Basketball

Royer helps push Lady Pirates into final

ICC girls basketball semis

CLAYSBURG -- Williamsburg reached the quarterfinals of the PIAA Class 1A state girls basketball tournament last season, and with senior all-state guard Ayla Hileman returning to lead the way, the Lady Pirates have a state championship in their sights this season.

While Hileman is the trigger that gets Williamsburg going, it's vital that the star player has plenty of quality helpmates at her side as well.

Sophomore guard LeeAnna Royer, a two-year starter, certainly fills that bill for Williamsburg. The 5-foot-5 Royer is a well-rounded, quick, athletic scorer, rebounder and playmaker who the Lady Pirates are counting on for big contributions with this year's postseason looming.

Royer scored a game-high 19 points Friday evening to lead Williamsburg to a 45-31 win over Everett in the semifinal round of the Inter-County Conference Tournament at the Claysburg-Kimmel High School gymnasium.

Williamsburg (22-1 overall and 13-0 in conference play) now meets Berlin Brothersvalley Saturday at 4:45 p.m. in the tournament championship game. Berlin advanced with a 66-52 victory over Southern Huntingdon in Friday's other semifinal matchup.

Williamsburg coach Amy Hileman said that Royer brings a lot to the table for her team.

"She provides a lot of added quickness -- she's definitely one of the fastest kids in our conference, if not in our entire area,'' Amy Hileman said of Royer. "For a sophomore, she's had a lot of game experience. She's a very balanced player who is one of the reasons that we are having such a successful season.''

Royer said that scoring, playmaking, and decision-making are all equally essential parts of her game.

"I make good passes, but I also help the team to score points, and I try to make the right decisions on the court,'' Royer said.

Williamsburg broke out to a 9-2 lead but led only 19-11 at intermission after a sluggish first half in which Everett (16-7, 7-3) tried to slow the game down offensively.

"They tried to slow us down, but our defense was pretty good,'' said Royer, who scored nine first-half points.

Williamsburg gained considerable separation in the third quarter, which began with a steal and layup by Royer and a 3-pointer by Royer from the top of the circle.

A pair of free throws by Ayla Hileman later in the period ballooned the Williamsburg lead to 17 points, 32-15, as the Lady Pirates obtained plenty of breathing room.

Everett, which got 18 points from senior guard Cloe Price and 10 from sophomore guard Jade Colledge, converted just five of 17 first-half shots and made only 9 of 38 (23.6 percent) for the game.

"We didn't make our shots tonight, and that's been our Achilles Heel all year,'' Everett coach Keith Moyer said. "Still, I couldn't be more proud of the effort of our players tonight. We won't see a better team than Williamsburg for quite a while, and playing them in this game was a good experience for our kids.

"We had them well-scouted, but once we got behind, we had to push the pace in the second half,'' Moyer added. "That's what happens when you don't make shots.''

Williamsburg also got 10 points and a game-high eight rebounds from freshman forward Levanda Gorsuch.

Amy Hileman expects a stiffer test from Berlin Brothersvalley (18-5) in tonight's championship game as Williamsburg attempts to win the ICC title game for the fourth consecutive season. Williamsburg staved off Berlin, 46-42, in a regular-season game on the Lady Pirates' home court Jan. 18.

"We're definitely going to have to play a cleaner game tomorrow night than we did tonight,'' Amy Hileman said.

EVERETT (31): Colledge 4 0-0 10, Price 5 8-9 18, Wood 0 2-2 2, Bowser 0 0-0 0, Harman 0 0-0 0, Feathers 0 1-2 1, Ritchey 0 2-2 2. Totals -9 11-13 31.

WILLIAMSBURG (45): Hileman 1 4-4 7, L. Prough 1 0-0 2, Gorsuch 4 2-3 10, R. Prough 1 0-0 3, Royer 6 5-6 19, Ranalli 1 0-0 2, Carper 0 0-0 0, G. Colbert 0 2-2 2, Frye 0 0-0 0, Alexander 0 0-0 0. Totals -- 14 13-15 45.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Everett 2 9 6 10--31

Williamsburg 9 10 13 13--45

3-point goals: Everett 2 (Colledge 2); Williamsburg 4 (Royer 2, Hileman, R. Prough).

Records: Everett (16-7, 7-3 in the Inter-County Conference); Williamsburg (22-1, 13-0).

Officials: Jim Rivello Sr., Ed Habbershon, Emma Musser.