Nazareth Area High School girls basketball team faces tough road to District 11 playoff berth

FROM THE EXPRESS TIMES

Nazareth Area High School girls basketball team faces a difficult challenge of qualifying for the District 11 playoffs.

But the Blue Eagles are probably used to adversity.

Nazareth (9-10 overall, 5-7 LVC) must win two of its final three games to punch a postseason ticket. Conference opponents Whitehall (13-6, 8-4) and Northampton (16-3, 10-2) along with independent foe East Stroudsburg North await the Blue Eagles this week, the last week of the regular season.

"They (the players) know what they've got to do," Nazareth coach Rich Bickert said. "We're going to take one game at a time. It'll be a challenge. (Whitehall and Northampton) both beat us earlier in the year."

Despite the negative results, Bickert indicated that his team played well in a 49-43 loss to the Zephyrs on Dec. 20 and in a 49-41 defeat against Northampton on Dec. 23. However, those games were at Nazareth. The Blue Eagles will need to pull out road upsets this time.

"We can't seem to play four quarters," Bickert said. "We can play well for two, but not the whole game. Hopefully, we can change that around this week."

Reliable offensive success has been missing for Nazareth, which averaged 29.5 total points in losses to Parkland and Bangor on Friday and Saturday, respectively.

"We don't seem to run our offense consistently," the coach said. "We go through spurts when we don't score. Some of that has to do with the good defenses we play and some of it is that we don't execute."

Nazareth only returned two starters this season (Jacki Hikes and Lennon Kramer) and has been trying to fill the void left by The 2011 Express-Times Girls Basketball Player of the Year Erika Livermore, who is currently continuing her career at Fairleigh Dickinson University.

"Having just two players coming back (from last season), some of these players have no experience playing in these tights situations that we've been in," Bickert said. "We're trying to play 10 to 12 players every game. That might be hurting our consistency, trying to get the young kids involved too."


View full sizeExpress-Times File PhotoBelvidere High School's Jessie Sharr is The Express-Times Girls Basketball Player of the Week
PLAYER OF THE WEEK:

Name: Jessie Sharr

School: Belvidere High School

Class: Junior

Position: Guard

Statistics: The 5-foot-7 Sharr had her best three-game run of the season, averaging 21.3 points during that stretch. Sharr matched her season high in scoring with 25 points in a win over Bernards. She tallied 20 in a win against Manville and led Belvidere with 19 points as the County Seaters bowed out of the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament in a loss to Vernon.

Honorable mention: Jr. G Loren Kaiser, Phillipsburg; Sr. C Alissa Tarsi, North Hunterdon; Sr. F Brittany Pierzga, Notre Dame; Fr. F/G Kalista Walters, Bethlehem Catholic; Sr. G Karine Polgar, Saucon Valley; Sr. G Jody Chickey, Liberty; Jr. F Ashley Gordon, Freedom; Sr. C Chelsea Hall, Northampton; So. G Jamie Greene, North Warren; Jr. F Jaclyn Smith, Pius X.In recent weeks, Kramer, who matches up with the opposing team's best offensive player, has strung together a series of solid scoring performances and that will need to continue, along with production from Morgan Calabrese and Christine Flannery, if Nazareth hopes to knock off Whitehall or Northampton.

Ultimately, the position of Bickert's group -- in playoff contention -- is a lot better than other area teams.

It's not going to be easy, but that's nothing new to the Blue Eagles.

Muschlitz sidelined

Wilson fans who noticed Jacelin Muschlitz's line of zeroes in the Warriors' 42-35 win over Saucon Valley on Friday might have thought the senior guard had an off night.

Unfortunately, the reason behind the performance might be much worse for the Warriors as Muschlitz left the game with what appears to be a serious knee injury.

According to Wilson coach Dennis Fry, the Warriors' leading scorer who was averaging 10.6 points per game before her injury, will undergo a couple more tests to determine the extent of the injury, and it appears Wilson will have to prepare for a postseason without her in the lineup.

Wilson (12-8, 8-6) has secured a position in the district playoffs and can still conceivably catch Northwestern (13-7, 9-5) to earn the final berth in the Colonial League tournament. The Warriors would need to win their remaining two contests, against Salisbury and Notre Dame, and the Tigers would need to lose to Bangor and winless Catasauqua.


View full sizeExpress-Times File PhotoJacelin Muschlitz
"(To win the last two) without Jace, that's going to be difficult because she is our leader on the floor," Fry said.

Fry added that senior Shaye Glovas will be Muschlitz's primary replacement, though he isn't sure who will account for the scoring presence she provided.

"Right now we're just taking it one game at a time and trying to avenge losses we had earlier in the year," he said.

Beyond the basketball court, Fry is saddened that Muschlitz's senior year of soccer is in doubt. The senior is slated to continue her soccer career at Muhlenberg College.

"I feel sorry for Jace because she is such a good soccer player and now her senior year in jeopardy," he said.

REGION TOP 10

1. Central Catholic 19-1

2. North Hunterdon 15-4

3. Northampton 16-3

4. Bethlehem Catholic 18-2

5. Emmaus 14-6

6. Parkland 13-7

7. Southern Lehigh 17-3

8. Bangor 16-4

9. Whitehall 13-6

10. Notre Dame 13- Tarsi's thousandth

North Hunterdon senior center Alissa Tarsi received the ball in the low post from Jessica Pellechio, put it through the basket and, at the same time, put her name into the school's record book.

Tarsi recorded her 1,000th career point in the third quarter as the Lions defeated South Hunterdon in the second round of the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament.

The 6-foot standout, who will continue her career at Sacred Heart University, is the ninth player in North Hunterdon girls basketball history to achieve the milestone and first since Pellechio scored her 1,000th during last season's county tournament.

Working overtime

They had to keep the lights on a little longer Wednesday at Liberty's Memorial Gymnasium as the Hurricanes and Pleasant Valley played four overtime periods.

Liberty eventually won 67-63 on the back of senior guard Jody Chickey's 31-point performance.

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