Ava Kopetskie entered the season knowing that Dana Wieller’s school record of 1,334 career points was well within her grasp. What feels improbable is how quickly the senior Loyola Maryland commit surpassed the school legend on Saturday afternoon against Allentown Central Catholic.
With a 24-point per game average in her first 11 games, Kopetskie needed just 12 points against the Vikettes to set the new program record.
The effort to reach that mark felt just as quick.
The senior buried her first five shots to cruise to 10 points in the first quarter before a handful of misses delayed the inevitable momentarily until a step-back jumper from the left wing fell to make Kopetskie the highest-scoring Hurricane in the school’s long history.
“It’s a really special moment. I think I made my first five shots, and I was like, wow, this is going to go really good,” Kopetskie said. “And then I got stuck on the two for a little bit, but then when I hit the step back, everyone started clapping and everything. It was just an amazing feeling to do with my teammates and family.”
She also enjoyed a heartfelt embrace with Liberty coach Jarrett Carnes who shares a special relationship with his star player who is leading an impressive season turnaround after just a 3-3 start for the defending PIAA 6A Tournament qualifier.
“I definitely wouldn’t be here without Coach Carnes,” Kopetskie said. “He’s like an older brother to me, honestly. I love him to death, and just him being able to allow me to get here is just amazing. The love we share is just awesome.”
“This is literally the fruits of her labor. She puts in so much work. I’m just the voice and I’m a fan myself. She deserves it,” Carnes said. “She’s great in the classroom. She’s great on the floor. She’s great in her workouts and stuff. So, hopefully, she just continues to be better and she breaks a record at Loyola.”
Easton flips the script at Rotary Tournament
Last year’s Easton Rotary Tournament championship resulted in upstart Emmaus delivering a double-digit victory over Easton that was the first true statement win for the Green Hornets on their way to an EPC championship two months later.
The two teams met again on Tuesday afternoon with the result potentially signaling a passing of the torch of the top team in the ever-competitive Eastern Pennsylvania Conference.
The Red Rovers used suffocating defensive performances to begin each half to build what proved to be an insurmountable lead down the stretch as coach Dave Lutz’s team earned a 52-40 victory to capture the holiday tournament championship at the halfway point of the season.
“I was very happy with our performance at the tournament,” Lutz said. “The team did a good job eliminating Emmaus’ open looks, especially from the 3-point line. It was a game to build on – we have to keep improving as a team and individually moving forward.”
The departure of star forward Kourin Carew, who is contributing off the bench in her freshman season at Chestnut Hill, raised questions about how the Red Rovers were going to find points this season. The answer has come from a variety of different sources, most notably, senior guards Gabby Wismer and Natalie Amato who compiled double-digit performances against the Green Hornets on Tuesday.
Amato remained the most reliable 3-point shooter with four triples in a team-high 16-point performance while Wismer cracked double figures for the eighth time this season, including five straight throughout a winning streak of the same length. Melina Cole and Elena Brunetti are the two others who are averaging between 9.3 and 11.1 points per game to lead a balanced attack for the Red Rovers.
“All five starters did a good job defensively and rebounding. Gabby Wismer and Natalie Amato, who were both all-tournament selections, did a good job defensively and handling the ball versus Emmaus’ tough player-to-player defense,” Lutz said. “Lianna Cole, Ava Muhammad and Melina Cole really battled defensively and rebounding, which really helped us win. Eva Jordan gave us valuable minutes off the bench during both games.”
This unpredictability appears to be causing problems for Easton’s local opponents as its only two losses of the year came in non-conference play against two of the top 6A teams in the state in Red Lion and Central Bucks East. The success against teams within the area is no fluke either as all 10 wins this season have come by double digits.
Despite registering the most wins within the conference since 2021, the Red Rovers are still without an EPC Tournament championship in that time and do not have a conference championship to their credit since the 2015-16 season.
One decade later, they are looking to snap that streak and return to the top of one of the best girls basketball conferences in the state. Tuesday’s win, along with an outstanding core of experienced players, proves that they have as good of a chance as anyone.
Chris Deutsch hits impressive milestone for Northwestern Lehigh
Northwestern Lehigh High School is enjoying a stretch in its school’s history where winning is becoming second nature. That’s a bit of a recent trend, but for girls basketball coach Chris Deutsch, it’s been going on for years – 23 to be exact.
The longtime leader of the program became the first coach in Colonial League girls basketball history to reach 400 career wins when the Tigers knocked off Pottsville 54-35 on Dec. 23. Natalie Conner’s 29 points proved pivotal, but Deutsch’s consistency at the helm deserves recognition as well.
Standout players
Alexa Davis, Nazareth: Davis added a Stacey Perryman Tournament championship and MVP to her breakout senior season after leading the Blue Eagles to a pair of wins over Dieruff – where she helped her team erase an early 11-point deficit – and Palmerton last week. She’s reached double figures in each of the last five games, including 15.5 points per game in the recent tournament with seven combined 3-pointers across the two games.
Kendall Medina, Executive Education: The Medina takeover is well underway at Executive Education. The Lady Raptors might not have won their holiday tournament, but a competitive performance against Emmaus, which included a four-point lead entering the final quarter, proved they are legitimately one of the top teams in the area.
Kendall Medina’s 18-point performances against the Green Hornets and Phillipsburg helped her team, led by her father and first-year coach Jose Medina, earn a constructive 1-1 split in the area’s most competitive tournament. Not only that, but in a field with two of the top teams in the league, the star sophomore earned MVP honors for the entire tournament.
Hailey Jenkins, Catasauqua: It was a bit of a sluggish start to the season, at least for the high standards of Jenkins many have grown accustomed to, but the reigning all-area player of the year exploded for 36 points on Saturday to mark a new season-high against Pen Argyl. It was just the second loss of the season for the Green Knights with Jenkins outscoring them all on her own.
Player of the week
Juliana Bonham, Wilson Area: Tucked away in a Colonial League scoring leaderboard that features no shortage of talent, Wilson sophomore Juliana Bonham is enjoying another terrific season for the Warriors. That stellar season continued with a 21-point performance against Palisades that had her just two assists shy of a triple-double before a 26-point showing against Northampton in a dominant 59-36 win over the EPC power.
Bonham is now averaging 19.5 points per game and has her team sitting at 7-3 in the early stages of the new year because of her all-around game. A defining stretch of the season provides her and the Warriors with an opportunity to send a message as a true contender in a wide-open Colonial League this season.
Other notes
Notre Dame-Green Pond’s Ava Shonk erupted for 17 second-half points to lead the Crusaders to a come-from-behind win over Allentown Central Catholic at Rockne Hall … Lehighton’s Ryleigh Trotman and Olivia Serfass combined for 33.5 points per game as the Indians captured a tournament title of their own with wins over Whitehall and Northern Lehigh … Pen Argyl’s Leah Apostol extended her own scoring streak with 22 points in a win over Stroudsburg, marking her fourth consecutive game with 12 points or more … Northern Lehigh’s Tegan Simms compiled 22 points in a 53-32 win over ES South that sent the Bulldogs to a tournament championship against Lehighton.
Standings (through 1/4)
Eastern Pennsylvania Conference
(overall and division record)
Northampton Division
Becahi; 8-0; 3-0
Easton; 9-2; 3-0
Liberty; 7-5; 2-1
Nazareth; 7-4; 1-2
Freedom; 4-5; 0-3
Northampton; 4-7; 0-3
Lehigh Division
Emmaus; 8-2; 4-0
Parkland; 8-3; 3-1
ACCHS; 4-9; 2-2
Dieruff; 8-4; 2-2
Whitehall; 4-7; 1-3
William Allen; 1-9; 0-4
Monroe Division
Stroudsburg; 5-7; 4-0
PM West; 3-7; 3-0
ES South; 2-9; 2-2
PM East; 2-7; 1-2
Pleasant Valley; 1-9; 1-3
ES North; 0-10; 0-4
Colonial League
(overall and division record)
East Division
Notre Dame-GP; 7-4; 2-0
Pen Argyl; 6-2; 1-0
Wilson Area; 7-3; 2-0
Bangor; 2-8; 0-2
Moravian Academy; 0-8; 0-3
West Division
Lehighton; 10-0; 3-0
NW Lehigh; 9-2; 2-0
Palmerton; 8-3; 2-2
Northern Lehigh; 5-7; 1-3
Jim Thorpe; 0-9; 0-3
South Division
Catasauqua; 5-3; 2-0
Southern Lehigh; 4-5; 2-1
Salisbury; 6-4; 1-1
Palisades; 2-8; 0-1
Saucon Valley; 2-8; 0-2
Rankings
1. Becahi 8-0
2. Easton 9-2
3. Emmaus 8-2
4. Parkland 8-3
5. Nazareth 7-4
6. Lehighton 10-0
7. Executive Education 5-2
8. Notre Dame-GP 7-4
9. NW Lehigh 9-2
10. Liberty 7-5
Top scorers (through 1/4)
(Name, school, average)
Ava Kopetskie; Liberty; 23.8
Hailey Jenkins; Catasauqua; 21.6
Natalie Conner; NW Lehigh; 21.1
Juliana Bonham; Wilson Area; 19.5
Kamryn Gallis; Becahi; 19.3
Jayla Rosario; Dieruff; 17.2
Gabby DeVita; Emmaus; 15.8
Alexa Davis; Nazareth; 15.5
Teagan Strunk; Stroudsburg; 14.3
Tegan Simms; Northern Lehigh; 13.8
Courtney Connell; Palmerton; 13.7
Aliyah Brame; Becahi; 13.1
Olivia Serfass; Lehighton; 12.9
Kaylin Stewart; Catasauqua; 12.8
Leah Apostol; Pen Argyl; 12.4
Kendall Medina; Executive; 12.3
Leah Ault; Becahi; 12.1
Karly Leszcynski; Nazareth; 12.0
Ryleigh Trotman; Lehighton; 11.8
Eliana Marques; Southern Lehigh; 11.6
Adriana Borzio; Stroudsburg; 11.6
Sierra Skoda; Saucon Valley; 11.2
Gabby Wismer; Easton; 11.1
Gianna Martini; Pen Argyl; 11.0
Gracie Ervin; Emmaus; 10.9
