CLARION, Pa. (EYT/D9) — Mylee Harmon is the surgical instrument. The scalpel. Cutting with precision to the hoop.
Alivia Huffman is the blunt object. The hammer. Bludgeoning opponents inside with her strength, post moves and shooting touch.
The Redbank Valley duo have been taking apart opponents piece by piece all season.
They did so again in a 61-35 win over Moniteau on Saturday afternoon to win the District 9 Class 2A championship at Tippin Gymnasium.
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Huffman scored a game-high 24 points and also had 12 rebounds. Harmon added 19 for the Bulldogs, who did most of their damage against the Warriors inside the paint or at the foul line.
“We talked about that all week long,” said Redbank Valley coach Chris Edmonds. “Swinging the ball and getting it inside to Alivia. Feed her the ball. We’ve been working on some handoffs and so forth and we were able to execute those with Mylee and Alivia.”
(Alivia Huffman was named the Hager Paving Incorporated Player of the Game)
It’s the second consecutive district title for Redbank Valley. Last year’s championship came in Class 3A.
The Bulldogs, though, entered this game with caution.
It was the fourth meeting with Moniteau this season and the third in just 22 days. Redbank Valley was ready for anything, especially on defense.
Usually a heavy 2-3 zone team, the Bulldogs mixed things up, playing a 1-3-1 and 3-2 zone, a box-and-one as well as a man-to-man press for a time.
“We had a group we’re calling chaos that come out for a good two, three minutes in a full-court pressure,” Edmonds said. “So we’re working on different things for the state playoffs.”
Chaos was the operative word.
Redbank caused plenty of it.
Moniteau had four turnovers on its first four possession and 22 in the game.
It helped the Bulldogs build a 15-5 lead by early in the second quarter and a 43-19 lead with a little more than two minutes left in the third.
“Usually our 2-3 is our bread and butter,” Huffman said. “But we just wanted to try something different and played different defenses on them to see how they would react to it, and it worked out pretty well for us.”
Redbank can be so aggressive on defense because of its depth.
The Bulldogs can cycle in as many as seven off the bench without much drop off. That puts a lot of pressure on teams, especially when the gym is steamy like it was at Tippin on Saturday afternoon.
“It’s nice that we can rotate 10 to 12 kids in,” Edmonds said. “I have confidence in every one of them. Their teammates have confidence in each other. That’s one of our strengths that we can rotate players in and out and not lose a lot of talent. The girls were mentioning today that the CUP was hot. That’s why I did some of the rotations I did to keep our players fresh, and it helped us in the third and fourth quarters.”
Addy Bond came off the bench to score seven points and handled the point to give Harmon some spells of rest. Kira Bonanno added four points and six rebounds in reserve as Redbank showed off its tremendous depth.
It also helped the Bulldogs dominate on the glass.
“Our back row (of our zone) with Brooklyn (Edmonds), Kira and Alyssa (Bowser) are always in the right spot to get that backside rebound and really dominate the boards,” Edmonds said.
Redbank (25-1) has been dominating teams all year, entering the game with an average margin of victory of 35 points.
Impressive given every team the Bulldogs have faced have wanted to knock them off that pedestal.
“We’ve had a lot of doubters, a lot of haters,” Harmon said. “We just blocked that out.”
For Moniteau, it was another disheartening loss to Redbank.
Four of the seven losses by the 19-win Warriors have come to the Bulldogs.
They have come in pretty much the same way, except for the two-point setback in the first meeting.
Turnovers. Poor rebounding. Lots of problems against dynamic Redbank.
“They’re a good team,” said Moniteau coach Dee Arblaster. “A very good team. You just can’t forget about anyone they have out there.
“They should (out-rebound us),” Arblaster added. “Look at them. They’re all bigger than all of us.”
Catherine Kelly led Moniteau with 15 points, but was held to five in the first half.
Davina Pry added nine points.
The Warriors are still in the PIAA Class 2A playoffs and will host Lakeview on Friday night in the first round. It’s the first home state playoff game for Moniteau since 1984.
For Redbank, there’s a lot more work to do.
Last year, the Bulldogs were upset at home in the first round of the PIAA Class 3A playoffs by Laurel, 49-44.
It left a nasty taste in the mouths of Redbank Valley.
The Bulldogs will host Serra Catholic on Friday night.
“We had high hopes last year,” Harmon said. “It just didn’t happen for us. We’re happy to get another shot.”
Harmon and Huffman are eager to slice and bludgeon their way through another tournament with Keystone Shortway Athletic Conference and D9 titles already in their back pockets.
“It’s a great feeling getting this D9 title because we always have a target on our back,” Huffman said. “No one wants to really see is succeed, but we just play for ourselves and for each other.”
Redbank Valley, Keystone, and Union/A-C Valley sports coverage on Explore and D9Sports.com is brought to you by Heeter Lumber.
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