City of Basketball Love

Matt Gaffney (@GaffReports)
––

NEW HOLLAND — If people around the state were not familiar with Audenried Charter’s Shayla Smith before, they will most certainly know her name now after Saturday’s performance in the PIAA Class 4A girls basketball quarterfinals.

The 5-foot-10 junior guard exploded for 41 points to lead the Rockets to a 79-53 win over Delone Catholic at Garden Spot High School. 

Audenried advances to their first appearance in the state semifinals and will face Scranton Prep on Tuesday at a time and site to be determined.

“I’m riding a roller coaster right now,” Audenried head coach Kevin Slaughter said. “I’m really happy, I’m ecstatic, especially considering where our school has come from. We weren’t known for having good athletics and we just started building and building. And what you’re seeing are the results.”

The driver of that roller coaster was Smith. She was a force in all facets of the game as she dominated the glass, attacked the rim with abandon, drained 3s and was a disruptor in the Rocket’s full-court pressure defense.

“I can’t say enough about Shayla Smith,” Slaughter said. “In my personal opinion, she’s the best player in the state. I’m talking about all seniors, all juniors. She’s the best player in this state.”

Smith had 14 points in the first half, but she made her presence felt in the fourth quarter when she scored 22 of her 41 points. For the soft-spoken junior, it’s all about finding another gear.

“When we were down, it gave me fuel. I knew I had to go harder. I always can turn it up another notch, and I know not everyone can do that,” Smith said. “I was off early in the game, but my team definitely held it down. We were down nine at one point, we just had to pull through, had to keep fighting and play defense. You can only keep me contained for so long, it’s only a matter of time until I get hot.”

Sophomore Heaven Reese had 15 points, including three 3-pointers, and Senaya Parker added eight for the Rockets.

“I can’t say enough having Reese because everybody knows who Shayla Smith is,” Slaughter said. “Some people know who Senaya Parker is. I have so many Division I coaches calling about her because nobody knows who she (Reese) is. She just woke up one day and just started playing better.”

Despite the final 26-point margin, the game was a close contest until Smith dominated the final period. Delone Catholic held a nine-point lead with a minute left in the first half and headed into the break leading 35-30. It had success behind the stellar post play of Kaitlyn Schwarz, who scored 12 of her team-high 14 points in the first half.

The outside shooting of Brielle Baughman (12 points), Megan Jacoby (12 points) and Reece Meckley (nine points) provided balance with their sharp-shooting from 3-point range to help keep the Squirettes close.

But the Rockets’ defense smothered Delone Catholic’s offense in the second half, holding it to 18 points, consistently disrupting the Squirettes' offensive rhythm and forcing turnover after turnover. When Reese hit her third 3 of the game with 3:20 in the third quarter, it gave the Rockets a lead they would not relinquish.

Audenried’s defense combined with Smith’s offensive display was too much for the Squirettes to overcome as the Rockets overwhelmed them with a 49-point second half, including a 33-11 fourth quarter advantage that put the game out of reach.

“Delone played a great, strategic basketball game in the first half, but I truly believe in my method of running,” Slaughter said. “This team reminds me of the 1990, 1991 UNLV Runnin' Rebels. You have to be able to race me to 75 (points). I don’t care how good you are. You can be great. But can you beat me to 75? So, let’s see if they can race with us.”

On Tuesday, Audenried will find out if Scranton Prep is up for a race or not. Regardless of the outcome of that game, the Rockets have already made school history with their state playoff run. 

“It’s definitely a blessing to be the first to get this far,” Smith said. “It’s definitely a great feeling.”

By Quarter

Delone Catholic: 12 | 23 | 7 | 11 || 53

Audenried: 14 | 16 | 16 | 33 || 79

Scoring

Delone Catholic: Schwarz 14, Jacoby 12, Baughman 12, Meckley 9, Hughes 2, Knobloch 2, Schussler 2

Audenried: Smith 41, Reese 15, Parker 8, Howard 6, Cheeseboro 6, Thornton 3

~~~

PIAA 4A Girls

Quarterfinals (Sat., March 16)
12-1 Audenried 79, 3-2 Delone Catholic 53
2-1 Scranton Prep 46, 4-1 Central Columbia 25
3-1 Wyomissing 61, 7-1 North Catholic 46
7-2 Blackhawk 43, 10-1 Fairview 19

Semifinals (Tue., March 19)
12-1 Audenried vs. 2-1 Scranton Prep
3-1 Wyomissing vs. 7-2 Blackhawk

Championship at Giant Center (Fri., March 23)
TBD, 12 p.m.