DISTRICT 4 GIRLS BASKETBALL: SAYRE SHUTS DOWN CANTON; ADVANCES TO CLASS AA SEMIFINALS WITH 39-23 WIN (24 PHOTOS) (2019-02-19)

By TIM BIRNEY
Valley Sports Report
SAYRE - Second-seed Sayre struggled offensively for a large part of Tuesday night's District 4, Class AA quarter-final match-up against NTL divisional rival Canton, but held the seventh-seeded Lady Warriors scoreless for 11-plus minutes to rally for a 39-23 win.

"We couldn't throw a ball in the ocean, but if we can play defense like that we can work through our shooting struggles," said Sayre coach Eileen Sparduti.

"We got a little more on track with the offense in the second half, and that was good to see," she added.

The Lady Redskins, now 19-6, advance to the semifinals and will face sixth-seeded Muncy, which upset third-seeded South Williamsport, 59-45.

Senior Stephanie Klovekorn helped Sayre to a 6-4 lead with a pair of putbacks on the offensive boards, but Hailey Wesneski drained a 3-pointer to give Canton a 7-6 lead with 1:17 remaining in the first quarter.

Junior Emily Sutryk knocked down a 15-foot jumper with 58 seconds remaining to put Sayre back in the lead, then sophomore Gabbi Randall scored an old-fashioned three-point play on a strong baseline drive to give the Lady Redskins an 11-7 lead after the first eight minutes.

Sayre went scoreless for the first seven minutes of the second quarter and trailed 14-11 after a 3-pointer by Tamara Hess with 1:19 remaining in the first half, but Klovekorn scored on offensive rebounds with 58 seconds left, and again with 11 seconds remaining to give the Lady Redskins a 15-14 lead.

"Steph (Klovekorn) had an awesome night on the offensive glass," said Sparduti. "She kept us in the game for most of the first half."

Moments later, Randall came up with a loose ball in the backcourt, and found Sutryk on the break. She pulled up and drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Sayre an 18-14 lead at the break.

"The basketball gods owed us that one," said Sparduti. "We got nailed at the buzzer like that Saturday night.

"I've been watching a lot of films, and it's amazing how many teams have made the last shot on us this season, so I think we were owed that one," added Sparduti.

The Lady Redskins shot 26 percent (8 of 31) from the field in the first half, including 1 of 7 from behind the 3-point arc.

"The 1-3-1 threw us a little bit for a while," said Sparduti. "There were a couple series where we took four shots from point-blank range and they just wouldn't go in."

Senior Camry Lane knocked down a 15-foot jumper, and scored on a driving lay-up in the first 2 1/2 minutes of the third quarter to extend Sayre's lead to 22-14.

The Lady Redskins didn't score again from the field in the third quarter, and made just 2 of 6 free-throw attempts and led 24-14 entering the final eight minutes.

Klovekorn, off a feed from Lane, scored in the low blocks in the opening moments of the fourth quarter, and Lane added a lay-up in transition to give the Lady Redskins a 28-14 lead with 5:52 remaining in the game.

Elle Binford scored on a drive to the bucket with 5:15 left in the game, ending Canton's scoring drought of 11 minutes and 4 seconds.

Sayre took its biggest lead of the game, at 38-20, after a three-point play by Lane, and a bucket in transition by Sutryk, off a feed from Randall, with 1:09 left in the game.

Klovekorn, Lane, and Sutryk scored 11 points apiece for Sayre, and Randall added five points.

"I don't care which one leads us (in scoring), they take turns doing it, but that balanced scoring is what got us here," said Sparduti.

"And, Gabbi Randall is putting the ball in the basket," she noted. "She starting to make big contributions, and that's going to pay big dividends down the line.

"She's not playing like a sophomore in February," added Sparduti.

Klovekorn also had 12 rebounds, including eight on the offensive glass, four steals and three assists, while Randall had seven rebounds, two steals, and two assists, Lane added four boards and one blocked shot, Sutryk had five boards and four steals, and junior Maddie Wilson grabbed five boards.

Hess led Canton with eight points, while Binford added six points, and Wesneski chipped in with four.

With the weather likely to impact Wednesday's postseason schedule, Sayre will likely return to action Saturday in the Class AA semifinals.

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IN PHOTO 1: Sayre's Stephanie Klovekorn. ... PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.