PENNSYLVANIA Kennedy knocks Linesville off the path

The Golden Eagles used tough defense in the first-round playoff game.
By BILL ALBRIGHT
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. -- Scoring 18 of the first 24 points in the game, the Kennedy Catholic High girls basketball team began its "second season" Saturday by cruising to a 50-31 victory over Linesville in the opening round of the PIAA District 10 Class A playoffs.
"We talked the last two months about how teams were playing us zone and I think [Kennedy opponents] have had tough times matching up with us," Kennedy coach Pat Mastrian said.
"We have learned to relax when that happens, and when we saw it today, Leah [Mastrian] and Lexie [George] came out and hit those 3s right off the bat," Mastrian said. "Once you do that, I think the whole game just opens up."
Winning ingredients
The ingredients for the Golden Eagle success were simple. They played tough defense, protected the ball and controlled the boards.
"The defense has been there for us all year," Mastrian said. "We had a couple of games where we kind of didn't do it well. We are only allowing 34 points per game, and the kids worked hard today to keep them below that."
At the outset, Linesville was very deliberate and patient on offense, and that caused Mastrian some concern.
"I was extremely pleased with the way the girls kept their composure," Mastrian said. "They came out and spread the floor on us.
"As a coach, that makes you a little nervous when you see that because you don't know how long that is going to last," Mastrian said. "At first, it looked like we were going to do it for the whole game if they could.
"We hit a couple of our traps and the key was making the baskets," Mastrian said. "When that happened, they had to start playing."
Contributors
Leading the Golden Eagles to their win were seniors Leah Mastrian and Elyssa Farrell.
In what has become a typical game, Mastrian led the team with 17 points, hauled in seven rebounds, picked up two steals and dished out a pair of assists.
"We held them to less than 20 points for three quarters and I think that put them back on their heels," Mastrian said. "I thought they were going to come out strong, but when we picked up the defense, we got things going."
After paying her dues as a reserve for several years, Farrell has stepped into a starting role. Farrell had 14 points and five rebounds to go along with one steal and two blocked shots.
Farrell also held Linesville's starting center, Grace Agnew, scoreless for the entire 32 minutes.
"I think today we came out really focused and playing hard," Farrell said. "We have been working really hard on defense for the past couple of days and I think that really showed today."
Farrell said getting free in the paint was easy against the Lions.
"When they were trapping at the top of the key, they were swinging two girls down low and that made it easier for us bigger girls to get loose," Farrell said.
For Linesville, Kelli Pinter scored 17 points.