Neumann-Goretti girls roll to state title

HERSHEY - Sixteen forced turnovers in the first half.

Fifty-six percent shooting from the field in the first 16 minutes of play.

Twenty total steals.

The numbers for the Neumann-Goretti girls' basketball team start to paint the picture of just how dominant the team was in the PIAA Class 2A state final.

But the numbers don't do it justice.

The show that the Saints put on at the Giant Center on Friday afternoon was something special, a 65-28 romp over North Star that proved to be the exclamation point for yet another stellar season.

"There was no way we were going out with a loss," senior Kamiah Smalls, a James Madison recruit, said. "This was very big for our program, coming from the loss in the Catholic League. Since that day we've pushed ourselves to a point where we don't expect anything but a win from ourselves.

"We wanted this to overpower that loss."

Neumann-Goretti's only loss this season was to Archbishop Wood in the Catholic League final.

And overpower it did.

The numbers don't quite show how suffocating Neumann-Goretti (29-1) was on defense or how the Cougars (28-3) labored during every possession under such high and sustained pressure.

"Our press and our defense is really good because we all have our arms up, and we are really long," said senior Alisha Kebbe, headed to Syracuse in the fall. "Talking and being aggressive on defense was the difference."

The numbers don't show how the Saints made it look easy as they almost glided down the court at times. Great in transition and in their sets, Kebbe led with 20 points, while Chyna Nixon added 14, and two other players reached double figures. The balance on offense was apparent as Neumann-Goretti got to rim often, but also shot lights out from the perimeter.

It was complete and total dominance, 32 minutes of close-to-perfect basketball.

"Alisha is like my sister," Smalls said. "We've been here from day one. We've been through this - every championship, every loss, every tear, every practice. We've been through all of this together."

Eighty-eight wins over the last three seasons.

Two gold medals.

Those numbers are the ones that start to tell the whole story - a story about winning.

North Star 10 5 4 9 - 28

Neumann-Goretti 19 24 12 10 - 65

NS: Courtney Schrock 14, Jackie Stanko 9, Maggie Friedline 5.

NG: Alisha Kebbe 20, Chyna Nixon 14, Kamiah Smalls 11, Morgan Lenahan 10, Jabria Ingram 6, Daijah Parmley 2, Minika Glenn 2.