Survive and advance.
At this time of the season, that’s what it’s all about.
The Hornets did just that last night in their Eastern Pennsylvania Conference semifinal matchup against Liberty at the PPL Center in downtown Allentown as they held on – barely, by the skin of their teeth – for a heart-stomping 59-56 win over the Hurricane.
“It was a semifinal game for a reason and we are both two very competitive and talented teams,” said Emmaus head coach Kelsey Gallagher following the game. “We got off to a good start tonight and unfortunately we weren’t able to maintain that in the second half, but the important thing is that we came out with the victory and we were able to secure it down the stretch.”
“Being able to pull out the win in the end is really big for our program as we continue to play here in the post-season.”
It was the second upset win for Emmaus, the No.8 seed, who had shocked top-seeded Bethlehem Catholic 52-40 in last Friday’s opening-round.
The victory, the 10th in the last 11 games, advances the Hornets to tonight’s championship final at 6 p.m. where they will face a familiar foe in archrival Parkland, the No.3 seed, which defeated Easton 41-28.
It will be the third meeting of the season between the two Cedar Crest Boulevard rivals with the Trojans winning the previous two meetings, 48-30 and 50-42.
Emmaus will be in search of its first league title since the 2006 season.
The game will be aired LIVE on The Eastern Pa. Sports Network with special pregame coverage beginning at 5:40 p.m. Link: https://easternpasportsnet1.mixlr.com/events/3170904
Freshman phenom Kayla Snyder led a balanced offensive attack in last night’s win scoring 11 points in each half and finishing with a career-high 22 points. Snyder, who was recently named a third team all-EPC performer, also shined from the free-throw line hitting on 9 of 11.
“Kayla’s been great for us,” said Gallagher. “She’s been our floor general and our point guard. She breaks presses and she’s able to get us into our offense. She also plays with a lot of composure and you don’t see that out of freshmen very often. Kayla was huge for us.”
Junior Cassie Doemling added 12 points in the victory, senior Mya Cooper had 11 and sophomore Gabby DeVita nine for the Hornets who once again shined as a team from the free-throw line where they shot 79 percent (19 of 24) for the second consecutive game.
Emmaus, which was looking to avenge for an earlier-season 56-50 overtime loss to Liberty, got off to a fast start as they led 20-9 after the first quarter and built as much as a 21-point lead (35-14) at the break.
The second half, however, was dominated by the Hurricane as they outscored the Hornets 42-24 and nearly pulled off an incredible comeback in the waning seconds, but sophomore Ava Kopteskie’s potential tying 3-pointer was blocked by Cooper, preserving the win for Emmaus.
Liberty (13-11) was led in scoring by Kopetskie who came off the bench to score a team-high 17 points. Senior Emma Puksyzn added 11, junior Anijah Davis 10 and senior Ruby Miller nine for the Hurricane who had their four-game win streak snapped.
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Emmaus 59, Liberty 56
Em – Mya Cooper 4 3-3 11, Gabby DeVita 2 3-6 9, Kayla Snyder 5 9-11 22, Taylor Griffith 1 0-0 3, Cassie Doemling 4 4-4 12, Sofie Laird 1 0-0 2, Olive Whitney 0, Emma Naccarato 0. Totals: FG 17, FT 19-24, 3s (6) – Snyder 3, Devita 2, Griffith
Lib – Anijah Davis 4 2-2 10, Ruby Miller 3 2-2 9, Abby Thompson 2 0-0 5, Emma Pukszyn 3 5-6 11, Julia Medaska 0, Iysis Nickens 0, Ava Kopetskie 5 4-4 17, Shawna Beatty 1 0-0 2, Jordan Thompson 0 2-2 2. Totals: FG 18, FT 15-18, 3s (5) – Kopetskie 3, Miller, Abby Thompson
Em – 20-15-9-15 – 59
Lib – 9-5-17-25 – 56