HATFIELD – The task was simple – win the fourth quarter, win the game. Of course, that’s easier said than done.
The Smith Academy and Hopkins Academy girls basketball teams were embroiled in a tight contest heading into the final period, with the host Falcons holding onto the slimmest of leads, 28-27. Smith Academy had jumped out to a early 15-9 lead in the first quarter, but the Golden Hawks chipped away throughout the remainder of the contest, even tying it up at one point in the third before the Falcons regained their advantage.
But now, with just one point separating the two sides, it was anyone’s ball game.
“We just thought once we got only one point down, we would get over the hump and just keep going,” Hopkins’ Chloe Jekanowski said. “Once we build up momentum and energy, we keep going.”
“Our coach always talks about the highs and lows, and we know that basketball is a game of runs. They’ll have their runs, and we’ll have our runs,” teammate Anna Dyjach added. “But we just (had) to stick through, and like Chloe said, the energy just really was there and we just wouldn’t give up.”
That energy and momentum carried the Golden Hawks to their first victory of 2022, which also snapped a six-game losing streak, in a 42-32 road win. Hopkins went on a 13-0 run in the final quarter to soar to victory over Smith, which struggled with shooting in the latter half of the game.
“We were 2-for-15 and Hopkins was 7-for-11 [shooting in the fourth quarter]. That’s the game changer,” Smith Academy co-head coach Allison Slysz said. “We were able to take 51 shots tonight, so I think it’s a testament to the fact that we’re actually moving the ball fairly well. We just literally weren’t knocking down shots.”
One of the other significant struggles that Smith Academy had to deal with was Hopkins’ Jekanowski, who towered above everyone and knocked down layups from the post like clockwork, finishing the game with a team-leading 17 points. The Falcons threw everything but the kitchen sink to try and neutralize her, but her teammates kept finding ways to get her the ball and Jekanowski rarely missed.
“Well, we were trying everything we could. We tried four or five different defenses, we tried fronting her, we tried double teaming, we tried everything we could,” Smith Academy co-head coach Dave Zononi. “When you’re that tall, it’s a huge advantage. She had a nice soft touch around the rim and was able to take advantage of that.”
Hopkins Academy coach Michael Prattico noted the impact Jekanowski brought to the floor.
“(She’s) extremely (important). She’s been working hard every single day. I’ve had her since she was a freshman, and she’s improved so much. She’s definitely vital to our success,” he said. “But so are other girls – Anna Dyjach stepped up, we had Gabby Dyjach, Tia Fyden – and Sadie Cyr is only a freshman, she did a good job.”
As much as Jekanowski shone on the stat sheet, Hopkins’ win wouldn’t have been possible without all five players on the court contributing as much as she did. Cyr finished the contest with 10 points, while Anna and Gabby Dyjach finished with six and seven points, respectively. Much of their offense relied on moving the ball quickly before Smith Academy’s defense could get its bearings, and their defense swarmed all over the Falcons from start to finish.
“Defense is probably the strongest part of our team. Sometimes we’re not really that good of shooters, we have our on and off days,” Dyjach said. “But we try to lock in on defense, and if we can limit their runs then we can take advantage of our runs when they come.”
Despite playing from behind for the majority of the game, and entering Tuesday’s game on a six-game losing streak, the Golden Hawks focused on what was directly in front of them, and didn’t let any of their mistakes get the best of them.
“During the game, if something bad happens on offense or defense, I always try and look forward to the next possession and clear my mind,” Jekanowski said.
On the other side of things, Smith Academy will look to rebound from Tuesday’s difficult loss and move forward as the postseason inches closer. Though their record sits at 4-7, the Falcons played well into the fourth quarter behind Bailey McCoy (10 points), Caitlin Graves (9 points) and Emma Moynihan (9 points).
“That’s kind of been the million dollar question for us all year,” Zononi said on how his team will mentally reset from Tuesday’s defeat. “We’ve lost a lot of close games and we feel like we have a chance to win every single game we play. Now we’ve put ourselves a little bit in the corner, and we’ve got to win more than we lose down the stretch to try and make the tournament. I fully expect to show up [Wednesday] ready to work. They have done that all year.”