Berwick’s Rachael Whitenight drives for a bucket in the second quarter of Thursday’s District 2 Class 4A title game at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Berwick’s Renny Murphy (left) hugs teammate Katie Starr after the Bulldogs starters exited the game with under two minutes to play in Thursday’s District 2 Class 4A finals.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Scranton Prep’s Cecelia Collins (center) battles for a loose ball on the floor at Mohegan Sun Area with Berwick’s Jackie Nevel and Renny Murphy during the first quarter on Thursday.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Berwick’s Katie Starr (center) gets off a pass from the ground in between Scranton Prep’s Lizzie Neville (left) and Meredith Purcell on Thursday.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Berwick’s Renny Murphy tracks a loose ball during Thursday’s district title game.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
WILKES-BARRE TWP. — Berwick got a first-hand look at what has made Scranton Prep into an unbeaten Lackawanna League Division 1 championship team and a District 2 Class 4A girls champion in each of the last four girls basketball seasons.
“Their defense is phenomenal,” Berwick coach Bill Phillips said after the Classics beat the Bulldogs, 51-25, Thursday at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza for their latest district title. “It’s suffocating.
“Their on-the-ball pressure is the best we’ve seen.”
That pressure limited Berwick to nine shots, only two of them made, while it was turning the ball over 11 times in the first half.
By halftime, Scranton Prep was in command, 23-7.
The state’s second-ranked Class 4A team, according to TribHSSN.com, is 44-1 overall over the past two seasons, losing only in a late-season, non-league game at Cumberland Valley, a state-ranked Class 6A team.
Scranton Prep’s all-state, Division I-committed cousins, Rachael Rose (South Carolina Upstate) and Cecelia Collins (Bucknell) deservedly receive the most attention, but Thursday’s title game was the latest example that the Classics have so much more with which to work.
Pittston resident Meredith Purcell went 4-for-5 from the floor while scoring eight points and handled what may have been the game’s most important defensive assignment. The 5-foot-8 senior post player squared off with 6-foot center Katie Starr, who produced more than 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in her career at Berwick.
“All season, I usually guard the post player,” Purcell said. “It means I’m usually undersized, so I have to play smarter and harder.
“ … I just knew I had to have a good defensive game and when I had open shots I knocked them in.”
Rose led the offense, going 7-for-9 after missing her first four shots, to finish with 18 points.
Lizzie Neville, another key to the defensive effort, added 10 points and three steals.
Collins showed off her well-rounded game with eight points, six rebounds, six assists and four steals.
Berwick was led by Renny Murphy, who scored eight points, six of them in the team’s best quarter. The Bulldogs were only outscored, 15-13, in the third quarter, but that left them facing a 38-20 deficit with eight minutes to go.
Starr, who had a double-double in every game up to the final, added six points and six rebounds.
Scranton Prep held Berwick without a field goal for 10:45, including the entire second quarter, while turning a 7-4 lead into the 16-point halftime advantage.
The loss brings an end to a 13-4 Berwick season that saw the Bulldogs win 11 in a row going into the title game.
“It’s been a great season,” Phillips said. “To win the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 as the only 4A school is pretty impressive, especially after going through COVID and being short players.
“Our seniors didn’t miss a game. They’re going to be greatly missed.”
Seniors Katie Starr, Renny Murphy, Jacquelline Nevel and Emily Ouimet started while Gabby Starr played a key role off the bench.
District 2 Class 4A championship
Scranton Prep 51, Berwick 25
BERWICK (25) – Renny Murphy 3 2-3 8, Rachel Whitenight 2 0-0 5, Jacquelline Nevel 1 1-2 3, Katie Starr 2 2-2 6, Emily Ouimet 0 1-2 1, Sarina DeFinnis 0 0-0 0, Gabby Starr 1 0-0 2, Emily Barna 0 0-0 0, RaeAnn Andreas 0 0-0 0, Alysa Lewis 0 0-0 0, Kaylee Hacker 0 0-0 0. Totals 9 6-9 25.
SCRANTON PREP (51) – Cecelia Collins 3 2-2 8, Lizzie Neville 4 0-0 10, Rachael Rose 7 1-2 18, Maria Belardi 2 1-2 7, Meredith Purcell 4 0-0 8, Maggie Mills 0 0-0 0, Avery McNulty 0 0-0 0, Rita Collins 0 0-0 0, Gianna Dickson 0 0-0 0, Gianna Cafarella 0 0-0 0, Victoria Berbano 0 0-0 0, Maggie McGrath 0-0 0, Maggie Kosierowski 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 4-6 51.
Berwick`4`3`13`5 — 25
Scranton Prep`10`13`15`13 — 51
Three-point goals – BER 1 (Whitenight), SP 7 (Rose 3, Neville 2, Belardi 2).
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