Kenan, Pioneers Run Past Owls at Holiday Classic

ROYERSFORD—After dropping a game to Suburban One and district contender C.B. South, pioneers head coach John Jones wanted his young squad to focus on the positive and use that energy to avoid the same sluggish start when they squared off against Agnes Irwin on Thursday.

“We did a lot of things well against South,” said Jones. “We are a very young team and there are going to be games that we don’t have the kind of start we want, I think we did a great job today, moving the ball and finishing when we had scoring chances.”

Fueled by senior Taylor Kenan, who hit three, of her game high four, shots from beyond the arc in the first quarter, Conestoga roared out to a 17- run to start the game and finished the frame with a 20-6 edge.

Sophomores Kate Nalevanko (6, 1-2, 7pts) and Maddy Tessier-Kay (6, 1-2, 7 pts) battled inside and helped the Pioneers control the paint as Conestoga built a 23-point lead to start the final quarter.

In all, 10 Pioneers made the scoring sheet as Jones shuffled players in and out in the final period, continuing to put pressure on the Owls inside and finishing the game with two freshmen on the court as they closed out a 51-34 win.

“I love this,” said Tessier-Kay. “There is nothing I would rather be doing over break than playing basketball, there are so many good teams here, you can learn so much by just watching the games that are before and after us.”

Conestoga            20            6            17            8            -51                                                      

Agnes Irwin      6          5          9          14            -34      

Conestoga (51)

Dwpwan 0, 2-2,2; Dreyer 0, 0-02, 0; Kovach 3, 0-0, 3; Orr 2, 1-1, 3; Kenan 12, 0-0, 12; Grundy 3, 0-0, 3; Nalevanko 6, 1-2, 7; Stephano 0, 3-6, 3; Tesier-Kay 6, 2-5, 8; Howry 4, 0-0, 4. Totals  42, 9-19, 51. Three point FG- Kenan (4), Kovach,.

Agnes Irwin (34)

Wetz 5, 3-8, 8; Devlinger 7, 0-2, 7; Williams 4, 1-2, 5; Duffy 0, 2-2,2; Spinelli 3, 0-1, 3; Crowly 2, 1-1, 3; Pew 0,0-3, 0; Wilderburn 2, 0-0, 2; Wenger 2, 1-2, 3; Schmidt 0, 1-2,1. Totals  23, 9-20, 34. Three point FG- Devlinger, Spinelli.