Primyon's four 3-pointers in final quarter spark Vincentian
With Vincentian Academy leading scorer Brenna Wise ailing from an ankle injury through these WPIAL playoffs, Laura Primyon saw her role increase accordingly and earned a start in Saturday's Class A championship game.
Talk about seizing the moment.
Primyon, a senior guard, drained four 3-pointers in the final six minutes of the fourth quarter to help the No. 2 seed Royals erase a 10-point deficit and stun No. 1 North Catholic, 54-50, at Palumbo Center.
"I've had some (streaks) like that before," said Primyon, who scored a team-high 13 points, "but nothing as important as this, nothing as exciting."
Primyon's fourth 3-pointer tied the game at 50, and junior Abbey Bartoszewicz's free throw with 55.9 seconds remaining put the six-time champion Royals (25-1) ahead for good. Bartoszewicz's cousin, Ally Bartoszewicz, added another free throw and Noreen Fischer sank two more in the final minute to deny their Section 2 rivals a 17th WPIAL title.
Along with the clutch performance at the line, Abbey sank a pair of third-quarter 3s. For her, it was atonement after she allowed the game-winning shot in Vincentian's 45-43 loss to North Catholic (20-6) on Feb. 9.
"This meant a lot," Abbey said. "I just knew I had to make one."
Eight missed free throws and an inability to score during the final three minutes against the Royals' full-court man defense doomed the Trojanettes, who were trying to win back-to-back titles and avenge a 2010 championship loss to the Royals.
"Free-throw shooting has been an issue all year," North Catholic coach Molly Rottman said. "They hit the 3s; we knew they were going to have some 3s. Had we converted on the other end and made our free throws, I don't think that would be as much of an issue."
A fourth meeting between the programs could be in the offing, though. Both will be among the favorites when the PIAA tournament, which will host first-round games Saturday. Vincentian will play the fourth-place team from District 9; North Catholic is slated to face the runner-up from District 10.
The Royals will hope to see more of Wise, a 6-foot freshman who averages 19 points. With coach Ron Moncrief saying she was at "70, maybe 80 percent," Wise didn't start but saw her first playoff action midway through the first quarter and finished with seven points.
"She's a warrior," Moncrief said. "She wanted to play so bad, so she did a lot of rehabbing to get ready."
North Catholic had success inside much of the afternoon, and 5-10 guard/forward Lauren Wolosik's led all scorers with 20 points. Her final two points gave the Trojanettes a 44-34 lead with 6:36 to play.
Primyon's time then arrived.
"It was nerve-wracking," she said. "But we've been switching starters all year. Everybody has had an equal opportunity on the team, and I just got in there and knew what I had to do. I knew my spot."
