CENTRE COUNTY — Less than 30 seconds into the non-conference clash between St, Joseph’s Catholic Academy and Penns Valley, SJCA senior forward Aubrey Yartz went over the 1,000-point milestone in her career with a short jump shot.
Her basket was the beginning of a night that saw the two teams score a total of 132 points, nail 17 3-pointers and run all-out, full court the entire game.
But in the end, the hot-shooting Wolfpack prevailed, 74-58, led by senior guard Naomi Crispin’s 31 points and 14 each by Yartz and Alexia Luckovich.
The first quarter told much of the story. The ‘Pack and the Rams traded baskets back-and-forth through the first six minutes, but then an eight-point SJCA run gave it a 26-18 lead as the quarter ended.
Sparked by two quick 3-pointers by Crispin, the wolfpack kept going in the second quarter as they extended their lead to 44-28 at halftime. Yartz and Lauren Himes also hit 3-pointers in the quarter, and the SJCA defenders held the Rams to just 10 points.
The second half was more of the same—60 combined points—but despite scoring 30 of those points, PV could not close the gap.
Elle Dingus scored 10 of her 14 points and Ellie Romig hit two 3-pointers, but the Wolfpack kept answering.
Penns Valley did creep to within 13 points going into the fourth quarter, 56-43, but Crispin essentially put the game away with 10 points in the fourth quarter.
The win was the second of the season for SJCA after the Wolfpack went 1-1 over the weekend in the Bishop Carroll Tip Off Tournament in Johnstown.
St. Joe’s got past Cambria Heights in the first game, 76-69, but on Saturday, Bishop Carroll used a big third quarter to pull away from SJCA, 62-51. Crispin and Yartz combined to score 33 points in the title game, but it wasn’t enough as Carroll took the tournament with two wins.
Penns Valley will next have two away games at Bellwood-Antis and Chestnut Ridge.
Girls’ Basketball Schedule
Week of 12/5 to 12/12
BEA
12/5–at Forest Hills
12/10–Bellwood-Antis H
Bellefonte
12/5–at Richland
12/10–Bishop Guilfoyle H
Penns Valley
12/5–at Chestnut Ridge
12/10–Hollidaysburg H
Philipsburg Osceola
12/12–Clearfield H
SJCA
12/5-6 Tournament
12/12–Juniata H
State College
12/10–Altoona H
12/12–at Harrisburg
