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PIAA 4A: Casey guides Lansdale Catholic over Scranton Prep into title game

03/22/2023, 12:45am EDT
By Andrew Robinson

By Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3)
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ALLENTOWN – There are times on defense where Gabby Casey looks less like a basketball player and more like a free safety roaming between the hashes of a football field.

Take for instance the play in the second quarter Tuesday night where she came around the back of a Scranton Prep player, took the ball out of their hands and went in uncontested for a layup. Or the play early in the third where she left a Classics player on the floor after another steal led to a runout and dish to Jaida Helm for a hoop.

Growing up, she would tag along with her brother Jimmy - a tight end at Florida State - and his friends to play football, so naturally they would put her in the secondary as a ballhawk of sorts, right?

“No,” Casey said with a laugh. “They made me a fullback.”


Lansdale Catholic senior Gabby Casey scored 25 points in Tuesday's win over Scranton Prep. (Photo: Andrew Robinson/CoBL)

That explains so, so much.

Casey and Lansdale Catholic rumbled over Scranton Prep in Tuesday’s PIAA 4A semifinal at William Allen High School, securing a second straight trip to Hershey and a chance to win a state title. The senior forward was outstanding, scoring 25 points with 10 rebounds, three assists and five steals as LC rolled the Classics 60-28.

"It was the Gabby Casey show with a lot of support," LC coach Eric Gidney said. "Someone's still got to pass her the ball, someone's got to force their girl to pick up the ball to force steals in the passing lane but you could definitely tell No. 15 was on a mission tonight.

"She's got an unfinished business mentality."

Casey did get a lot of support from her teammates, even if one of them was being overzealously defended. Scranton Prep seemed determined not to let Olivia Boccella beat them, face-guarding the junior guard all over the floor.

That part of the plan worked, Boccella finishing without a point on one shot attempt but as she told Gidney after the game, she was plenty happy to be going back to Hershey. 

It also left a lot of space for Casey, Helm and Sanyiah Littlejohn to attack the rim and for Nadia Yemola to capitalize in Boccella’s usual role of kick-out shooter. The sophomore ended with 13 points, a really nice assist to Helm in the fourth and a few rebounds to round out a solid performance.

"I just tried to keep moving on offense, get the early exchange and look for my shot," Yemola said. "I felt pretty good in warm-ups so as I got the ball and got the opportunity, I knew I just had to keep shooting.”

Once Casey got going, nobody was stopping her anyway. She scored the team’s first basket, tying the game, then turned her first steal into the go-ahead bucket and there was no looking back.

Littlejohn added a reverse layup, Casey hit a three, Helm found Yemola for a three and Casey capped an early haymaker with an and-one layup for a 15-4 lead five minutes. Casey ended the quarter with back-to-back baskets, giving her 14 in the frame and the Crusaders a 19-8 lead.

"I wanted to come out strong, come out with intensity and kind of knock them back," Casey said. "I think that's what we did as a team. We came out and were hitting our shots and that was really a booster, then creating chaos on defense which led to offense."

Senior Rita Collins scored all eight of Scranton Prep’s first quarter points but just one more the rest of the way. Maya Jenkins, covered by Littlejohn, had eight and no other Classics player had more than three, LC’s defense disrupting an offense that had been productive all postseason with a proficiency from behind the arc.

Yemola chalked up the defensive success to working through screens, keeping hands up on the shooters and taking away the Classics’ drives that generated a lot of their open looks on the perimeter.

All three of Scranton Prep’s three-point makes came in the third quarter, the team hitting just 3-of-13 from long range. Gidney confessed to watching a lot of film on the Classics, a few games multiple times, to find tendencies and look for counters when opponents could take those away.

“I’ve watched some games four, five, six times,” Gidney said. “That’s two games in a row where I’ve felt the five girls on the floor wearing Lansdale Catholic uniforms really put on a defensive clinic. We wanted to force them into tough shot after tough shot after tough shot because we knew, if they get open looks, they can make them.”

Casey said the coaches wanted her to freelance and roam a little bit defensively, kind of like a safety, then pick and choose spots where she could go after the ball. The senior noticed a lot of possessions where the player at the top of the key would turn their back on the catch, setting her up for a couple sneak-attack takeaways that led to runouts going the other way.

“In practice, it’s tough playing against it so for an opponent, I’m sure it probably throws their whole game off,” Yemola said. “The energy swings to us, we’re all hype any time she does that.”

Scranton Prep got as close as 15-8 but never threatened to go on a sustained run. The Crusaders meanwhile kept racking up makes through the second quarter, Casey drilling a three then finding Yemola for a triple - the sophomore was 3-of-5 from distance and Casey hit 4-of-6 - for a 33-11 lead and LC took a 35-15 advantage to the half.

Gidney said his players were a little mad they gave up 11 points in the third quarter, the team setting a goal to only allow single-digit quarters defensively, but otherwise there was nothing to be upset with. After three pretty stoic wins the Crusaders finally let loose a bit at the final horn and they got their coach with a celebratory dousing in the locker room, something they had avoided to that point.

“You know, it’s a big win, we haven’t really celebrated yet and tonight was a really good night,” Casey said. “We weren’t expecting to beat them by 30, we played really well as a team and it felt good to enjoy it.”

Casey geared back her attacking after halftime, scoring just six points after the break and focusing on getting her teammates the ball. Helm helped push LC to the finish, the senior netting 10 of her 16 points in the second half.

Littlejohn gave the Classics defense fits with ability to break it down, get into the paint and either find the next person or finish, the sophomore tallying six points.

“We’re never thinking we’re the best, we know we have work still to do,” Yemola said. “There’s a lot of planning and preparing that goes on and when you see it come together, I think that’s why we won the way we did.”

The Crusaders are now back in familiar ground as one of the last two teams in the state. They’ll face Blackhawk, a 45-40 winner over WPIAL champion North Catholic, in Saturday’s title game at noon from the Giant Center.

Last year, LC’s season ended with a loss in the big arena and that game set the stage for a season that’s seen a historic first PCL title and District 12 championship come back to Lansdale. Now, there’s just one more to bring home.

“We’re looking to get the triple crown, hopefully, on Saturday,” Casey said. “We’ve all got each other’s backs and we all put in the hard work so I think it’s showing on the floor.”

By Quarter
LC:  19  |  16  |  14  |  11  ||  60
SP:   8   |   7   |  11  |   2   ||  28

Scoring
LC: Gabby Casey 25, Jaida Helm 16, Nadia Yemola 13, Sanyiah Littlejohn 6

SP: Rita Collins 9, Maya Jenkins 8, Ashlyn Moore 3, Jayna McIntyre 3, Bella Denebaum 2


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