalez 2 2-3 6, Morgan Volpe 1 0-0 3, Yana Smaltz 1 2-3 4. Totals: FG 14, FT 11-16, 3s (6 – Spang 2, Hallal, Fritzinger, Volpe, McGalla)
Em – Olive Whitney 2 0-0 5, Eva Glover 1 6-8 8, Gabby DeVita 7 5-8 19, Gracie Ervin 4 4-8 12, Sierra Stevens 2 3-4 7, Sophia Shutkufski 0, Olivia Haberl 0, Makayla McGinnis 0. Totals: FG 16, FT 18-28, 3s (1 – Whitney)
Park – 15-10-8-12 – 45
Em – 9-16-14-12 – 51
JV – Emmaus 32-31 OT