Sister Act: Lauren and Mackenzie Mayernik (Nos. 23 and 32, respectively) teamed up against Quaker Valley as the Lady ’Lopes put two more notches in the win column this past week. Photo by Tom Steiner for The Citizen

By JIM RUMBLE

Turning to the final weeks of the regular season, the Avonworth girls’ basketball team has already clinched a spot for the upcoming WPIAL playoffs and appears to be the odds-on favorite to be crowned the champion of section 6AA.

The Lady ‘Lopes (16-1, 9-0) secured their spot with a 34-20 win at OLSH on Thursday, Jan. 27, and followed with another critical win this past Monday, defeating Quaker Valley at home 65-48.

In their win against OLSH, coach Bob Schulz pointed to his team's play defensively as the most significant element in the outcome.

The Lopes played their 2-3 and 1-3-1 zone defen-ses, then switched to their man-to-man half way through the third quarter.

"We did a great job in our man-to-man," Schulz said afterwards.

"We were able to hold their scorers down and I think that was the difference in the game," he added.

Avonworth was able to take advantage early when the Chargers' center, Marissa Conlin, who finished with 14 points, went to the floor only 1:06 into the game with an apparent ankle injury.

Erin Zakor's transition basket had the 'Lopes leading 2-0 at that point, when Avonworth continued with Mackenzie Mayernik's score in the low post, a pair of free throws by Catherine Costa and a 15-footer by Mayernik to go up 8-0.

OLSH hit on a jumper with 1:37 remaining in the opening quarter, but the Lady ‘Lopes responded with a free throw by Lauren Mayernik and a short jumper in the lane to lead 11-2 when the period ended.

Both teams’ offenses slowed to a crawl in the second quarter, where the Chargers outscored the 'Lopes 5-3.

Avonworth's points came on a basket by L. Mayernik and a free throw by Costa, while OLSH's points came on a 3-pointer and a basket inside by Conlin, who had re-entered the game.

The 'Lopes led 14-7 at the half.

Avonworth had moved to a 20-11 lead with the Mayernik sisters combining for 6 points in the third quarter, but OLSH closed with a 5-0 run that cut the Lady ‘Lopes' lead to 20-16 going into the fourth quarter.

The 'Lopes stepped up their play defensively and continued to dominate the glass in the fourth quarter.
They began the final period with a 7-0 run on their way to outscoring the Chargers 14-4 to put the final score at 34-20.

"This was a tremendous win for us," Schulz said.

L. Mayernik finished with 13 points and 17 rebounds, followed by Costa with 9, M. Mayernik with 6 and Zakor and Natalie Zivic with 3 points each.

Offense seemed to be vital in the team's win against Quaker Valley this past Monday.

The 'Lopes, who led throughout, got a couple of key bursts on offense that were pivotal to the way things turned out.

"We ran our offense reall well," Schulz said later.

The 'Lopes were led by Costa, who scored most of her 26 points pushing the ball up the floor in transition. She also finished 11-14 from the free throw line.

The 'Lopes shot 7-10 from the field in the opening quarter as they moved to an early 15-7 lead.

The Lady 'Lopes went back and forth with the Quakers, maintaining their 8 point lead at 25-17 with 2:11 left in the second quarter. That's when Avonworth heated up from the outside, with Laura Presutti hitting on two 3-pointers and Costa adding another one as the girls outscored Quaker Valley 9-3 on their way to 34-20 halftime lead.

"That was the key to the basketball game -- that seemed to open it up," Schulz said afterwards.

The 'Lopes increased their lead a couple of times in the third quarter to 16, but the Quakers continued to battle back.

Avonworth was leading 45-29 when Quaker Valley connected on a 3-pointer, then converted a 3- point play to trail 45-35 with 1:55 remaining in the third. The Lady ‘Lopes responded nicely with a give- and-go basket by L. Mayernik, a turning shot in the lane by Zakor, and a pair of free throws by Costa to go up 51-35 heading into the fourth quarter.

Costa scored 8 points in the final quarter, where Avonworth outscored Quaker Valley 14-13 to finalize the 65-48 win.

Along with Costa's 26 points were L. Mayernik with 19, Presutti with 10, Zakor and M. Mayernik with 4 and Mariah Eck with 2.