Nazareth Girls Take Silver in District 11 4A Final

Disappointment etched on the faces of the Nazareth High School girls basketball team was hard to hide as District 11 4A silver medals were draped around their necks by their head coach Rick Bickert.

The disappointment was hard for Bickert to hide as well, following a tough to swallow 38-34 loss to Northampton Friday night at Liberty High School in the D-11 4A final.

“This one hurts. We thought we had them at halftime,” Bickert said.

The Blue Eagles rallied from a 10-7 first quarter deficit and rode the inside game of 6'-1" senior center Erika Livermore, who 11 of her game-high 18 points were in the second stanza.

Nazareth’s defense, led by Livermore’s shot-blocking prowess, held Northampton to two second quarter points and a loose ball scramble sent the Konrete Kids’ senior center Kara Bonenberger to the bench limping.

And then, for no apparent reason, the Blue Eagles stopped getting the ball inside to Livermore and gave Northampton an opportunity to rally back.

“We just fell apart in the second half,” Bickert said. “I don’t know what happened. We seemed not to be able to make a pass. Defensively, I don’t think we could have asked for anything more. It came down to who was going to step and make a shot.”

Northampton’s Steph Bragg stepped and made a shot – two of them  -- both three-point goals that broke the Blue Eagles’ hearts late in the fourth quarter.

Bragg drained her second three-pointer of the fourth with 1:05 to play, breaking a 32-32 tie and added a free throw with 16 seconds remaining to put the game away.

Alesha Marcks (16 points) and Bragg (11 points) were the high scorers for Northampton (21-4), who annexed its second consecutive D-11 4A title.

Both teams advance to the PIAA 4A tournament. Seeds will be released over the weekend.

Nazareth (21-5) will likely play a first-round game next week on the road.

NAZARETH (34)

Jacalyn Hikes 1 0-0 2, Gina Facinelli 0 0-0 0, Lennon Kramer 1 0-0 2, Morgan Calabrese 1 0-0 2, Caitlin Gary 0 0-0 0, Erika Livermore 8 2-4 18, Kim Owens 5 0-0 10. Totals 14 2-4 34.

NORTHAMPTON (38)

Steph Bragg 3 3-4 11, Jackie O’Connell 0 1-2 1, Kara Bonenberger 3 0-0 6, Allison Braithwaite 2 0-0 4, Michele Dally 0 0-0 0, Chelsea Hall 0 0-2 0, Alesha Marcks 6 4-5 16. Totals: 14 8-12 38

Nazareth – 7 10 8 9 – 36
Northampton – 10 2 11 12 – 38

Officials: Dennis Brong, Rick Leinhart and Eric Schrida
Fouled Out: None
3-Point Goals: Steph Bragg (2)