Lady Dutch open season with big win over Brockway
A big 31-point game by senior Jayssa Snelick helped the St. Marys Area Lady Dutch roll to a dominating win in their season opener against Brockway on Tuesday night at St. Marys Area High School. Snelick matched Brockway’s total number of points as the Lady Dutch won 63-31.
Joining Snelick in putting up double figures for St. Marys Area were Molly Hanslovan with 17 points and Maura Caskey with 10.
Rheanna Spinda was the lone player in double figures for Brockway with 14 points.
In addition to being St. Marys Area’s first win of the season, it was also the first career varsity win for new Lady Dutch head coach Zane Adiyeh.
Following the game, Adiyeh remarked that he was very proud of his players and how they opened their season.
“I think they had some nerves to start, but we settled in pretty quick, and I think everyone played really well,” Adiyeh said.
The junior varsity and varsity teams share a number of players, and Adiyeh credited members of both squads for playing well and coming away with wins.
“The JV team played really well. There are a couple freshmen on the team. There are a couple girls who haven’t played basketball or haven’t played basketball in a long time. They played really well, and we were able to get a lot of our younger girls in at the end of the varsity game. They all did a great job,” Adiyeh said. “I’m very happy with the girls tonight, and I think we had a good first game.”
The game was a close one until there were just over five minutes remaining in the first half and a three by Hanslovan started a 23-point run for the Lady Dutch that gave them a 40-19 lead at the break.
“I think they just settled in,” Adiyeh said of his team’s run in the second quarter. “I think everyone is nervous for their first game. Brockway had a tip-off tournament and we didn’t, so it was our first time playing. We were making better passes. We had some turnovers in the first quarter. I think we settled into the speed of the game, and we started playing well.”
Snelick scored the first points of the season for the Lady Dutch with a three 53 seconds into the game. However, Brockway responded with a six-point run to go up 6-3. Caskey got into the scoring column with her first bucket of the night with 5:03 left in the frame, and then Snelick went on a sixpoint run of her own to put St. Marys Area back in front 11-6.
Another Brockway bucket was answered with a pair of foul shots by Hanslovan for her first points of the night. Spinda then converted a three-point play for Brockway in the final seconds of the quarter to leave the Lady Dutch with a slim 13-11 lead at the end of the frame.
Snelick went one-fortwo on a pair of trips to the foul line early in the second quarter. On the second of those trips, Caskey was able to grab the rebound on Snelick’s missed foul shot and put it in to give the Lady Dutch a 17-11 lead with 7:10 remaining in the half.
Brockway responded with an eight-point run, scoring all of their second quarter points in a span of less than two minutes.
Spinda opened the run with a field goal, Raegan Gelnette made a pair of foul shots, and then Kalina Powell scored back-to-back buckets off of a pair of steals. Powell’s second bucket, which came with 5:19 left in the half, gave the lead back to the Lady Rovers, 19-17.
Hanslovan gave the lead back to the Lady Dutch for good with her three with 5:03 remaining in the half. Snelick scored the next five points, Caskey added a bucket, and then a pair of twos by Hanslovan put St. Marys up 31-19 with just over three minutes remaining in the half. Snelick kept the run going with another bucket, Alexa Schneider hit a three, and then Caskey and Snelick scored the final points of the half to put St. Marys Area up by 21, 40-19, at halftime.
Gelnette made a bucket for Brockway to open the second half scoring, but the Lady Dutch responded with an eight-point run. Snelick scored the first six of those points, with freshman Taylor Gornati making the final bucket of the run for the first varsity points of her high school career.
Powell and Hanslovan traded threes, and then, following another bucket by Hanslovan, Spinda closed out the quarter with a fivepoint run for Brockway.
St. Marys led 53-29 headed into the fourth quarter.
Powell scored Brockway’s final points of the night with a field goal with 7:08 remaining in the game.
Threes by Hanslovan and Snelick bookended twos by Snelick and Caskey as the Lady Dutch kicked in a running clock en route to their 63-31 win.
Now 1-0 on the season, the Lady Dutch will be back in action at home on Friday against Ridgway. Junior varsity action begins at 6 p.m. with the varsity game to follow.
Brockway 31
Sophia Morrison 0-00-0-0, Maria Buttery 0-0-0-0-0, Ana Haughes 0-0-0-0-0, Hayden Shick 0-0-0-0-0, Rheanna Spinda 4-1-3-3-14, Sophia Schmader 0-0-2-2-2, Mallory Smith 0-0-0-0-0, Kalina Powell 3-1-0-0-9, Raegan Gelnette 2-0-2-26. Totals 9-2-7-7-31.
St. Marys 63
Jayssa Snelick 103-2-7-31, Maura Caskey 5-0-0-0-10, Alexa Schneider 0-1-0-0-3, Chloe Schaberl 0-0-00-0, Taylor Gornati 1-0-0-0-2, Zoe Romanic 0-0-0-0-0, Sophia Surra 0-0-0-0-0, Karli Frantz 0-0-0-0-0, Molly Hanslovan 3-3-2-2-177, Braelyn Beck 0-0-0-0-0. Totals 19-7-4-9-63.
Score by quarters
Brockway 11 8 10 2 31 SMAHS 13 27 13 10 63