Nazareth girls basketball team knocks off East Stroudsburg South

FROM THE MORNING CALL

After Nazareth lost to Central Catholic on Tuesday, coach Rich Bickert wrote a one-word message on the locker-room board for his players.

Five.

The Blue Eagles exited their loss to the Vikettes needing five wins in their final eight games to continue their string of District 11 playoff appearances. They cut that total to three over the last two days.

Lennon Kramer led Nazareth to its second victory in less than 24 hours, scoring four straight points to snap a late fourth-quarter tie against East Stroudsburg South. The Blue Eagles also limited the Cavaliers to a single free throw over the final 3 minutes, 36 seconds Saturday, pulling out a 51-46 non-league girls basketball win.


The victory, which followed Friday's overtime triumph against Liberty, allowed Nazareth to even its overall record at 8-8. The Blue Eagles now need to split their final six games to qualify for the District 11 Class 4A playoffs.

"I said to them, 'You guys don't want to be known as the team that broke our streak. You're too good to do that,' " Bickert said. "We lost some close ones, but we had to find a way to win. [Friday] night was big I thought. I was concerned about this one, because they're not bad and just coming up here at 2 o'clock after that type of game [against Liberty].

"I kept preaching that they only use six people and we use 10-12, so we should be a little fresher. I think we were probably at the end."

Whether it was fresh legs or better execution, Nazareth certainly finished stronger than the Cavaliers (9-8). After East Stroudsburg South scored five straight points to tie the game 45-45 in the fourth quarter, neither team scored for a minute and a half.

Kramer snapped that stretch, converting a steal into a layup that gave the Blue Eagles the lead for good with just over 2 minutes to play. She added another layup off a pass from Jacki Hikes 40 seconds later for the last of her team-high 13 points.

Kramer also had five rebounds, four steals and three assists. She helped the Blue Eagles harass East Stroudsburg South into 23 turnovers, including eight in the fourth quarter.

"We wanted to play as we did [Friday], come out and play all four quarters as hard as we did that last four minutes of overtime in the Liberty game," Kramer said. "We wanted to have that great energy. We played all four quarters, fought hard and came out with another win."

Kramer's contributions stood out in the boxscore, but she received a lot of help. Ten of the 11 Blue Eagles to play scored.

Christine Flannery had nine points, Morgan Calabrese scored seven and Molly Calabrese added five. Hikes played a strong floor game, grabbing six rebounds, dishing out two assists and spending the second half chasing East Stroudsburg South standout Tara Steakin around the floor.

Steakin, who recently became a 1,000-point scorer, connected on three 3-pointers and scored 13 points in the first half. The Blue Eagles held her to three points, all on free throws, in the second half and kept her from attempting a field goal in the fourth quarter.

"It was four good quarters minus a minute and a half or two," East Stroudsburg South coach Adam Cole said. "We handled their pressure throughout the game. It was just that big-game pressure at the end.

"It was uncharacteristic, but it's a learning experience," he added. "We'll need it as we head toward districts."

The Cavaliers have already clinched their spot in the District 11 4A field, as they can finish no worse than .500 in the Mountain Valley Conference. Nazareth still has work to do.

The Blue Eagles have two games against struggling teams, Easton and East Stroudsburg North, on their remaining regular-season schedule. If Nazareth wins those games as expected, it would need to beat Parkland, Bangor, Whitehall or Northampton to secure a district berth.

The Blue Eagles are eager for the challenge.

"I think we might be getting some confidence now anyway," Bickert said. "They played with a little more poise today again."

http://www.mcall.com/sports/varsity/mc-basketball-girls-nazareth-ess-0128-20120128,0,796588.story