HERSHEY, Pa. – Neumann-Goretti and its four Division I recruits proved to be way too much for North Star winning its second straight PIAA Class AA girls’ title with a 65-28 win at the Giant Center in Hershey Friday afternoon.
Alisha Kebbe led the Saints, who used a 24-5 second quarter to lead 43-15 at halftime, with 20 points and seven rebounds. Chyna Nixon added 14 points and six rebounds, while Kamiah Smalls added 11 points and Morgan Lenahan 10.
Courtney Schrock paced North Star, which was down just three, 10-7, late in the first quarter before a 17-3 run by the Saints put the game away early, with 14 points bringing a bittersweet end to fantastic career that saw her score over 1,000 career points
Junior Jackie Stanko also had a bittersweet day, as she netted nine points including her 1,000th career tally.
NOTES – With Neumann’s win, a public school hasn’t won the Class AA girls’ title since 2000, when Karns City did so … The Saints shot 48.4 percent (30 of 62) from the field and had 20 steals scoring 33 points off 27 Cougars turnovers … North Star shot just 28.1 percent (9 of 32) from the field.
NEUMANN-GORETTI 65, NORTH STAR 28
Score by Quarters
North Star 10 5 4 9 – 28
Neumann 19 24 12 10 – 65
NORTH STAR – 28
Olivia Zuchelli 0-4 0-0 0, Courtney Schrock 5-11 2-3 14, Maggie Friedline 1-2 2-2 5, Kayla Rice 0-5 0-0 0, Jackie Stanko 3-8 2-4 9, Madyson Miller 0-2 0-0 0, Kylie Hoffman 0-0 0-0 0, Krysten Joseph 0-0 0-0 0, ALlison Carmean 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 9-32 6-9 28.
NEUMANN-GORETTI – 65
Morgan Lenahan 3-6 3-5 10, Alisha Kebbe 10-13 0-1 20, Kamiah Smalls 5-8 0-0 11, Jada Russell 0-1 0-3 0, Chyna Nixon 7-18 0-0 14, Kiara Kroger 0-0 0-0 0, Minika Glenn 1-4 0-0 2, Daijah Parmley 1-1 0-0 2, Jabria Ingram 3-11 0-0 6, Angel Ricks 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-62 3-9 65.
THREE-POINTERS – North Star 4-12 (Schrock 2-5, Friedline 1-1, Stanko 1-2, Zuchelli 0-2, Rice 0-1, Miller 0-1). Neumann-Goretti 2-12 (Smalls 1-2, Lenahan 1-4, Kebbe 0-2, Nixon 0-3, Ingram 0-1).