JEFFERSON TWP — Fans flocked to Knoch High School Tuesday night to see an opening-round WPIAL Class 4A girls basketball playoff matchup.

They were treated to the latest installment of the Nina Shaw Show, special guest starring an impenetrable Knights defense that put the lid on an unacquainted Hopewell crew.

Shaw’s 24 points bested the total of the entire Vikings roster in a 53-21 win for the hosts. Knoch held the advantage for all but 27 seconds and for the entirety of the final three frames.

“We can make a run in the playoffs without me,” Knights coach Chris Andreassi joked as Shaw exited the locker room. “We can’t without her.”

Her importance was apparent in the early going of the second quarter, after Knoch (15-8) was limited to just seven points in the first eight minutes. That output tied for their second-lowest in the opening frame this season.

“I mean, we’ve been in the playoffs before, but we had to adjust to it,” Shaw said. “Once we adjusted to it, we were fine. We executed and our defense was really good.”

She knocked down a three-pointer 35 seconds into the second and followed that up with three baskets over the next three and a half minutes. That busted open a nine-point gap that Hopewell (10-13) wouldn’t come close to narrowing.

“Honestly, it was just like, ‘Hey, I had that space, I’m shooting at that point,’” Shaw said. “But, also, I was looking for my other teammates to get them the ball. I guess it was just the rhythm ... In that time, we needed that run, so I was like, ‘Alright, well, I’m hitting right now, let me get on that run, and then I’ll contribute.”

“They’re a good, solid team,” Hopewell coach Jeff Homziak said. “We tried to focus on Shaw, but obviously, she was a little bit better than we were tonight. That first-quarter effort was there, then we kind of got tired. The lack of depth hurt us today.”

It helped, too, that the Knights smothered their guests on the other end. The Vikings went 3-for-17 (17.6%) from the floor in the first half. They could only muster eight points. The only better first-half effort for Knoch this season was when it conceded only two points to the Ellis School on Dec. 29.

“They pack it in,” said Homziak, whose team was made up mostly of underclassmen. “We tried to run some different sets to get some people off screens, but they really clogged it up and sometimes we get a little sloppy with the ball ... (The) turnovers to start the second half kind of sealed the fate, to some degree.”

The Knights pressured Hopewell into 18 turnovers in all.

“We were flying around on defense and that was the key to the game,” Andreassi said. “You know eventually we’ve got to make some shots.”

The steadfast ability his side showcased came as no surprise to Andreassi, who steered the program to a WPIAL title game appearance last go-round.

“The seniors, I think it’s invaluable, the experience,” Andreassi said. “This was their, I think, 12th playoff game that they’ve played ... They don’t get rattled.”

The team’s floor general, who’s committed to continue her hoops career at California (Pa.) echoed that.

“I think that’s the benefit for our team,” Shaw said. “We’ve been there before, so we know what to do in close games and those types of situations.”

Andreassi pointed out the gutsy play of fellow senior Megan Vasas, who dove for loose balls and allowed her squad extra opportunities. She finished with 11 points as Hattie McGraw was bottled up.

Save for the possibility of a run to states, the win marked the last game Shaw and those two girls will play on their home floor.

“At first, I was thinking about it, and I was like, ‘Am I going to cry about this?’” Shaw said. “I was like, ‘I might.’ Because I was thinking about it yesterday. And then I come in here and I was just game-ready.”

That fact still isn’t at her mind’s forefront. The emotions might come later. For now, though, Shaw and the Knights are focused on what’s to come.

HOPEWELL 21

Caylee Sundy 2 4-6 8, Maya Richburg 2 0-0 4, Emma Palmieri 1 1-4 3, Lauryn Speicher 1 0-0 2, Allyson Frueh 0 2-4 2, Christy Sundy 1 0-0 2. Totals: 7 7-14 21.

KNOCH 53

Nina Shaw 10 1-2 24, Megan Vasas 4 3-4 11, Naturelle Ewing 3 1-2 7, Neah Ewing 2 0-0 5, Adah Fuller, 1 0-0 3, Hattie McGraw 1 0-0 3, Paige Rodgers 0 0-2 0. Totals: 21 5-10 53.

Hopewell 5 3 5 8 — 21

Knoch 7 13 17 16 —53

3-point goals: Knoch 6 (Shaw 3, McGraw, Ne. Ewing, Fuller)

Friday: Knoch vs. Quaker Valley, time and location to be determined