Agape Freedom Sports LLC

WRITTEN BY: JERIC YURKANIN | AGAPE FREEDOM MEDIA

Archbald — On paper, Saturday’s District 2 Class 4A semifinal between Valley View and Nanticoke looked like a mirror staring back at itself.

Two complete teams.

Two programs built on defense first.

Two offenses averaging around 52 points per game.

Two defenses holding opponents in the early-to-mid 30s.

Valley View entered at 19-5. Nanticoke stood at 16-4. This wasn’t going to be a track meet.

It was going to be a fight.

And hanging over the entire matchup was one headline circled in red: Nanticoke senior Kate Reed — owner of around 77 three-pointers this season — the kind of shooter who can flip a scoreboard in two minutes if you blink.

From the opening tip, it felt exactly how it looked on paper — physical, back-and-forth, possession-by-possession basketball.

Valley View struck first.

Sophomore Ashlyn Palickar scored inside. Cora Castellani drilled a three. Just like that, 5-0 Cougars.

But Nanticoke answered with a punch of their own — nine unanswered points. Senior Nevaeh Baran fueled that surge, and with 4:19 left in the first quarter, it was Nanticoke 9, Valley View 5.

The gym tightened.

Mady Minelli and Castellani responded, tying the game at 9 with 3:57 left. It was tied again at 11 with 3:24 remaining. Then Nanticoke’s Natalee Atkins caught fire, knocking down two straight baskets to give the Lady Trojans a 15-12 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Valley View walked to the bench knowing something had to shift.

And it did.

Freshman Ali Mauro came off the bench in the second quarter and changed the entire tempo of the game. She scored in the paint. Then again. Then buried a three. Suddenly it was 16-15 Valley View — and the energy flipped.

“We knew coming into the game we needed be strong with the ball, first quarter we came out a little weak, we weren’t doing our jobs then 2nd quarter we came out and knew what we need to do better and we adjusted, rebound the ball better, and move the ball we knew then we can run them into transition that’s exactly what we did and pulled out the win.” said Valley View junior Sadie Cardoni.

“We started quick offensively defensively we got caught flat footed we changed a couple of our matchups and adjusted our help defense which luckily worked.” said Valley View head coach Robbie Martin.

He continued: “After the 1st quarter I thought we did a much better job moving and reversing the ball. Had better dribble penetration and looks into are bigs which helped us locate our perimeter shooters who knocked them down.”

Mauro didn’t just provide a spark — she exploded.

The freshman finished with a career-high 20 points, including 11 in the second quarter alone. With foul trouble creeping in for others, she answered the call in the biggest game of her young career and helped push Valley View to a commanding 32-20 halftime lead.

“Ali, she been working hard all season long, especially being a freshman coming off the bench, it’s very hard come into a semifinal game as a freshman and play way she did and I’m very proud of her.” said Sadie Cardoni.

“Putting a freshman in that situation isn’t easy.  With foul trouble early Ali stepped in and didn’t play like a freshman.  She has a ton of talent a strong work ethic and ice water running through her veins.  She’s progressed all year long and showed everyone today is a varsity caliber player. Cora, Ashlyn and Ava also had big games offensively which gave us great balance.  Sadie and Ava did a great job on the glass limiting their 2nd chance opportunities and their offensive rebounding gave us extra possessions.” said Martin.

The Cougars never gave the momentum back.

By the end of the third quarter, it was 46-30 Valley View. The defense kept swarming. Passing lanes disappeared. Loose balls were ripped away. Transition buckets piled up.

Final: 74-45 Cougars.

Castellani finished with 15 points and 5 assists.

Palickar added 13.

Ava Gazoo delivered 10 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists.

Cardoni contributed 7 points and 7 boards.

For Nanticoke, Natalee Atkins led the way with 15 points.

But the stat that may have mattered most?

Kate Reed — the 77-three-pointer senior — was held to zero.

Shut out.

Castellani followed her possession after possession, contest after contest, never giving an inch of air space.

“Cora, she did amazing today, she has the energy that compared to nobody else, she always ready to go and she seem to never get tired, it’s great have someone on the team like her and play with her.” said Sadie Cardoni.

“We knew Kate Reed was an above avg scorer who has crazy range.  As always Cora is assigned our opponents best offensive threat.  With all Cora’s offensive ability what I believe gets over looked is her individual defense.  She relentless.  Has a never going to beat me mentality.  Cora’s the real deal.  She watches a ton of film and prepares for who she is guarding.  She works just as hard off the floor as she does on it.  She’s always prepared.” said Martin.

Nanticoke is a very good basketball team. Disciplined. Tough. Balanced.

But Saturday belonged to the Cougars.

The defensive intensity. The second-quarter adjustments. The freshman spark. The glue defense on the perimeter. It all added up.

And now Valley View is headed back — for the second straight year — to Mohegan Sun Arena for the District 2 Class 4A Championship.

Waiting for them?

A familiar foe: Scranton Prep.

The two split the regular season. Valley View snapped a 27-year drought with a 45-43 win on January 8th. Prep answered with a 66-52 win on February 3rd. Last year, Prep took the district title over the Cougars.

This year?

Different team. Different moment. Same stage.

Both squads defend. Both can score. Both know each other well.

Who’s better?

That’s why the games are played.

One thing is certain — Valley View made the right adjustments Saturday. Strong coaching. Balanced scoring. Five starters locked in. Bench players stepping up when called.

Next stop: Mohegan Sun. Thursday night.

And the Cougars are coming.

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