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Loyalsock’s Dadzie scores 1,000th point as Lancers defeat Jersey Shore in girls basketball

By CHRIS MASSE 7 min read

Well after the game ended, most spectators who packed Ron Insinger Gymnasium remained inside. Seeing Loyalsock center Alaina Dadzie score 1,000 points felt great, but, for those fans, celebrating that achievement with her meant even more.

Dadzie reached that impressive milestone just seven games into her junior season Monday night, scoring a game-high 20 points and helping Loyalsock win a 46-38 thriller against Jersey Shore. In a game which represented everything good about high school girls basketball, both teams exchanged big shots, key plays and leads before Dadzie scored the game’s final six points and helped Loyalsock (7-0) remain undefeated.

"It’s super exciting. I knew wanted to get it at home to celebrate it here," Dadzie said. "It was a little nerve-wracking to know I wanted to get it at home but it also is very fun to celebrate with people I’ve known all my life."

It was after the game when one really felt the impact Dadzie has made at Loyalsock and it goes beyond basketball. A model student who is heavily involved in extra-curricular activities, Dadzie going for 1,000 drew former teammates, former 1,000-point Lancer scorers, friends, teachers and more. All that added to a playoff-like environment with most seats filled well before tip-off.

Dadzie showed again why she is a great player Monday, adding 17 rebounds, four assists, five steals and two blocks. Still, the reception she received afterward highlighted even more about the person she is.

"She is someone who is loved in many different avenues. A lot of different people have a lot of respect for her because of the type of person she is. She’s a great student, a great friend, and a great person," Loyalsock coach Curtis Jacobson said. "It’s a lot of really cool stuff that she does. You see her competing hard on the floor, but don’t see a lot of the other stuff.

"When you get to know her as a person, you see she’s a special person."

Loyalsock needed a special performance from all its players to fight off Jersey Shore (6-2) which never backed down despite falling behind 15-3 early in the second quarter. The Bulldogs thundered back, tied the game by halftime, led entering the fourth quarter and took their final lead, 36-34, when Avery DePasqua drained a 3-pointer with six minutes remaining.

Jersey Shore revealed the grit which has made it a two-time defending league champion, while also playing excellent defense and turning the ball over just eight times against an outstanding defense. The result was not what it wanted, but Jersey Shore still took a step forward.

"I’m proud of them, but I’m not surprised. We expected the effort and to battle the way we knew we had to battle," Jersey Shore coach Mike Schall said. "There were a lot of moments that they really showed the guts and resolve that they have with four seniors who have worked hard at it for a while."

Dadzie has worked hard throughout her basketball life, developing into one of the state’s premier players a year ago when Loyalsock reached its first state Final 4 and she earned all-state honors. Immediately a starter as a freshman, Dadzie has made big strides each season, never resting on past achievements. And as impressive as her physical talents are, Dadzie has developed quality poise and maturity along the way.

That was evident Monday because Jersey Shore did everything in its power to deny Dadzie the 1,000-point milestone. Strong Jersey Shore defense played a big role as did Dadzie pressing at times, knowing how close the achievement was.

She missed a lot of shots she usually makes but Dadzie still was impacting the game, piling up 16 rebounds and four assists through three quarters. However, Jacobson sensed her frustration and pulled Dadzie out with 3 minutes, 32 seconds remaining in the third quarter. It was a reset, refocus moment and Dadzie heeded the advice given, returning 19 seconds later to turn words into action.

"My coaches were saying short-term memory; keep it in the past. It’s the next play," Dadzie said. "That really helped me to focus on the next play and keep it going even though I missed layups. It kept me looking toward the larger goal and getting the win."

Showcasing her resolve, Dadzie was at her best when it mattered most. The 6-foot-1 renaissance girl in sneakers, scored 12 fourth quarter points and made her final three shots. Her teammates did an excellent job putting Dadzie in position to score with Lacey Kriebel and Madison Perry finding her three times in the fourth quarter.

Following DePasqua’s go-ahead 3-pointer, Dadzie tied the game with a score inside before finding a cutting Ellis for a layup. She then grabbed her 17th rebound, was fouled and hit two free throws. Sophie Stover answered with a driving bank shot, pulling Jersey Shore within 40-38 with 1:49 left.

After a go-ahead Jersey Shore 3-point attempt rattled in and out, Perry connected with Dadzie and put Loyalsock up four and Dadzie within two points of 1,000. That moment came after Jacobson called timeout with 49 seconds remaining.

Kriebel inbounded the ball on the right wing and fired a perfect pass which Dadzie caught in stride a few feet from the basket. She turned, shot and joined Kriebel and Summer McNulty as the only Loyalsock players to reach 1,000 points as juniors in the 2000s while also making it a six-point game.

Because the game was so close and time so limited, it was not stopped following the 1,000th point basket. After Loyalsock forced a turnover, Dadzie capped her memorable night in perfect fashion, taking another Perry pass and scoring in the closing seconds before being engulfed by happy teammates and fans moments later.

"It’s really overwhelming," Dadzie said. "It’s so nice to have all these people coming to support me."

"Looking back, it was a neat way how it ended so late," Jacobson said. "That’s why we haven’t gone into the locker room and we’re not going into the locker room tonight because she deserves this and the celebration."

Jersey Shore looked like it might prevent a celebration throughout the game. The Bulldogs never buckled and went on a 13-0 run after falling behind by 12 early. From that point on, neither team led by four points again until Dadzie’s milestone basket in the final 35 seconds.

While Kriebel and Ellis took turns playing tremendous defense against Dincher and limited her to seven shots, she still hit some big ones as did Schall, DePasqua and Stover with all scoring at least eight points. Kylie Schall came off the bench to hit a 3-pointer during the game-changing second quarter run and Hannah Heaton was a big part of the defensive success.

"We believe in all the players and we try and develop them in our program to be free to play together and make the right basketball reads and play unselfishly," Mike Schall said. "They and any basketball team is only going to be at its best when we can flow that way as five on the floor and I thought they did that."

Loyalsock also received some major contributions from all seven players Jacobson used. Kriebel and Ellis played fantastic all-around games with Kriebel going for 10 points, eight rebounds and five assists and Ellis six points and six rebounds. Jaekairah Harden overcame first half foul trouble and played spectacular defense while Perry shined in her first varsity start. Maddie Wertz and Hazel Zajack provided big-time minutes off the bench, Wertz hitting a clutch fourth quarter shot which put Loyalsock up, 34-31.

"We were down a starter, down our sixth man, so being down two players in the rotation that’s credit to our girls, especially with foul trouble," Jacobson said. "We had people in different spots, and you need moments like this to get better and both teams got better tonight."

JERSEY SHORE (38)

Peyton Dincher 3 0-0 8, Cailyn Schall 3 2-2 8, Sophie Stover 4 0-0 10, Avery DePasqua 3 0-0 9, Hannah Heaton 0 0-0 0, Kylie Schall 1 0-0 3. Totals 14 2-2 38.

LOYALSOCK (46)

Alaina Dadzie 9 2-3 20, Lacey Kriebel 4 1-2 10, Julie Ellis 2 2-4 6, Jaekairah Harden 2 0-0 4, Maddie Wertz 2 0-0 4, Madison Perry 1 0-0 2. Totals 20 5-9 46.

Jersey Shore 3 16 12 7--38

Loyalsock 11 8 11 16--46

3-pointers: Jersey Shore 8 (DePasqua 3, Dincher 2, Stover 2, K. Schall); Loyalsock 1 (Kriebel).

Records: Loyalsock 7-0. Jersey Shore 6-2.

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