Mar 14, 2025
Jillian Kennedy passes the ball to team mate Alaina Dadzie of Loyalsock as they play West Catholic at Pleasant Valley High School. Loyalsock defeated West Catholic 54-35. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette
Loyalsock led West Catholic by four entering the fourth quarter, Tuesday, but felt disappointed.
It had nothing to do with the score and everything to do with its performance. Simply put, the Lancers did not believe they were giving their best. If the other team is better despite one’s best effort, that’s one thing, but Loyalsock believed it left a lot on the table for three quarters.
The Lancers cleared the table in the fourth quarter.
Loyalsock became the best version of itself, dominating the final eight minutes and pulling away for a 54-3,5 win. The Lancers opened the quarter on a 19-2 run, reached the Class AAA state quarterfinals for a second straight season and will play Dunmore in the Elite Eight tonight at Pottsville’s Martz Hall.
“He (coach Curtis Jacobson) told us we need to wake up. We need to play how we play,” center Alaina Dadzie said after scoring 36 points. “We needed to lock in because we weren’t playing like we should and we went after it.”
Doing so helped Loyalsock tie the program record for wins in a season, but more importantly extend its season. The Lancers crisply ran their offense, played stifling defense and landed a knockout punch against a West Catholic team which had ended its season in 2020 and 2021.
Entering that fourth quarter, it was not so much about winning as it was having no regrets. It was about players making sure they never had to question the effort they gave. Whatever had happened over those final eight minutes, Loyalsock would have slept better after excelling throughout the fourth quarter and knowing it put forth its top effort.
“To know it’s a game where you can go home it’s motivation to keep going,” Dadzie said. “We try our best every night to see if our best is good enough and it was (Tuesday).”
PUSHING ON
Dadzie earned all-state honors a year ago and was a force against West Catholic, scoring 22 of her 36 points in the second half.
The junior is a strong, athletic and smart player but what Jacobson may like most is how coachable she is. Dadzie constantly is seeking to get better and that drive means as much as her talent.
“There’s nobody that I’m on more than her,” Jacobson said. “I look at the scoreboard and see she has 26-28 points and I’m looking at her bench and saying, ‘Why the heck did she do this?’ just because it’s we know what they’re capable of doing. It’s our job to make sure they’re reaching that potential.”
Dadzie also did a magnificent job maintaining her composure Tuesday. Taking the kind of physical abuse that would have had Shaquille O’Neal relating well during his playing days, Dadzie stayed calm, collected and determined.
Doing so helped her and Loyalsock seize control. The Lancers put all the pieces together in the fourth quarter, breaking open the game with a 19-2 run. The stats were impressive, but so was the mettle and resilience Dadzie showed.
“That shows, not only her physical ability, but her mental toughness,” Kennedy said. “Coming through all the physicality. it’s hard to go through that, but to come back from that mentally is really impressive.”
DIFFERENT VIEW
Speaking of Kennedy, she was forced to watch Loyalsock’s season from the bench a year ago, tearing her ACL in the preseason. The junior guard has come back stronger following the injury and has played a vital role in helping Loyalsock return to the quarterfinals.
Kennedy played an outstanding game against West Catholic, dealing a game-high six assists. She also made repeated hustle plays and grabbed four rebounds. She and fellow guard Jaekairah Harden were among the smallest players on the court, but combined for 11 rebounds.
“It feels good to be a part of a big win like this,” Kennedy said. “It was a good environment and everyone was picking each other up.”
GOOD FOUNDATION
Imhotep won an exciting second round game against Hughesville, 52-41 in the night’s first game Tuesday. The Spartans exchanged leads 11 times with Imhotep in the first half and it was a four-point game late. Obviously, Hughesville (23-5) wanted to keep going but it still continued evolving the program.
Before last season, the Spartans had never won a state tournament game and now they have three in the past two seasons. Hughesville put together a demanding non-conference schedule, played four district champions, defeating two of them, and produced the second most wins in program history, just one behind last year’s squad.
And while Hughesville will graduate decorated four-year starters Ava Snyder and Alli Anstadt, it will return six players from its rotation. Hughesville has taken some monster steps upward the past two seasons and it is eager to continue the climb in 2026.
“It’s so tough to do anything like this. Just to win 20 games in a year is tough, let alone do this,” Hughesville coach Dustin King said. “So many things have to go right but we have a good core and we have some good kids that are coming next year and some good kids coming into the program, too. Hopefully, we use this as motivation.”
“I think we have some eighth graders coming up that I know are going to put in the work,” Anstadt said. “And I know the returning girls are going to put in as much hard work as they did this past year and previous years to make it this far again.”
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