9/14/2008
Nanticoke’s fab five
reminisce about storybook season
Holly Kozlowski Uzdella can rattle off memories of her high school basketball
career like it was just yesterday.
jsnowdon@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2060
Partial
video of 1990 Trojanette team at end of game - Compliments of GNA
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Holly Kozlowski Uzdella can rattle off memories of
her high school basketball career like it was just yesterday.
There are reminders, of course, to help jog her memory, such as the
display of photos and trophies that decorate her father’s barbershop.
Her scrapbooks are also close at hand, should she ever want to reminisce.
Or she could easily go back by popping in the video of Nanticoke Area’s
state title game.
Eighteen years have passed, but the memories from 1990, the sights,
the sounds of playing on the greatest girls basketball team from the
Wyoming Valley Conference are still vivid for Uzdella.
“One of my favorite memories is from the Eastern final at Pottsville’s
Martz Hall,” Uzdella said. “We were playing North Schuylkill
and when our names were being announced for the starting line-up we
couldn’t hear a thing because the fans were going crazy. Our
coach had to point to us when it was our turn to go out on the court.
It was so amazing how many people were there for us. It’s things
like that that will forever be etched in my mind.”
Uzdella and fellow senior stars Ellen Bartuska, Casey Comoroski, Holly
Ryncavage and Lori Scally Zaleski, capped their tremendous undefeated
season by winning the 1990 state championship. Along the way they
captured interest from college coaches, bitterness from opponents
and support from basketball fans throughout the Wyoming Valley.
“When you’re young like that you don’t realize how
big (Nanticoke girls basketball) was at the time, but I’ll never
forget the amount of support we had,” Zaleski said. “And
it wasn’t only people from Nanticoke.” But the residents
of Nanticoke certainly led the caravan of fans. And, rightfully so.
For four years the Trojanettes dominated the Wyoming Valley Conference
and District 2. It wasn’t until 1990, however, that Nanticoke
finally made it to the big dance at Hersheypark Arena.
As sophomores, the fab five were eliminated in the Eastern semifinals
by Lancaster Catholic. As juniors, they were sent home in the same
round once again by Lancaster Catholic. As seniors, they made a pact
that the only thing that would bring them home from the state playoffs
would be a victory parade.
“There was no way we were going to lose again,” Uzdella
said. “Coach (Rose) Volpicelli put it in our minds that we were
going to win and she executed the game-plan to get us there. It wasn’t
a matter of how we were going to win, it was a matter of how many
we would win by.”
The Trojanettes’ storybook season had its fill of villains. Lopsided
victories in favor of Nanticoke angered coaches, opponents and opposing
fans. Volpicelli and her talented group of seniors were often accused
of running up the score and embarrassing their conference foes.
“It’s so hard when you’re that young because you’re
always told to do your best, and we were just out there to play a
game the best we knew how,” Ryncavage said. “We didn’t
want to run up the score and we didn’t want to embarrass anyone,”
Comoroski added. “But what do you do when you are trying to get
to that (state championship) game?”
Each of the five starters had a scoring cap. As soon as she scored
18 points, whether it was in the first or fourth quarter, she was
finished playing for the night. That was Volpicelli’s attempt
at preventing a rout, but in most cases Nanticoke came away with a
convincing victory.
One of Nanticoke’s romps took an interesting turn late in the
fourth quarter and woke up an otherwise quiet crowd. With 99 points
on the scoreboard and 38 seconds left on the clock in a game against
Tunkhannock, Nanticoke’s efforts to keep the game under 100 points
were denied thanks to the Tigers.
Tunkhannock’s coach at the time, the late Norm Sisle, called
time-out. He waved his players to the bench and even got parents in
on his master scheme. The Tigers had possession when they returned
to the court and, instead of working an offense, their ball handler
raced down to Nanticoke’s basket and gave the Trojanettes 101
points.
Unfortunately, to add insult to injury, the plan didn’t run as
smooth as the Tigers had hoped. “I remember the girl just took
off towards our basket.” Uzdella said. “She was all alone
but she actually missed the lay-up. She had to get her own rebound
and put it back.”
“Oh, I’ll never forget that game,” added Zaleski. “I
guess there was some bitterness there. But the crowd started to cheer.
It was kind of funny.”
The road to gold
Nanticoke’s dominance continued in
the state playoffs. The team’s scoring cap was lifted and sitting
out a quarter, or two or three, because of the score was in the past.
Finally, the Trojanettes were putting their hours of intense practices
to good use.
Against Strath Haven in the Eastern quarterfinals
at Martz Hall, the Trojanettes poured in 41 points in the first quarter.
It was a 41-13 lead that was never threatened.
In the semifinals they once again met the team
that decided their fate the previous two seasons — Lancaster Catholic.
“I actually think the loss to Lancaster Catholic our junior year
prepared us for what we wanted to do as seniors,” Comoroski said.
“We were so determined as seniors. There was no way we were going
to be stopped our senior year.”
And so the Trojanettes eliminated their biggest
nemesis, and in typical Nanticoke fashion — a 45-point victory.
North Schuylkill was Nanticoke’s next victim.
The result was an 80-60 win which put the Trojanettes one victory away
from their ultimate goal of winning a state title.
“It was unbelievably exciting,” Zaleski
said. “When you’re young like that I don’t think you
realize how big something like (going to the state final) really is.
I wish I would have taken more time to stop and take it all in.”
In the biggest game of their high school careers,
against Beaver Falls, the Trojanettes withstood adversity they rarely
had to face over four years. With just four minutes remaining in the
fourth quarter, Uzdella fouled out for the first time in her career.
Bartuska was playing cautiously as well with four fouls. And the score
was much closer than the Trojanettes were used to.
But they found a way to prevail.
Reserves Renee Pointkowski and Teri Glazin filled
in perfectly, while the 5-foot-1 Comoroski put on a show. She nailed
a remarkable 23-of-35 free throws and finished with 36 points.
The heartbreak from being eliminated in years
past, the negativity that often surrounded the Nanticoke squad, the
chemistry that was built from seventh grade, all came down to this,
a 77-67 victory and a state championship. The Trojanettes’ smallest
margin of victory also served as their biggest win.
Always a champion
Ryncavage and her fiance Jim Saba recently
dusted off the videotape of Nanticoke’s championship game. It’s
been nearly 15 years since Ryncavage watched the tape, but she doesn’t
need to see it to remember the excitement that surrounded that season.
She has photos, her gold medal and her varsity jacket. But most importantly,
she has her teammates.
Each of the girls went on to be successful, and
they continue to stay connected through visits, phone calls, e-mails
and, of course, basketball.
Comoroski played at St. Bonaventure, was recently
inducted into the college’s hall of fame and now serves as associate
athletic director and senior woman administrator at Missouri State University.
Bartuska starred at the University of Richmond and earned a degree in
biology. She is living in Delaware and has been a zookeeper at the Philadelphia
Zoo for the last 11 years.
Uzdella was a standout at Lock Haven University.
She is married eight years to Chris Uzdella, has a stepdaughter, Natashja,
and works at InterMetro Industries in Wilkes-Barre, where she is a senior
accountant. Zaleski, who was also a state champion in javelin for Nanticoke,
played one season at West Chester University, one season with Luzerne
County Community College and graduated from Temple University. She is
married 11 years to Matthew and they have 5-year-old twin boys, Michael
and Jacob. She is a regional director of CareSite Pharmacies and oversees
10 pharmacies in Pennsylvania. Ryncavage played for a season at LCCC
and works for CVS Caremark as a supervisor of pharmacy technicians.
“We definitely still keep in touch,”
Zaleski said. “And basketball and that season is something that
always comes up.”
“We’re all bonded by being apart of
that team,” Uzdella said. “Looking back, I think being on
that team helped define me as a person. It helped me set goals, accept
adversity and embrace good times and I think that spills into my life
now.”
While the fab five have moved on from basketball,
one question will always remain — will there ever be another team
like Nanticoke?
“It’s hard to say,” Ryncavage
said. “You have to have five people who are really committed, really
talented and have the same goal in mind.”
“It was such an awesome experience,”
Uzdella. “You can only hope to see a team like ours again.”
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