Kailani Hardy's Defense Slows Ryann Jennings and Conestoga in First Quarter, Leads Wilson to PIAA First-Round Victory
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
By Sam Cavalieri, Berks Girls Basketball correspondent
Kailani Hardy was named the Berks Player of the Year two weeks ago.
She was tasked with slowing down Ryann Jennings, the Central League MVP.
Hardy locked onto the Conestoga all-time leading scorer in the first quarter and didn't allow her to get off a single field goal attempt.
Wilson swarmed the Central League champion Pioneers with a 10-0 run to start the game on its way to a 59-46 win Friday night in the first round of the PIAA Class 6A girls basketball tournament in West Lawn.
"Defending a player that's really that good and being able to hold her to zero shots for the first quarter just felt great," Hardy said. "Knowing that she's the best player, we had to guard her as a team and not just me."
The Bulldogs (28-2) looked comfortable against Conestoga's zone and the Pioneers, including the Lehigh-commit Jennings, who struggled to find open looks in the early going against the strong Wilson defense spearheaded by Hardy.
Only three players scored for the Pioneers.
Hardy, the junior guard, scored a team-high 18 points and set the tone with an early layup off of a steal and when Jennings could not beat her off the dribble the Pioneer offense stagnated. The Pioneers (20-10) only attempted seven shots in the quarter while turning the ball over five times.
"Kai[lani Hardy] doesn't back down to any player and I think she takes on that challenge," Wilson coach Matt Raquet said. "Ryann Jennings is an unbelievable player and I thought Kai did an unbelievable job on her and made her life difficult."
Wilson led 15-4 after the first quarter, but Jennings wouldn't go quietly. She got on board in the second quarter at the 6:44 mark at the free throw line. She followed it up with a 3 and added two more buckets as she was on her way to 13 of her game-high 26 points in the second quarter.
Maggie Neary made a 3 and the Bulldogs lead was cut to five, 21-16. But, Laila Jones (13 points, five assists, five rebounds) answered with a basket, Laura Crocona (12 points) hit one of her three made 3s, and Hardy hit a big top-of-the-key 3 before halftime to open the lead back up to 33-20 at half.
The Pioneers had one more run in them in the third quarter when four Jennings' free throws were followed by a Neary bucket and Libby Brown 3.
The 9-0 run cut the Wilson margin to seven, 44-37, and Conestoga had an opportunity to get even closer at the end of the quarter but another Hardy steal and layup seized momentum back for Wilson. Wilson didn't allow a single point in the fourth quarter until two Jennings' free throws with 3:43 left.
"It was Kailani's job to lock [Jennings] up and as a team, we also have to defend," Jones said. "It's really hard to play defense for 32 minutes and 84 feet. The ability that she can do that is great for us and you know we always got her back and that's what is so great about our team. We all have each other's backs."
It's the second year in a row Wilson has knocked out a District 1 school out of the PIAA playoffs. The Bulldogs beat 51-46 in the first round last season before falling 60-41 to Philadelphia Catholic League powerhouse Archbishop Carroll in the second round.
Wilson has now won a state playoff game in back-to-back seasons for the first time since the 2013 and 2014 seasons. The Bulldogs' playoff win last year was the first since that 2014 season. Overall, the Bulldogs are 18-16 in the PIAA playoffs. The furthest they have ever gotten is the 4A semifinals in 2008.
Wilson will meet another Philly Catholic League powerhouse, Cardinal O'Hara, which defeated Downingtown East 58-31 Friday, in the second round in a rematch of the regular season. The Bulldogs lost 61-49 on Dec. 11 at O'Hara.
Raquet has a confident team and with good reason. He has so many weapons at his disposal that Ryan Leaman, the most recent BerksGirlsBasketball.com Player of the Week after scoring a combined 27 points in the semifinals and finals of the District 3 tournament, only attempted four shots and finished with three points and three assists.
Wilson has a starting lineup of Jones (Penn State Harrisburg), Leaman (North Carolina lacrosse), a Division I recruit Hardy, Crocona (Kutztown), and post Violet Houck (Jacksonville track and field) who are ready to compete for a state title.
The multi-faceted and balanced Bulldogs led into the fourth quarter of the first meeting against O'Hara and will look for revenge to gain a trip to the quarterfinals.
"They have a belief in themselves and they think they could beat anybody," Raquet said. "We'll see what happens next round. We get another rematch and I know they're looking forward to it."
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
Wilson | 15 | 18 | 13 | 13 | 59 |
Conestoga | 4 | 16 | 17 | 9 | 46 |
Bulldogs (28-2) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
Jones | 5-6 | 2-2 | 1-1 | 5 | 5 | 13 |
Hardy | 6-12 | 5-8 | 1-5 | 0 | 5 | 18 |
Crocona | 3-7 | 3-4 | 3-5 | 0 | 1 | 12 |
Leaman | 1-4 | 1-2 | 0-1 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Houck | 2-3 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 1 | 6 | 5 |
Lee | 4-9 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 3 | 8 |
Totals | 21-41 | 12-17 | 5-12 | 10 | 23/27 | 59 |
Pioneers (20-10) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
Garzio | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
Jennings | 7-16 | 10-10 | 2-8 | 1 | 4 | 26 |
Neary | 5-13 | 2-2 | 1-3 | 0 | 5 | 13 |
Brown | 3-7 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
Gallagher | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Michalek | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Hamill | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Cruz | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Totals | 15-42 | 12-12 | 4-16 | 3 | 24/27 | 46 |
Turnovers: Conestoga 15, Wilson 14. Team Rebounds: Conestoga 3, Wilson 4.
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