NTL GIRLS' BASKETBALL: JONES, NEUBER LEAD NEB PAST WYALUSING FOR DISTRICT WIN (2021-03-02)

BY CHRIS MANNING
Northern Tier Sports Report
ROME — After going 0-2 in the district playoffs a year ago Northeast Bradford came out with a chip on their shoulder Tuesday. That drive powered them to a 24-7 start en route to their 53-36 win over Wyalusing in District IV, Class AA girls’ basketball playoff action.

“We really came out with the fire in our eyes,” said Maisie Neuber. “We really wanted it.”

Neuber had 16 points, 14 rebounds, six assists and five steals for the Panthers, while their lone senior Lauryn Jones finished with a team leading 19 points to go with four assists.

“This is my first win in the postseason in my career, for varsity, and it is for LJ, too,” remarked Neuber. “The past couple of games we’ve come out really flat, especially against Towanda. That was not a good game for us, but we wanted to keep up the intensity like we have been.”

Last year they didn’t have a quarterfinal game, and went straight to semifinals, which are at a neutral site. This year, they opened the playoffs at home.

“I was nervous to start the game, just butterflies, but it felt good,” NEB coach Ben Beebe said. It’s his first varsity victory, too.

The Panthers definitely came out strong, lead 19-7 after the first quarter, though Wyalusing would cut it to 27-20 late in the second. It was a 10-point NEB lead at the half, and late in the third, before pulling away in the fourth.

“We were looking to claw back, get it to within five going into the fourth,” said Wyalusing coach Ricky Lindblad. “We had looks at the rim, they just weren’t falling in. I think that discouraged the girls a little bit, with them not going in. Northeast took advantage of that. They got down the floor, and started to put buckets in of their own.”

Alena Beebe added 12 points and five assists, as Kate O’Connor notched six points and 11 boards. Julia Brown chipped in with two points, six boards and two steals, while Meg Russell had three rebounds.

Catherine Brown led the Rams with nine points and three boards, while Callie Bennett had eight points, two assists and two blocks. 

Hailey Jayne notched seven points and three assists, with Madison Putnam scoring six points to go with three rebounds and three blocks.

Olivia Leichliter netted four points plus four boards and two blocks, while Layla Botts finished with two points.

It was Putnam giving the Rams an early lead on a put back, but NEB would go on to score 13 straight after that.

Jones hit a 3-ball off a Neuber assists, followed by two free throws from Beebe. A Neuber lay-up was followed by a 3-pointer from Beebe to make it 10-2 halfway through the quarter. Another Jones 3-ball off a Neuber assist gave them the 11 point lead.

The Rams followed with a 5-0 run of their own as Bennett had back to back buckets, the second a 3-pointer, to cut it to 13-7.

But the Panthers finished out the final two minutes of the opening quarter strong, with Neuber going 2-for-2 from the line followed by jumpers from Brown and Jones for the 19-7 lead.

An O’Connor lay-up opened up the second quarter scoring, with Jones then bagging her third 3-pointer of the game for the 17 point lead.

That’s when Wyalusing found their offense as they went on a 13-3 run, kicked off by a Bennett driving lay-up.

Leichliter followed with a lay-up and two freebies to cut it to 24-13. Neuber would cut into the run with a 3-pointer off a Jones assist, but two more free throws for Brown brought it down to a 12-point deficit.

Jayne then hit a 3-pointer, followed by her assisting on a Bennett bucket cut it to 27-20.

Neuber then cut into the lead again with a lay-up, but Putnam hit a nifty lay-up of her own to keep it 29-22.

Beebe made it a 10-point lead with a 3-pointer off a Neuber assist. A spinning Jayne lay-up but it back to eight points - 32-24 - but Neuber had the final say with a jumper for the 34-24 halftime lead.

Things slowed down from the torrid second quarter pace after the half as the Rams tried to play more to their style. NEB seemed to go cold, but so did Wyalusing, who missed a few lay-ups as they tried to cut into the deficit.

Finally, after 2:52 went by on the clock, Neuber hit two free throws cut stop the scoring drought. She then assisted to Jones for a 3-pointer with 3:34 left for the first field goal of the second half, pushing their lead to 39-24.

Brown responded for Wyalusing, hitting a 3-ball off a Bennett assists, with Botts then getting to the line and making both to cut it to a 10-point deficit again.

But it was the Panthers finishing the quarter strong again, as Neuber went 1-of-2 from the line followed by O’Connor hitting a lay-up to give them a 42-29 lead going into the final frame.

They increased the lead to 17 at the start of the fourth as Beebe hit a 3-pointer, followed by Neuber making 1-of-2 from the line.

Bennett would get to the free throw line at the other end, making 1-of-2, but an O’Connor bucket extended the lead back to 47-30. 

With just over six minutes remaining in the game Brown hit a jumper off a Botts assist, but that was their last bucket for the next two minutes.

NEB took advantage as Jones hit fifth 3-pointer of the game followed by Neuber going 1-of-2 from the free throw line to push the lead to 19 points.

Wyalusing would get back to back buckets after - Brown hit another jumper as Putnam had a put back - to cut it to 51-36 with 3:40 left, but those were the last points the Rams scored.

NEB went 4-for-5 from the line thereafter to get the win.

Despite the setback this marks a successful return to the post season for Wyalusing after a 2-year hiatus.

“It feels good being here,” said Lindblad. “For the seniors, this is the first time since their freshmen year.”

Going forward he hopes to make this an annual event, hopefully with better results.

“It’s something I’m looking forward to happening regularly,” he said. “Us getting to the playoffs, and us being able to compete.”

As for the Panthers, they will travel to Southern Columbia for the semifinals on Saturday with a 1 p.m. start. The Tigers defeated Muncy 58-24 in their quarterfinal game.

They were missing Kayleigh Thoman, who was injured during the Towanda game, but may get her back by Saturday. Either way the coaches and players know they have to pick it up on both ends if they’re going to walk out of there with a win.

“We definitely have to focus more on our defense, and controlling the ball better,” said Neuber. “Especially when we’re up, like in the situation we were just in; slowing the ball down, and making better decisions.”

SoCo has some big wins on the year - Northumberland Christian (60-50) and Mt. Carmel (55-53) - but lost to Bloomsburg twice by double-digits, a team NEB struggled against as well.

“We’re just going to do what we do,” said Beebe. “We’re going to work on our defense. Our offense gets a little stagnant once-and-a-while when we don’t hit our outside shots, so we’ve got to focus on how to keep moving.”

CUTLINE: NEB’s Maisie Neuber goes up for a lay-up against Wyalusing Tuesday...PHOTOS BY CHRIS MANNING.