Julie Spinelli sparks St. Joseph girls to statement win over Freeport

By: Michael Love
Wednesday, December 28, 2022 | 9:27 PM

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There’s something about playing Freeport that sparks St. Joseph junior Julie Spinelli.

Last year, she scored 33 points to lift the Spartans past the Yellowjackets in a three-point nonsection victory.

Spinelli was at it again Wednesday evening in the championship game of the St. Joseph holiday tournament at Walter Dlubak Center.

She scored 31 points, including 17 in the fourth quarter, as the Spartans rallied past Freeport and held on for a 56-55 victory.

“I don’t know what it is,” said Spinelli of her performances against the Yellowjackets. “It was just an exciting game. I know a lot of girls on Freeport. I had played with them in previous years. It’s fun to play against people that you know.

“I really want to be a leader for my team. I wanted to drive to the hoop and get them in foul trouble if I could. My strength is driving and also getting steals on defense.”

St. Joseph trailed 42-35 at the end of the third quarter.

Spinelli, who added 12 rebounds, converted a pair of layups early in the fourth to draw the Spartans within three.

She authored a personal 7-0 run midway through the quarter, and a layup with 3:51 left gave St. Joseph the lead at 48-46.

The Spartans led by as much as five — 53-48 — with 56 seconds left as junior center Anna Kreinbrook grabbed an offensive rebound and fed Spinelli inside for two points.

But senior guard Melaina DeZort, who led Freeport with 22 points, sank a pair of jumpers in the final minute to keep her team close.

Spinelli’s final two points came from the line as she made a pair with 11 seconds on the clock to extend St. Joseph’s advantage to 55-52.

The win for St. Joseph (7-2) is its fifth in a row.

“This is super exciting because a win like this against a really good Freeport team helps put our name on the map even more,” Spinelli said. “We played a pretty tough schedule this month, and that really gives us a lot of momentum going into section play.”

St. Joseph kicks off Section 3-A play Monday at home against WPIAL newcomer Hillel Academy.

“This was a really exciting game,” St. Joseph coach Dennis Jones said. “Each team had a couple runs in them and also had a couple of defensive lapses. It was a tough game, and we knew it would be close and come right down to the end.

“We had a game plan to get Julie the ball in the fourth quarter on some give-and-goes from our center and some other plays. Freeport brings the best out of her. She just steps it up when we need her the most.”

Sophomore Gia Richter added 12 points for the Spartans. She scored seven of her 12 in the third quarter.

In addition to DeZort’s 22 points, Freeport junior forward Brooke Kmetz finished with 14 to go along with six rebounds, and Ava Soilis scored 13 and added eight rebounds.

St. Joseph led 18-8 after the first quarter as it took an early lead on a 3-pointer from Richter and closed the quarter on an 11-2 run.

Trailing 20-8 early in the second quarter, Freeport used a run of its own, a 12-0 spurt to tie the game at 20. DeZort scored nine of the 12 points on a pair of 3-pointers and a layup and free throw.

The teams traded baskets over the final two minutes of the first half, and a free throw from freshman forward Tessa Keller gave the Yellowjackets a 26-25 lead at halftime.

“I credit the girls for battling back from the deficit we had, but we didn’t box out the way we needed to and didn’t stop the drive,” said Freeport coach Fred Soilis, whose team fell to 4-5 overall with Section 1-4A games against Knoch and Highlands looming early next month.

“Our defense was spotty in the second half. We couldn’t stop the penetration and couldn’t stop the shot. They just had too many second chances. I am proud of the girls for how they battled, but it is frustrating coming up short in one-point games.”

The loss was Freeport’s fourth by one point as it also opened the season with similar setbacks to Plum, Fox Chapel and Shady Side Academy.

“We just have to play better defense,” coach Soilis said. “We can shoot and put the ball in the basket. We just have to make sure we also defend. These are fixable mistakes. But we are seven weeks into the season. We have to fix them at some point.”

Wednesday’s close game was in contrast to the teams’ first-round wins on Tuesday. St. Joseph defeated Valley, 60-23, while Freeport topped Burrell, 47-23.

Burrell came back Wednesday and beat Valley, 63-38, in the third-place game.

“With the tough schedule we’ve played so far, it’s been a challenge, but the girls are meeting that challenge,” Jones said. “Tonight was a big challenge. I couldn’t be more proud of the girls, every single one of them.”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Freeport, St. Joseph