For 16 magical minutes Friday night, the Nanticoke Area girls basketball team brought back memories of the outstanding Trojanette teams during the Aly Byorick era.
After facing a 6-2 deficit against Meyers in the opening minutes, Nanticoke countered with an explosive 29-6 run to take control of the game and coasted to an impressive 52-36 victory in a Wyoming Valley Conference Division III game.
The Trojanettes (13-8, 4-1 Division III) blitzed Meyers with their suffocating full-court defense, and were red-hot from the field. Led by all-star senior guard Jenn Harnischfeger, Nanticoke shot the eyes out of the basket during the first half, connecting on six three-point shots.
Nanticoke stayed alive in its quest for a second-half division championship. The Trojanettes need to win at Northwest on Monday, and hope Meyers beats division-leading Lake-Lehman to force a special playoff for the second-half title.
Harnischfeger scored 15 points in the first half, including three 3-point baskets. She also came up with four steals, including two that she took coast-to-coast for layups.
Meanwhile, the Mohawks went ice cold, scoring only four points in the second quarter and finding themselves in a 31-12 hole at halftime.
“We had a great first half,” said the 5-foot-3 Harnischfeger, who was a starter on Nanticoke’s 29-1 squad as a freshman. “This team doesn’t compare to the great teams of Byorick and (Sarah) Acker, but the first half was definitely the best we’ve played.”
Harnischfeger finished with 17 points.
Nanticoke was pumped up to play because it was senior night, Harnischfeger added.
“We knew we were going to come out fired up, and we emphasized stopping their big people in the paint.”
Meyers junior center Maddie Lavery scored the first four the points of the game, but finished with eight points. Senior forward Ashlee Ward also was held in check, finishing with two points while sitting out much of the game due to foul trouble.
Nanticoke also got a sharp performance from sophomore guard Teresa Kalinay, who scored 17 points – including three 3-pointers. Sophomore center Katie Wolfe scored six points and was a force in the paint, while freshman guard Kayley Schinski added six points on a pair of long-range treys.
“We came out with emotion,” said Wolfe, who scored two baskets on perfectly-timed give-and-go plays, including a layup on a pinpoint pass from Harnsichfeger from the perimeter. There were two girls between us, but she managed to get me the ball.”
Schinski, one of the most talented rookies in the WVC, hit a high-arching three-point shot that gave Nanticoke a 46-27 lead late early in the fourth quarter.
“We definitely played great defense,” Schinski said. “Everybody on our team did a good job of being where they’re supposed to be.”
Lavery and Troy Lynn Lewis led Meyers (9-13, 3-2) with eight points respectively, while Maureen Lisman had seven points.
Meyers coach Chris Gray said his team ran into a buzzsaw.
“Nanticoke played a complete game, you have to give them a lot of credit. We gave them wide open threes in the first half, and they took advantage.”
The Mohawks had no answer for Harnischfeger, Gray added. “Trying to stop Harnischfeger on senior night is a tall order. She played great.”
Nanticoke coach Alan Yendrzeiwski concurred.
“Harnischfeger did a good job defensively as well as scoring. She stepped up in a big way, but our younger players are coming into their own. If we play like we did tonight, I think we’re capable of beating some good teams in the district playoffs.”
MEYERS (36): Lisman 2 5-7 10, Lewis 3 1-2 8, Lavery 4 0-0 8, Konopki 1 1-3 4, Ward 0 2-2 2, Robertson 1 0-0 2, Knooren 0 1-2 1, Sodo 0 1-2 1, Kowalchuck 0 0-0 0, Moses 0 0-0 0. Totals 11 11-18 46.
NANTICOKE AREA (52): Kalinay 4 6-8 17, Harnischfeger 7 0-0 17, Wolfe 3 0-1 6, Schinski 2 0-0 6, Tarnowski 1 0-0 3, Sugalski 1 0-0 2, Sennefelder 0 0-2 0, Pientka 0 0-0 0, Katra 0 0-0 0, Kyle 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 7-13 52.
Meyers 8 4 11 13 — 36
Nanticoke Area 15 16 12 9 — 52
3-Point Field Goals— MEY 3 (Konopki, Lisman, Lewis); NAN 8 (Harnischfeger 3, Kalinay 3, Schinksi 2)

1/24/2010
Harnischfeger-led GNA bounces Meyers in playoff
vrose@timesleader.com

You couldn’t blame the Meyers girls basketball players if they see Jenn Harnischfeger in their nightmares, because that’s what she proved to be for the Mohawks on Saturday night.
Harnischfeger single-handedly broke open a close game in the second half, finishing with a game-high 22 points and 12 steals to lead Nanticoke to a 46-36 victory over Meyers in a Wyoming Valley Conference Division III playoff game at Wyoming Valley West High School.
The Trojanettes (9-6, 5-1 WVC) will face Lake-Lehman at 6 p.m. Monday at Holy Redeemer High School to decide the first-half championship.
Harnischfeger, a 5-foot-3 senior guard, took charge of the game in the second half. She scored 13 points and made eight steals in the final two quarters to help the Trojanettes gain control of the game, which was tied 19-19 at halftime.
She converted a steal into a layup in the first 10 seconds of the second half, and Teresa Kalinay followed with a three-point basket to put Nanticoke up 24-19, a lead that it never relinquished.
Nanticoke widened the margin to 31-23 on a Harnischfeger basket with 4:12 left in the third quarter, then she stole the inbounds pass and converted a layup to stretch the lead to 33-23.
“Harnischfeger is a special player,” said Meyers coach Chris Gray. “She plays with a kind of intensity that’s very hard to defend. She did her thing in the second half, and we didn’t have an answer.”
Harnischfeger wreaked more havoc in the fourth quarter. She hit two straight baskets that gave Nanticoke a 40-31 lead with 5:50 to play. On the next possession, she found Katie Wolfe wide open under the basket and got her the ball for an uncontested layup and a 42-32 Nanticoke lead.
“We stepped up our defense in the second half,” Harnischfeger said. “We did a good job of sealing up the lane and containing (Maddie) Lavery.”
Lavery, a 6-foot center, led the Mohawks with 14 points. However, she only scored four points in the second half, which was due in part to being double-teamed.
Meyers got within 36-31 on a free throw by Ashlee Ward with 6:48 remaining in the game, but was unable to draw any closer.
“We like to take advantage of Harnischfeger in this kind of situation,” Nanticoke coach Allen Yendrzeiwski said. “She did a really good job of causing them problems handling the ball.”
According to Harnischfeger, double-teaming Lavery in the second half was a major factor in the victory.
“She played really well in the first half, so we had to keep as much pressure on her as possible in the second half.”
The Trojanettes also got a big effort from Clarissa Tarnowski, who chipped in with eight points—including a pair of three-point baskets. Wolfe added six points, while Kalinay and Sammy Gow each had five points.
Ward finished with nine points, while Maureen Lisman added eight points for the Mohawks (6-11, 5-2 WVC).
“Nanticoke did a great job of pressing,” Gray said. “Harnischfeger was outstanding.”
NANTICOKE (46): Harnischfeger 9 3-6 22, Wolfe 3 0-4 6, Kalinay 2 0-0 5, Gow 1 3-4 5, Tarnowski 3 0-1 8, Sugalski 0 0-0 0 Totals: 18 6-15 46
MEYERS (36): Lisman 2 3-4 8, Lewis 2 0-0 4, Knooren 0 0-0 0, Ward 4 1-4 9, Lavery 6 2-2 14, Konopki 0 1-2 1, Winder 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 7-12 36.
Nanticoke 8 11 15 12 — 46
Meyers 10 9 9 8 — 36
3-Point Field Goals— NAN 4 (Harnischfeger, Kalinay, Tarnowski 2) Meyers 1 (Lisman)

1/24/2010
Trojanettes earn trip to first-half title game
By Tom Brolley - Citizens' Voice

Nanticoke Area and Meyers have two separate, distinct strengths.
The Trojanettes are guard-oriented and like to play an up-tempo style while the Mohawks like to pound it inside to their forwards in a half-court game.
On Thursday night, Meyers' style of play won out, but on Saturday, Nanticoke Area's guards led by Jenn Harnischfeger, who had 22 points, got their revenge taking control of the second half in a 46-36 victory in a Division 3 playoff at Valley West High School.
Nanticoke Area will now take on Lake-Lehman at Holy Redeemer at 6 Monday for the Division 3 first-half title. The Trojanettes won the last matchup, 44-36, on Jan. 14.
"We didn't want to get into a half-court game with them," Nanticoke Area coach Alan Yendrzeiwski said. "We thought it was in our best interest to play fast, up-tempo, fast break and try to get steals and turnovers when we could."
Leading the way in applying the pressure was Harnischfeger, who pick-pocketed Mohawks guards from beginning to end leading to her game-high scoring total.
The senior guard started the game with a 3-pointer and a steal and lay-up on Meyers' first possession.
The Trojanettes turned the Mohawks over on the first three possessions of the game to take an 8-0 lead just a minute-and-a-half into the game.
After a timeout, the Mohawks were able to get their half-court game going, scoring the game's next 10 points including eight from Maddie Lavery.
After scoring the game's first eight points, Nanticoke Area didn't score for more than eight minutes.
Tied out of halftime at 19-19, the Trojanettes amped up the pressure with a three-quarter court press that resulted in three steals and lay-ups for Harnischfeger.
"Last time, I didn't think we put enough pressure on the guards," Yendrzeiwski said. "They were able to throw it in and lob it in and the passes were a little too easy. By extending the pressure a little bit, we made it a little bit harder. We really don't have a six-footer to match up with (Lavery), but, with the ball pressure, I think we did a pretty good job."
Two nights after Lavery scored 22 points, the Trojanettes limited the junior to 14 points including six in the final three quarters.
Nanticoke Area's added pressure limited Lavery to only seven shots in the last three quarters after she had seven in the first quarter.
"When our offense is going the way we want it to, it goes through (Lavery)," Meyers coach Chris Gray said. "That's big for us, we have to be able to get her touches. They did a really nice job of putting the pressure on our guards. We made our fair share of mistakes and we weren't able to get her and Ashley as many touches as we would've like to."

1/18/2010
Citizens' Voice "Athlete of the Week"
Jenn Harnischfeger
Nanticoke Area
Senior, Basketball

Hometown: Wilkes-Barre
Age: 17
Family: Parents, Gina Marsicano and Steve Harnischfeger
Accomplishment: Harnischfeger was the leading scorer in both of Nanticoke Area’s wins last week. She scored 26 points, including the 1,000th of her career, in a win over Hanover Area and had 24 points in a victory over Lake-Lehman.

GETTING TO KNOW JENN HARNISCHFEGER
Favorite subject: Math
Favorite movie: ‘The Hangover’
Favorite TV show: ‘Family Guy’
Favorite artists: Shwayze and Lil’ Wayne
Favorite food: Grilled cheese
Favorite junk food: Chocolate
Favorite sport to follow: Basketball
Favorite team: North Carolina
Favorite athlete: Tyler Hansbrough
Jenn’s dream prom date: Her boyfriend, Josh Olzinski
Away from sports, Jenn enjoys . . . hanging out with her friends.
If Jenn could switch places with any athlete for one day, she’d like to swap spots with . . . Candace Parker.
Jenn’s favorite thing about basketball is . . . her team.
Jenn thinks the hardest thing about basketball is . . . losing.
If Jenn could beat anyone in a game of H-O-R-S-E, she’d like to beat . . . her dad.
Jenn’s biggest role models have been . . . her parents and grandmother.
Up next for Jenn . . . study elementary education and special education in college.
Jenn’s perfect day would be . . . going to the beach with all her friends.

1/15/2010
Harnischfeger gets her 1,000th point
Times Leader

Jenn Harnischfeger scored 24 points – including the 1,000th of her career – as she led Nanticoke to a 44-36 victory over Lake-Lehman in Wyoming Valley Conference girls basketball Thursday night.

Teresa Kalinay helped out the Trojanettes with 10 points.
Selina Adamcheck led Lehman with 11 points.

NANTICOKE (44): Harnischfeger 9 3-6 24, Kalinay 3 1-2 10, Wolfe 2 2-2 6, Schinski 1 0-0 2, Sugalski 1 0-0 2, Sennefelder 0 0-0 0, Tarnowski 0 0-0 0, Gow 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 6-10 44
LAKE-LEHMAN (36): Adamcheck 4 3-5 11, Sutliff 3 2-5 8, Decker 3 0-0 7, Olshemski 1 2-2 5, Johnson 1 0-2 3, Neare 1 0-0 2. Totals 13 7-14 36.
Lake-Lehman 7 8 11 10 — 36
Nanticoke 8 14 10 12 — 44
3-Point Field Goals— LL 3 (Olshemski, Decker, Johnson); NAN 6 (Harnischfeger, Kalinay)

12/15/2009
Trojanette Basketball Capsule
Times Leader

NANTICOKE

Coach: Allen Yendrzeiwski

Key players lost: Morgan Thomas, Kelsey Yohey, Gaby Malishchak, Rachael Richards.

Players to watch: Jenn Harnischfeger, Sr; Sammi Gow, So.; Teresa Kalinay, So.; Katie Wolfe, So.

Outlook: The Trojanettes are very young, but they have one of the best players in the WVC in 5-2 senior guard Harnischfeger. She was a starter on the 29-1 Aly Byorick-Sarah Acker team as a freshman, and is a two-time all-star. She has tremendous and great court sense. “She’s a great point guard,” said Yendreziewski. “She plays with a lot of confidence and our team’s going to feed off her.” Gow, who missed a good part of last year with an ankle injury, also has great quickness and is an excellent shooter. “Our guards are the strength of our team,” Yendreiwski said. Bear in my mind that Harnischfeger is a game breaker.