Golden Eagles' girls get to final
Both Kennedy Christian basketball teams will play for Pennsylvania's state titles.
By BRIAN RICHESSON
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
MURRYSVILLE, Pa. -- This time, the Kennedy Christian High girls basketball team won't be left out.
For the past four seasons, Kennedy Christian's boys team has been in the spotlight, dominating Pennsylvania's Class A division. Friday, the Golden Eagles will try to win their fourth straight state title.
This year, they will have company in Hershey.
The Kennedy Christian girls team advanced to the Class A state championship game with Wednesday's 49-37 win over Bishop Guilfoyle at Franklin Regional High.
The Golden Eagles will face Pottsville Nativity BVM for the title in Saturday's 1 p.m. game at Hersheypark Arena.
Pottsville Nativity BVM advanced by defeating Lourdes Regional, 58-52.
"It feels like I'm in a dream right now," Kennedy Christian senior Maureen Meier said. "We'll wake up tomorrow and practice real hard."
Reflection: While the Golden Eagles (28-3) danced in their locker room, their coach, Father Richard Tomasone, calmly spoke about his team's accomplishment.
"I'll savor this feeling for a long time," said Tomasone, who is in his 16th and final year at Kennedy Christian.
The girls basketball program will be making its third trip to the state championship game but its first since 1984, when it lost to Marian Catholic.
"Whether it's silver or whether it's gold, so many high schools don't have that opportunity," Bishop Guilfoyle coach Mark Moschella said of a berth to Hershey. "Kennedy Christian will enjoy this."
Bishop Guilfoyle (21-10) tied Kennedy Christian twice in the third quarter, and appeared poised to take the lead in a game in which it trailed most of the way. But the Golden Eagles wouldn't let that happen.
"I didn't think they could defend our motion offense," Tomasone said. "I thought if we kept them spread out and we were patient, we'd be OK.
"Early in the game we were settling too much for outside shots," he said. "Later in the game, I thought we controlled the tempo."
Making a difference: Junior Leanne Madden helped Kennedy Christian capture the lead for good with three minutes remaining in the third quarter.
That's when the 5-foot-7 Madden scored for her team's 27-25 lead, drew a charge on Bishop Guilfoyle's ensuing possession, and hit two free throws for a four-point lead.
"Leanne Madden is capable of doing that," Tomasone said, of his senior giving the team a spark. "She played well and effectively. She comes off the bench and does a good job."
Having that lead at the outset of the fourth quarter made his team "the hunted," Tomasone said.
"When you have eight minutes left and both teams want to extend their season by one more game, it becomes a battle," he said. "I thought we did a nice job of handling that pressure."
Point producer: Steadying Kennedy Christian throughout the game was senior Barbora Fabianova, a 6-foot forward in her first year with the program after coming to the United States from Slovak Republic.
Fabianova scored a game-high 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
"She's a tough match-up at 6-foot, handling the ball as well as she does and shooting the ball as well as she does," Tomasone said. "She's blended in with our team very well."
Fabianova's 3-point play to begin the fourth quarter put the Golden Eagles ahead 32-25. She scored eight points in the fourth, including 4-of-5 free throws.
Kennedy Christian senior Erin Frankovich grabbed 12 rebounds to go with her eight points, while the Golden Eagles helped their cause by making 18-of-22 free throws.
"No girls basketball team out of Mercer County has ever won the state championship," Tomasone said. "You can guess what our intent is."