Weatherly’s unchartered ride into the first round of the PIAA Class 1A State Tournament ended in Williamsport Saturday night with a 57-24 loss to St. John Neumann Regional Academy.

The Golden Knights dominated the game from start to finish, taking a 30-9 lead into intermission and holding the Wreckers to single-digit scoring in all four periods. They blocked six shots, had 23 steals, and pulled down 27 rebounds, limiting the Wreckers (8-17) to one-and-done possessions the majority of the game.

“We came out pretty flat after the long bus ride, and we just couldn’t match their energy,” said Weatherly coach, Jason Kane. “We had some good opportunities early on, but we missed some free throws and we went down 10-2.”

Kane took a timeout to settle his team, but it was to no avail. Neumann pressed the Wreckers, creating turnovers and turning them into fast break points.

“I thought we did well against their press,” Kane said. “But they still managed to convert our turnovers into quick points.”

Emma Kane - Weatherly’s leading scorer - tried to take a charge in the first period, but fell and hit her head on the hardwood. She was told to sit out for five minutes.

“That was something we certainly hadn’t planned for,” said coach Kane. “We had to send in a couple of freshmen until Emma could return and they were a bit overwhelmed, having little basketball experience and now playing in a state tournament game. And Neumann was a very physical team, unlike anyone we’ve played so far this year.”

Down by 21 at the half, Kane told his girls to go out in the second half and have fun.

“We were not expected to be here,” he said to them. “Go out and try to play our game.”

BOARD WORK ... Neumann’s dominance on the boards was proven in the stats by it’s 27 rebounds. “They were much bigger than us, but I thought we did a pretty good job getting in position to box them out,” said Kane.

SMALL TOWN PRIDE ... Kane praised his team after the game. “Our girls dealt with a coaching change, losing to bigger schools than ours, and they still found a way to qualify for the Districts and the States. Credit goes to them for bringing pride to their school, and their community.”

WEATHERLY

Kane 4 2-4 12, Houser 3 4-8 10 Kelly Reiner 1 0-2 2, Davidovich 0 0-0 0, Binder 0 0-0 0, Paisley 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 8 6-14 24.

ST JOHN NEUMANN

Reid 5-2-2 14, Parlante 3-7-8-13, Sh. Tutler 4-2-2-10, Weller 4-0-0-8, S. Tutler 3-0-0-8, Nixon 2-0-0-4, Ballard 0-0-0-0, Nixon 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 21-11-12-57.

Weatherly 5 4 6 9 - 24

Neumann 16 14 22 5 - 57

Three-pointers: Weatherly - Kane 1; St. John Neumann - Reid 2, S, Tutler 2.