RECAP >> The Emmaus girls’ basketball team went 1-1 in their first-ever appearance in the Jack Bennett Easton Rotary Holiday Classic at Easton Area Middle School advancing to the finals last night before falling to the host school in the championship.
One night after hanging on for a 39-34 win over Phillipsburg (NJ), the Hornets ran into a buzzsaw in the finals as unbeaten Easton jumped out to a big early lead and never looked back as they rolled to a 30-point win (54-24) to capture the title and hand Emmaus just its second loss of the season.
The Red Rovers (9-0) were led in scoring by junior guard Megan Elias who had three 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 11 points. For her efforts, Elias was named the tournament MVP.
Easton, which jumped out to a 15-0 lead to start the game, also got a 10-point effort in the win from senior Anye Staton. As a team, the Red Rovers had eight 3’s in the victory.
Easton has dominated the Hornets over the past two seasons defeating Emmaus twice last year, once in the regular-season (55-33) and in the EPC playoffs (56-25).
Emmaus, which dropped to 8-2 on the season, was led in scoring by junior Taylor Griffith who had a team-high six points. Griffith led the Hornets with a career-high 13 points in their semifinal win over Phillipsburg on Tuesday night and for her efforts was named to the all-tournament team.
In the consolation game, Phillipsburg captured third-place as they edged Freedom 42-41.
Emmaus will return to action next Tuesday at 7 p.m. as they host Northampton at ‘The Hive.’ The game will be carried LIVE on www.easternpasportsnetwork.com beginning at 6:40 p.m.
To stay up to date on Emmaus sports, follow @Emmaussports.com on Twitter and like Emmaus sports on facebook.
Easton 54, Emmaus 24
Em – 5-4-9-6 – 24
Ea – 20-15-12-7 – 54
Em – Paige Inman 1 0-0 2, Gabrielle De Vita 1 0-0 3, Taylor Griffith 2 0-0 6, Mya Cooper 1 3-6 5, Cassandra Doemling 1 0-0 2, Olive Whitney 0 0-0 0, Sylvia Sokolofski 0 0-0 0, Casey Bender 0 0-0 0, Kaitlyn Dill 0 0-0 0, Emma Naccarato 0 2-4 2, Sofie Laird 1 0-0 2. Totals: FG 8, FT 5-10, 3s – 3 (Griffith 2, De Vita)
Ea – Megan Elias 4 0-0 11, Evalyse Cole 2 3-4 7, Anye Staton 4 2-2 10, Kourin Carew 3 0-0 7, Olivia Keckler 1 2-2 5, Nat Amato 1 3-4 6, Mallory Elias 2 0-0 6, Jenessa Starling 0 0-0 0, Ava Muhammed 0 0-0 0, Karsen Hippert 0 0-0 0, Lianna Cole 0 0-0 0. Totals: FG 17, FT 12-15, 3s – 8 (Megan Elias 3, Mallory Elias 2, Amato, Keckler, Carew)
JV Championship – Easton 50-46
Emmaus 39, Phillipsburg 34
Em – 13-7-10-9 – 39
Pb – 6-10-11-7 -34
Em – Paige Inman 3 1-2 8, Gabrielle De Vita 0 2-3 2, Taylor Griffith 4 1-2 13, Mya Cooper 3 0-0 6, Cassandra Doemling 2 2-2 6, Olive Whitney 0 0-0 0, Emma Naccarato 0 0-0 0, Sofie Laird 2 0-0 4. Totals: FG 14, FT 6-9, 3s – 5 (Griffith 4, Inman)
Pb – Monet Gonda 3 2-2 8, Brooke Leonardi 1 0-0 3, Jaileen Soto 3 0-1 7, Keye Gulati 1 2-4 4, Amanda Rapel 5 1-1 12, Danielle Taylor-Wilfong 0 0-0 0, Hira Bokhari 0 0-0 0. Totals: FG 13, FT 5-8, 3s – 3 (Leonardi, Soto, Rapel)