East girls top West in highest-scoring Cager Classic all-star basketball game

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, March 24, 2018 | 9:18 PM

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The East girls didn’t quite meet the scoring goal set by its coaching staff at Saturday’s Cager Classic, but they still did plenty to keep the points flowing and their winning streak going.

In the highest-scoring girls game in the 22-year history of the Cager Classic, the East rallied from a seven-point deficit late in the second half and pulled away for an 88-77 victory Saturday night at Highlands.

“We were kicking it,” said West Shamokin’s Olivia Fusaro, named the East’s MVP after scoring a team-high 17 points. “Mikayla (Lovelace) is going to IUP, Megan (Ost) is going to Carlow. We had a lot of talent on the floor, so it felt good to be able to put it to use.”

The teams broke the combined scoring record of 162 points, set in 2005, as nine players reached double figures.

Ost, of Apollo-Ridge, followed Fusaro with 16 points, Leechburg’s Lovelace and Burrell’s Brittany Dunn added 13 apiece and Armstrong’s Kenzie Lasher chipped in 10. West MVP Alex Jones of St. Joseph scored a game-high 21 points, followed by Hampton’s Laryn Edwards and St. Joseph’s Chloe Kurpakus with 14 apiece and Knoch’s Emily Fraser with 12.

“Our coaches said our goal was 100,” Fusaro said. “We tried getting there, but we were a little short.”

No matter: 88 was enough for the East to stretch its winning streak in the Cager Classic to six and to increase its series lead to 13-9 over the West.

After leading for the entire first half — by as many as 11 points — the East found itself trailing 71-64 late in the second half before closing the game on a 24-6 run. Dunn’s layup gave the East the lead for good at 73-71 with 3 minutes, 25 seconds remaining.

“I think it was just our team connection,” said Lovelace, the second-leading scorer in Alle-Kiski Valley history with 2,047 career points. “We knew when to get each other the ball, and we kept our composure throughout the game. It was fun. I really liked playing with them. It was a nice way to end my season.”

The Cager Classic brings together the top seniors from the Alle-Kiski Valley and its surrounding areas, and the players showcased their ability.

“Just being able to play my last high school game with all these great people and even the other team a lot of great kids, it’s a lot of fun,” Dunn said.

Despite just one official team practice before the game, the teams played an up-and-down style almost from tipoff.

The West, more of a perimeter-oriented team, hit six 3-pointers — two each by Kurpakus and Knoch’s Casey Kretzer. The East took advantage of its edge in size, with the 6-foot-2 Ost a mismatch on the boards.

“It was crazy,” Jones said. “The energy was high, everybody was having fun. We all just were doing what we love doing.”

After the East took a 26-15 lead in the first half, the West kept cutting into the deficit. Jones made it a 41-40 game at halftime by hitting a 3-pointer just before the buzzer, and her St. Joseph teammate Kurpakus gave the West its first lead with a fast-break layup for the first points of the second half.

From there, the teams traded four ties and seven lead changes, with the East’s final push making the difference.

“It’s not about winning or losing,” said East coach Jason Kerr, also coach at Valley. “We wanted to make sure everybody had a chance to be with different people and play. Our team was fantastic: a lot of great guards, and they fit well with our post players. We had a nice mix of both.”

A free throw by the East team’s Cameron Davies, of Leechburg, broke the event scoring record, and Dunn added a layup just before the buzzer.

Fusaro became the second consecutive West Shamokin player to earn MVP honors, joining 2017 winner Andrea Orlosky. Jones became just the ninth girls player to reach 20 points and also won the essay contest that brings with it a $500 scholarship.

“It was a fun night, and this is one of the best events for the girls in the A-K Valley that you could ask for,” said West coach Fred Soilis, also the coach at Freeport. “You’ve got to salute the organizers that put this together for 22 years, and it just keeps getting better and better. We’ve got a great amount of talent in the A-K Valley.”

Doug Gulasy is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at dgulasy@tribweb.com or via Twitter @dgulasy_Trib.

Tags: Apollo-Ridge, Armstrong, Burrell, Hampton, Leechburg, St. Joseph, West Shamokin