The seniors on the Allentown High School girls’ basketball team are due to take a bow.
They earned their recognition and their accolades when Allentown celebrated Senior Night on Feb. 6.
That senior class, led as usual by record-breaking Ryan Weise, helped produce a 68-55 victory against rival Notre Dame High School.
Weise, whose mother is head coach Linda Weise, scored 19 points in the victory. Fellow senior Marin Hartshorn, a forward, also scored 19 points for Allentown.
Before the game, the seniors were presented with flowers, while Ryan Weise was also given a plaque for being Allentown’s all-time leading scorer. The shooting guard finished the game against Notre Dame with 1,561 career points. She broke the record of 1,449 points, which was held by Gregg Anacker, last month.
“This is a huge win for us,” Ryan Weise said. “Notre Dame is a great team. This is just a boost of confidence for us going into the Mercer County Tournament and the state tournament in the next few weeks.”
Junior guard Lauren Coiante scored 14 points, and senior forward Hadley Borkowski pitched in with 10 points to contribute to the victory.
The Redbirds had led the entire game, but Notre Dame chipped away at its deficit to cut Allentown’ lead to 56-47 with five minutes to play in the fourth quarter.
Allentown held on and was led by Ryan Weise, who sank two foul shots to increase the advantage to 12 points with 3:11 to play.
“We knew this was a rivalry game,” Ryan Weise said. “So, we knew we had to come out strong, and we really just executed as a team and worked together the whole game.”
“We just came out with so much fire,” Borkowski said. “It’s senior night against Notre Dame, who’s one of our biggest rivals. So, we just wanted to win for our parents because this is our last hurrah. We were just really fired up.”
Linda Weise was pleased with how her team came out on a special day.
“I just thought that we ran the floor and beat them down the floor,” the coach said. “It kind of got us out the gate strong and enabled us to score some easy layups. It’s deflating to the other team when you can score like that. So, I love the intensity that we came out with. It started on the defensive end, and we buckled down for all four quarters.”
She was especially proud of the seniors: Ryan Weise, Hartshorn, Borkowski and Katie White. Allentown improved to 18-2 on the season after the victory against Notre Dame, and Linda Weise believed the team’s impressive run will continue.
“It definitely is a momentum-builder for us, especially heading into the Mercer County Tournament and the state tournament coming down the road,” the coach said. “These four seniors have been together for all four years here, and they played middle school ball together and travel ball together. They really have a great bond. And with [freshman] Maddie [McCrea] added to the mix and others, they aren’t done yet. They know they can accomplish some special things.”
The Redbirds were scheduled to finish the regular season at Hopewell Valley Central High School on Feb. 12.
