St. Joseph’s Academy sizzles over EJ

By Kenny Varner Jr.
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Updated: December 18, 2023

Photo by Jeff Shomo
By Kenny Varner

BOALSBURG – Keep an eye on the Wolfpack!

Monday night, the undefeated St.Joseph girls basketball team hosted a very feisty East Juniata team in a Tri-Valley Athletic Association contest.

“There are always things we look for as a team. They came out and they played really well. Our inside -outside game is pretty good right now,” said Wolfpack coach Bethany Irwin. “This year other teams can’t for us on one player. Last year, they focused on poor Aubrey (Yartz). This year we have some outside shooters so they really can’t focus on one.”

The Wolfpack started out hot from beyond the arc opening up the inside game, leading to a strong overall performance in an 80-23 contest.

Leading the offensive charge for the home team was captain Aubrey Yartz who finished with a double-double. Yartz finished with 14 points, 12 rebounds and four block evening.

Naomi Crispin had her 3-point shot lazered in as she posted 18 points in the victory. Teammate Lauren Himes sizzled as well finishing with 16.

Jacee Cunningham missed a double-double by a point, posting a nine-point and 10 rebound performance.

East Juniata got eight points from Alicia Spade.

St. Joseph out rebounded East Juniata 48-15.

In the first quarter, the Wolfpack opened the scoring, posting two consecutive triples, jumpstarting the offense.

After forcing a turnover, the Wolfpack went inside to Yartz, who sealed the deal with a shot in the paint.

The run forced a time out with 6:46 in the opening period.

But the momentum remained with St.Joseph with consecutive triples by Crispin and Himes, upping it to a 14-0 advantage.

But the Tigers broke onto the scoreboard on an inside bucket by Mackaylyn Peters, 14-2.

Cunningham and Himes worked inside to increase the Wolfpack advantage to 19-2.

EJ’s Riley Apple put the Lady Tigers back on the board, 19-4.

With the Wolfpack leading 22-4, the Tigers got the last bucket when Maddie Snyder hit 2-of-2 from the charity stripe.

The Wolfpack continued the aerial attack in the second period. The defense continued to block out the any lanes to the bucket.

When the dust settled going into the intermission, St. Joseph’s Academy held a steady 45-8 contest.

In a game where both teams were able to get all their players some much valuable playing time, there was no drop performance wise for the Wolfpack bench.

With the ‘Mercy Rule’ in effect for the entire second half, the home team outscored the Tigers 35-12 in the second half, en route to the TVL victory.