Central Catholic girls escape with 4th straight LVC title

FROM THE MORNING CALL

When Nazareth called a timeout with 7.5 seconds to play Friday, it started a string of events that delivered a double dose of déjà vu.

Just as they did 31/2 weeks ago at Rockne Hall, the Blue Eagles designed a play that left Lehigh Valley Conference MVP Erika Livermore with a chance to score a driving layup that would win the game. In a repeat of their regular-season meeting with Central Catholic, they watched Livermore's shot from the left side of the paint hit the rim and bounce off.

When Vikettes guard Abbey Guman corralled the rebound, it started another familiar scene — Central Catholic celebrating a girls basketball championship. Eighteen points from Kerry Kinek and typical shutdown defense allowed the top-seeded Vikettes to escape with a 26-25 win in the LVC title game at Freedom High School.

The win gave Central Catholic (21-3 overall) its fourth straight league championship and seventh in the nine years the LVC has existed. No. 2 seed Nazareth (19-4) dropped to 0-2 all-time in LVC title games, with both losses coming to Central Catholic.

"It was like a repeat of last time," said Kinek, who defended Livermore on her final shot in Central Catholic's 42-41 win over Nazareth on Jan. 25 and again Friday. "We knew that we had to play good defense. We knew that it was probably going to her. I just tried not to foul, and thankfully we got the win."

Said Nazareth coach Rich Bickert: "Central's Central. What can I say? They always find a way to win."

The final 7.5 seconds completed a frenetic fourth quarter in which both teams scuffled to score. Central Catholic senior guard Haley Smith, one of four first-year starters for the Vikettes, hit the biggest shot of the night. It happened to be the only one she took.

Nazareth had a 25-23 lead when Smith found herself driving toward the basket near the left baseline. She pulled up when she saw Livermore approaching and got fouled by a Nazareth guard on the way up. She dropped in her short jumper with 2:05 to go and added a free throw that wound up being the winning point.

"I was lucky it went in," Smith said. "I was happy it went in too.

"In the locker room before the game, we said, 'This isn't last year's team. This is actually our team,' " she added. "We watched it happen for the last three years, so this year we really got to be a part of it. It means a lot."

Kinek, Central Catholic's one returning starter, was the best player on the floor Friday. She shot 7-for-13 from the field en route to her 18 points and also pulled down a game-high nine boards.

After Nazareth scored the game's first four points, Kinek scored the next 11 as the Vikettes ran off 13 straight. When the Blue Eagles used a 9-0 run to regain the lead in the third quarter, Kinek answered with four points in the final 53 seconds of the quarter to end an 8-minute, 52-second scoring drought. That left the Vikettes with a 20-17 lead heading into the final quarter.

She added 3-of-4 free throws in the fourth quarter to give Central Catholic its only points until Smith's go-ahead three-point play.

"They know who they want to shoot the ball, and that's the people that shoot the ball 90 percent of the time," Bickert said. "That's their system. It's been their system for 25 years, and it's been very successful. Why change it?"

Kinek also contributed a huge block and rebound when Caitlyn Gary (six points, six rebounds, two assists) drove the paint with 20 seconds to play and Nazareth down a point. Livermore (seven points, five rebounds) came back with a steal nine seconds later as Central Catholic (17 turnovers) struggled to put the game away.

Once the Vikettes finally secured another title, it left coach Mike Kopp with one of the most satisfying wins he has collected among his 841 career victories. While some expect Central Catholic to win because of its championship history, this group began the season with plenty of question marks.

It ended Friday with another year to add to the championship banners at Rockne Hall.

"I knew during the summer at the Holy Family tournaments, the way our kids played together, they were just doing what they could do best," Kopp said. "We keep preaching that. Just do what you can do best, and play great defense. That's what they did.

"Really, these kids deserve a lot of credit. Not only the kids that played — I only played five kids tonight — but all the other nine kids that are on the team that day in and day out practice their butts off and make the other kids better.

"They know their turn will come," Kopp said. "I'm always proud of all the kids, but especially the seniors."

http://www.mcall.com/sports/varsity/mc-girls-basketball-lvc-final-0218-20110218,0,164226.story