HAZLE TWP. – Hershey in March has worked out so well for brothers Gabe and Jake Benyo that sister Sophia and her teammates on the Hazleton Area girls’ basketball team are serious about booking their own trip to Chocolatetown for later this month. On the same day that Gabe and Jake guaranteed the mselves medals at the PIAA Wrestling Championships, the third Benyo triplet was a force all over the court as the Lady Cougars eased past short-handed Garnet Valley, 71-34, in the first round of the PIAA Class 6A tournament, on Friday evening at Hughie McGeehan Gymnasium. “I just really want to go far this year,” Sophia said. “I think we have all the (ingredients) to do it.” Including Sophia, who finished with a game-high 19 points, pulled down 14 rebounds and made five steals and dished out five assists to lead Hazleton Area into the second round for the third straight year. The Lady Cougars will face Parkland, a 50-15 winner over Philadelphia Central, on Tuesday at a time and site to be announced. “I think it’s really cool that they’re doing great (in Hershey) right now,” Sophia said of her brothers. “I wish I was there with them, but I obviously have to be here. … We all want to bring it (a state championship) home.” The Lady Cougars (25-2) were glad to have Sophia on hand from the start against the Jaguars, District 1’s eighth-place finisher this season and a state semifinalist last year. She scored five of her team’s first nine points as Hazleton Area streaked to a 9-2 lead before the opening quarter was even half over. By the time it ended, Sophia Benyo had eight points, Kaitlyn Bindas added six, Alexis Reimold canned four, Molly Temchatin came off the bench to knock down consecutive 3-pointers and Addy Fritz banked in her own triple at the buzzer to put the Lady Cougars comfortably ahead, 28-9. When Hazleton Area’s shots didn’t fall in the first quarter, Benyo Co. were collecting 11 offensive rebounds to only one for Garnet Valley (18-8). “Our bigs really came to play tonight. … We got a ton of offensive boards,” winning head coach Joe Gavio said. “Benny (Benyo) played phenomenally. I think she fed off how well were brothers doing in wrestling at states, her one brother (Gabe) in the finals and the other (Jake) in contention for a medal down there.” With six players sharing in the scoring, the Lady Cougars’ lead swelled to 34 points (50-16) by halftime, assuring the second half would be played with a running clock because of the PIAA’s mercy rule. Mariah Marolo contributed a personal six-point scoring run in the second quarter, Reimold netted another five, Temchatin drilled her third 3-pointer and Benyo and Fritz combined to shoot a perfect 6-of-6 from the foul line. The Jaguars, meanwhile, got just a Ryann Razzano triple on their first possession, their only make in nine field goal tries in the quarter. Six turnovers didn’t help their cause either. “We had some injuries and we didn’t have a full squad, but I’m proud of our team,” Garnet Valley head coach Joe Woods said. “We just ran into a great team. I expect them to go pretty far in the state playoffs.” Benyo added her final eight points in the third quarter, four coming after she put in two teammates’ misses for deuces, as the Hazleton Area advantage swelled to 66-24 and allowed Gavio to clear his bench in the final period. “We thought we could press them, and we did,” he said. “We executed on offense, moved the ball well, kept it hot, found the open player and hit our shots. … All in all, (we were) pretty good. It gets us ready for the next round. One game at a time.” The Lady Cougars will be handful for whomever they face, according to Woods, whose team was a couple possessions away last season from reaching the state final for the second time since 2019. “They definitely compare (favorably) with the some of the teams we’ve seen deep in the state playoffs,” he said of the three-time Wyoming Valley Conference and District 2 champions. “They’re aggressive, they’re physical, they can shoot, they’re deep. Defensively, they’re outstanding. Offensively, they’re very unselfish. That’s what it takes.” PIAA Class 6A First Round At Hughie McGeehan Gymnasium GARNET VALLEY (34) Razzano 1 0-0 3, Dada 0 1-4 1, Leydig 1 1-2 3, Hunter 0 2-2 2, Dwyer 0 0-2 0, A. Adamski 6 1-1 15, K. Adamski 3 2-2 8, Zipperlen 0 2-2 2. Totals 11 9-15 34. HAZLETON AREA (71) Marolo 3 0-0 6, Benyo 7 5-6 19, Silva 1 0-0 3, Matyas 0 0-0 0, Santiago 0 0-0 0, Rodgers 0 0-0 0, Bindas 5 0-0 10, Fritz 1 4-4 7, Temchatin 3 0-0 9, Lagowy 2 0-0 4, Reimold 5 0-0 11, Chupela 0 0-0 0, Pavlick 0 0-0 0, Veliz 1 0-0 2, Shafer 0 0-0 0, Blanyar 0 0-0 0, Betances 0 0-0 0. Totals 28 9-10 71. GV (18-8)…..9 7 8 10 – 34 HA (25-2)….28 22 16 5 – 71 3-FG: A. Adamski 2, Razzano, Temchatin 3, Silva, Fritz, Reimold ...read more read less