Why St. Joseph’s basketball is looking ahead to states and not back on the district title loss
St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy’s Kathleen Simander reached one of her main preseason goals this past week — but she didn’t feel much like smiling Wednesday.
Sure, she helped guide the girls’ basketball team to its first-ever appearance in the District 6 Class A championship. And, sure, for the second straight year, the Wolfpack qualified for the state tournament — with its best seed in school history this time. But Simander didn’t feel like celebrating Wednesday night after a 51-27 loss to Bishop Carroll in the district title game.
“I guess it just hits (hard) because we were so close,” she said, red-faced, moments after her five-point performance at Mount Aloysius. “Not winning is definitely a heartbreaker, but we still have bigger goals.”
Three teams from District 6 advance to the state tournament. So, despite Wednesday night’s loss, district runner-up St. Joseph’s is still heading to states. It will take on Saturday’s District 5 consolation-game winner between Shade (18-6) and Berlin (13-9) on March 7.
The place and time for the first-round state matchup still have yet to be determined.
“We’re absolutely looking ahead. We’re excited; we have a better seed than we did last year,” coach Kate Sosnoskie said, alluding to the fact SJCA qualified as the district’s No. 3 seed a year ago. “We look forward to playing in March; that’s always the goal. We’ve had a good run.”
St. Joseph’s (13-10) entered Wednesday’s district championship as the underdog No. 4 seed in the district. No. 2-seed Bishop Carroll (15-10), which won four of the last five district titles, came in with a misleading record since its schedule featured mostly Class 3A and Class 4A teams, where it held its own.
SJCA seized an early 5-4 lead in the first quarter Wednesday night. But that’s when everything went south.
Bishop Carroll’s Savannah Smorto was fouled, made her first free throw to tie the game and then missed the second. St. Joseph’s grabbed the rebound, but the ball was knocked out of bounds — and Bishop Carroll responded with a 3.
The Huskies then went on a 19-0 run that extended late in the second quarter, thanks in large part to freshman Madison Ostinowsky, who scored 10 of her game-high 17 points during that span. SJCA was scoreless for a little more than 10 minutes, and there was no clawing back from that. The Wolfpack trailed at halftime 28-8.
“Tonight we were having some issues with our offense,” said starting freshman guard Brigid Scanlon, who scored six points. “I just feel like our last game, everyone was looking to the basket, going after every loose ball. So we just need to bring that to this next game, in states.”
With every mention of disappointment about Wednesday’s loss, words about the silver lining — still making the state tournament — often followed closely behind. This was a team that hoped to make the state tournament again this season but, early on in the year, there were no guarantees.
Their two senior leaders from last year’s program had both graduated. Their starting five consisted of one freshman and two sophomores. And their entire playing style changed; they emphasized pushing the pace this season. The goal was to outwork teams so, what they lacked in experience, they could make up for with stamina in the second half.
So, while Wednesday’s outcome didn’t fill the locker room with smiles, this season remains something the Wolfpack are already proud of.
“It’s really refreshing to see we’re back in the state playoffs,” said sophomore guard Kate Youngmark, who had a team-high eight points, “because that tells us that our hard work is starting to pay off. That’s where all the fun starts.”
There was no quit in SJCA, either. With 90 seconds left in regulation, when Bishop Carroll’s bench started tapping its feet in anticipation of a win, Scanlon still went in for a steal at midcourt, got it and then sprinted to the basket before she was fouled. With 15 seconds left, newcomer Ruthanna McMurtrie nailed a contested layup as the Wolfpack leaped up from their seats, yelled and applauded.
“She’s always energetic on the bench, and it was really cool to see her get a score in the district title,” Youngmark explained.
SJCA fell in the second round of the state tournament last season. This time, the goal is to make it at least one step further — to the third round, or the Elite Eight.
Despite Wednesday’s loss, that goal has not changed. So, on Thursday, it’s back to work in the hope of sending those SJCA history books back to the printing press once more.
“We’re really proud of our kids and how far they’ve come,” Sosnoskie said. “They’ll keep working, and we know we have another chance going forward.”
Added Simander: “Winning districts would’ve been a small prize, but we’re pretty set on getting far in states.”
Bishop Carroll 51, St. Joseph’s 27
(Wednesday at Cresson)
Bishop Carroll 13 15 13 8 — 51
St. Joseph’s 5 3 10 9 — 27
Bishop Carroll (15-10)
Krumenacker 1 0-0 2, Yahner 5 2-3 12, Smorto 5 1-2 11, Buynack 0 1-2 1, Becquet 0 0-2 0, McMullen 2 0-0 6, Long 1 0-0 2, M. Ostinowsky 7 1-2 17. Totals 21 5-11 51.
SJCA (13-10)
McMurtrie 1 0-0 2, Simander 1 3-4 5, Youngmark 4 0-0 8, Eby 0 0-0 0, Scanlon 1 4-6 6, Mallison 0 0-0 0, Hershbine 0 0-0 0, Mangene 1 0-0 2, LaPorta 0 0-0 0, Wolf 1 0-0 2, Ott 0 2-2 2. Totals 9 9-12 27.
3-pointers: BC — McMullen 2, M. Ostinowsky 2. SJCA — None.
