Getting off to a slow start is never a good thing in high school basketball and it’s even worse when you do it against a team that you’ve already lost to three times this season.
That pretty much sums up Emmaus’ night on Tuesday as the Hornets once again fell to their arch-rival Parkland in the fourth meeting between the two squads, 54-35 in the District XI Class 6A semifinals at Allen High School.
The Trojans, who had already beaten Emmaus by margins of 18 and 8 in the regular-season and 20 points in the most recent meeting in the EPC championship game, controlled the tempo from the opening tip and never looked back as they cruised to the victory over head coach Kelsey Gallagher’s team.
“We knew what we were up against seeing a team three times and now four times in a season,” said Gallagher, the Hornets seventh year coach outside of her team’s locker room. ” They are very strong in their roles and obviously they have their two power players in Talia (Zurinskas) and (Madi) Siggins, but they also have a good strong supporting cast who also fulfill their roles.”
“Coming in to tonight, we wanted to limit Siggins and Talia and I thought we did a better job on Siggins then in the first three meetings but unfortunately, we struggled a little bit with contanting Talia because she had a phenomenal night.”
She sure did, nearly singlehandedly leading Parkland to the win.
Zurinskas, a first team All-EPC performer and Lafayette commit, was unstoppable as she scored game-high 24 points and shot 10 for 14 from the floor for top-seeded Parkland, which improved to 25-2 on the season and advanced back to the district championship game where they will face second-seeded Easton, which rolled to a 53-32 victory over Liberty.
“She’s really quick and good with the ball and she can shoot from anywhere on the floor and just her basketball IQ is so good,” said Gallagher of Zurinskas. “She is tough matchup and just a good all-around player and she had a heck’va night.”
The Trojans, who shot a blistering 56 percent from the field (19 of 34), raced out to a 14-4 lead after the first quarter, a 29-11 advantage at the half and still led by 20 (45-25) heading to the final quarter.
Siggins and teammate Delaney Chilcote each added 10 points in the victory for Parkland.
For Emmaus, meanwhile, it was a struggle to score all night long. The Hornets, who were coming off a thrilling 45-43 win over PM West in last Friday’s quarterfinal round game, shot just 31 percent (12 of 38) for the game and were held under 40 points for the third time in four meetings vs Parkland.
“Our biggest thing on the offensive end was that we had 13 points in the first half and we didn’t help ourselves,” said Gallagher whose team managed just four field goals in the half. “We just have to be a little better and a little bit cleaner with what we want to do and our execution on offense. “
No Emmaus player reached double digits in the loss for only the second time this season. Senior Taylor Giffith led the Hornets with eight points – all coming in the second half – while sophomore Gabby DeVita added seven. The team’s second leading scorer, freshman Kayla Snyder, was held to just one field goal in the game and six points. Junior Olive Whitney also added six on a pair of 3-pointers off the bench.
Despite the loss, the Hornets still have a lot to play for as a berth in the PIAA State Tournament is on the line. Emmaus will take on Liberty in the third place game at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at Easton Middle School.
“We told the girls after the game that it’s not over yet,” said Gallagher. “We have two practices and at least one more game to continue our season.
“I think it’s going to be another dogfight on Friday. Liberty didn’t get the outcome they wanted and we didn’t get the outcome we wanted, so I think we are both going to have a lot of fire and right now the series is tied 1-1. We just have to execute and be disciplined offensively and defensively and if we can take care of those three things I think we will be okay.”
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Parkland 54, Emmaus 35
Em – Mya Cooper 1 1-2 3, Kayla Snyder 1 4-5 6, Gabby DeVita 3 0-0 7, Taylor Griffith 3 0-0 8, Cassie Doemling 1 0-2 2, Sofie Laird 1 1-2 3, Olive Whitney 2 0-0 6, Emma Naccarato 0, Sylvia Sokolofski 0. Totals: FG 12, FT 6-11, 3s (5) – Griffith 2, Whitney 2, DeVita
Park – Talia Zurinskas 10 0-0 24, Delaney Chilcote 4 2-2 10, Isabella Hallal 3 0-0 7, Addison Fritzinger 0, Madison Siggins 3 4-4 10, Lauren Ervin 1 0-0 3, Sophie Frank 0, Aneri McGalla 0. Totals: FG 21, FT 6-6, 3s (6) – Zurinskas 4, Ervin, Hallal
Em – 4-9-12-10 – 35
Pa – 14-15-16-9 – 54