Shikellamy girls hold Lourdes to 5 baskets in win

Dec. 29—SUNBURY — Allison Minnier and Nadia Smith aren't the kind of post players who are going to scare an opponent when getting off the bus or running the layup line. However, the hard-working "bigs" could be vital to Shikellamy's success this season.

Take Friday's nonleague game against Lourdes Regional, for example.

Against the similarly-sized Red Raiders, the 5-foot-8 Minnier established a presence on the low block with six early points — one off her career-high — while the 5-9 Smith blocked a pair of shots on the opposite end. The Braves lost the momentum for only a brief spell of the second quarter, quickly racing away to a stunning 56-27 win at Lockcuff Memorial Gymnasium.

"It just shows that when we work hard and we work together as a team, we can clearly perform well," said Minnier, who finished with 10 points and eight rebounds.

Lily Fatool dropped a game-high 17 points, Blaire Balestrini had a double-double with 14 points and 10 boards, and Shikellamy limited Lourdes — which returned four starters from the Class A state runner-up — to just five field goals.

"It really just gives us a glimpse of what we can do when we do our jobs, work together and hustle the whole, entire game," Balestrini said.

The Braves had lost three of their previous four games, curbing a 4-1 start. A seven-point loss to Hughesville was the widest margin in that mini-slump and the 8-1 Spartans are the fifth team with six or more wins that Shikellamy (6-4) has faced thus far.

"We've played a very tough non-league schedule," said Braves coach Lew Dellegrotti, noting Central Columbia, Shamokin, Hughesville, who began play Friday a combined 23-4.

In several of those matchups, Minnier and Smith battled against taller players, and, as with a developed muscle, they used it to their advantage against Lourdes.

Balestrini passed twice to Minnier down low in the opening minutes, producing a bucket and a pair of free throws for a 4-0 lead. Not long after Fatool buried a 3-pointer from the right wing, Minnier powered past a defender for a 9-0 lead.

"During those hard games, it's good for us because we always work hard no matter what. They help build us up and get us better for these teams that we need to be able to perform against," Minnier said. "This (game) shows our potential when going against teams that are more our size, because we know we can keep with the bigger teams as well."

Smith, who matched her career-high for the second time with 11 points Wednesday at Williamsport, blocked two shots in the Red Raiders' 0-for-8 first quarter from the field. They didn't hit a bucket until the 4:37 mark of the second quarter when Leah Kosmer's hoop in the paint answered a Fatool layup that gave Shikellamy a 10-point lead (14-4).

Lourdes senior Masie Reed knocked down a top-left trey and converted a three-point play off a Kosmer feed to cut the deficit to 16-12 with 2:15 left in the half. In the final minute, though, the Red Raiders' 11th and 12th turnovers of the half sparked consecutive Balestrini baskets in transition, the second resulting in a three-point play and a 21-12 margin.

"Our shots haven't been falling, so we really need to rely on our defense; that's how we're going to score the most," Balestrini said. "When we aren't making our shots, fastbreaks are what's going to put us ahead."

Fatool, a sophomore who hit 15 points for the ninth time in 10 games, scored eight in the third quarter as Shikellamy's lead reached 20. Lourdes again struggled at the start of the half, missing its first 14 looks from the floor before finally breaking through at the 4:34 mark of the fourth quarter. Cassidy Grimes' jumper cut into a 46-18 deficit.

The Red Raiders were 2-of-17 in the second half, and they shot 15.6% with 20 turnovers overall.

"We play defense," said Dellegrotti. "That's all we do."

Reed topped Lourdes (6-3) with nine points, and Kosmer added seven. Paityn Moyer and Anna Keer each pulled five rebounds in the loss.

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SHIKELLAMY 56, LOURDES REGIONAL 27

Lourdes Regional (6-3) 27

Masie Reed 2 4-5 9, Cassidy Grimes 1 2-2 4, Anna Keer 0 4-6 4, Leah Kosmer 1 5-8 7, Hannah Lokitis 0 1-2 1, Vivian Reiprish 1 0-0 2. Totals 5 16-23 27.

3-point goals: Reed.

Did not score: Paityn Moyer, Luci Shingara, Gabrielle Dusendschine, Alayna Marcheski, Onaleigh Barnes, Kaitlyn Macaluso.

Shikellamy (6-4) 56

Lily Fatool 8 0-1 17, Blaire Balestrini 6 1-3 14, Allison Minnier 4 2-2 10, Nadia Smith 1 1-2 3, Sarah Bronowicz 1 1-2 3, Kelsey Dietrich 1 0-0 2. Totals 24 5-10 56.

3-point goals: Balestrini, Fatool, Lenner.

Did not score: Olivia Solomon, Eden Daku-Treas, Carli Berry, Sarah Long, Mya Bronowicz.

Score by quarters

Lourdes Regional;3;11;4;9 — 27

Shikellamy;9;12;16;19 — 56