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N.Eastern PA Report
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Past Columns |
ed note: We are
pleased to have the some info from the North Eastern part of the state. We
are pleased to have a long time LLHoops fan , Jon K. to contribute. Thanks
Jon. Hope you enjoy. PLEASE HIT YOUR BROWSER “REFRESH”
BUTTON TO MAKE SURE YOU ARE VIEWING THE MOST RECENT UPDATE OF THE N.EAST PA
BEAT. UPDATED 1/25/2010 Welcome
back to the Northeast Beat - and
to that somewhat “unique” time period in District 2 basketball which falls
between the conclusion of first half play and startup up second half
action. Some head coaches have even
been brave enough to schedule exhibition games for this time period. And several have been postponed due to playoff
games being scheduled. If you’ve been
a regular visitor of this column, you know our opinion on half play - it
never seemed to make much sense. We’re
in the camp with those that would prefer to see teams play all their league
game without interruption. In the
Lackawanna League, all the teams play each other twice (home and away). So teams see fairly even competition in
each half. But, in the WVC, half play
can really become imbalanced when you consider that the one-time crossover
games alternate (home and away) every year.
Sometimes the schedule just works in a teams’ favor. But, despite the various issues associated
with half play, excitement definitely results from these playoff games and
other teams benefit from wiping the slate clean heading into the final 7
league games. While most of the first
half division races were decided last week (or over the weekend), there were
still 3 girls’ titles that were handed out Monday night. Wyoming Valley West, Lake-Lehman, and
Northwest Area all came out on top in those playoff tilts. On the boys’ side, Tuesday night will
settle things in the WVC Division 2
(between Holy Redeemer vs. Wilkes-Barre Coughlin) and Lackawanna Division 3 (Montrose vs. Lackawanna Trail). In
boys’ games –in the Wyoming Valley
Conference, Hazleton Area wrapped up Division 1, but dropped a crossover
game in the process to surging Holy Redeemer as 6-11 junior Peter Alexis
netted a school record 41 points for the Royals in the 71-60 win over the
Cougars. More on that game wrap later
on. Wilkes-Barre Meyers took Division
2 honors with a 6-0 mark, while Wyoming Seminary (5-1) grabbed the title in
Division 4. In the Lackawanna League, high-flying
Scranton who has been averaging almost 70 ppg, completed an undefeated first
half (7-0). They grabbed a huge
momentum swing just before halftime in their win over arch rival West
Scranton. Dunmore continues to roll in
Division 2 and the Bucks finished up a 7-0 first half. A playoff game is needed to settle things
in Division 3 between Montrose and Lackawanna Trail Tuesday night at
Carbondale. That game was postponed
was from Monday evening when some frightening flash flooding ravaged many
north-central communities. Things
were a little less straight-forward in girls’ action. In the WVC,
Hazleton Area dropped a key crossover game at home to Holy Redeemer. The Lady Royals were (and will be ) minus
their sensational playmaker, Monica Wignot for several weeks with an ankle
injury. That set up a Monday night
showdown between the Lady Cougars and Wyoming Valley West with the Lady
Spartans gaining the big win. Holy
Redeemer took Division 2 with a perfect 6-0 record. Nanticoke took on Wilkes-Barre Meyers in a
playoff in Division 3 before they played Lake-Lehman for the first half
title. The Black Knights prevailed in
that one. Three-way ties really add to
the complexity of deciding these races.
Northwest and Wyoming Seminary were both knotted at 3-2 in Division 4
and played a deciding game, also Monday night. The Lady Rangers came out with a 43-40 win
over Wyoming Seminary. In the Lackawanna League, Abington Heights
(7-0) took Division 1 with a perfect mark as did Dunmore (7-0) in Division
2. Montrose made a big comeback
against Western Wayne to win a special playoff game in Division 3 on
Saturday. See
you in the bleachers. DISTRICT 2 FIRST
HALF TITLE GAMES WYOMING VALLEY CONFERENCE DIVISION 2 BOYS Holy
Redeemer (5-1) vs. Wilkes-Barre Coughlin (5-1) Tuesday, January 26 Wilkes University (Marts Center) at
7:30 pm LACKAWANNA LEAGUE DIVISION 3 BOYS Montrose
(6-1) vs. Lackawanna Trail (6-1) Tuesday, January 26 Carbondale Area High School, 7:00 pm THIS WEEK’S
DISTRICT 2 BOYS TOP 10 (games through January 25) 1.
Scranton
(12-3) AAAA 2.
Hazleton
Area (11-3) AAAA 3.
Abington
Heights (14-1) AAA 4.
Holy
Redeemer (13-2) AAA 5.
Dunmore
(12-3) AA 6.
Holy
Cross (10-4) AA 7.
Crestwood
(12-3) AAA 8.
Wilkes-Barre
Coughlin (13-2) AAA 9.
Scranton
Prep (10-5) AAA 10.
Pittston Area (9-5) AAA OTHERS TO WATCH Carbondale
(10-5), Elk Lake (8-7), Hanover (9-6), Lackawanna Trail (10-4), Montrose
(14-2), North Pocono (7-6), Northwest (7-8), Old Forge (8-7), Riverside
(8-7), Tunkhannock (7-8), West Scranton (10-5), Wilkes-Barre GAR (10-5),
Wilkes-Barre Meyers (10-5), Wyoming Seminary (8-5) UPCOMING DISTRICT
2 TOP BOYS GAMES TUESDAY,
1/26 Williamsport
at Wyoming Valley West WEDNESDAY,
1/27 Pittston
Area at Hazleton Area (WVC Div. 1) Crestwood
at Wilkes-Barre Coughlin (WVC Div. 1/2 crossover) Holy
Redeemer at Dallas (WVC Div. 2) Wyoming Seminary
at Hanover Area (WVC Div. 3/4 crossover) Scranton
at Abington Heights (LL Div. 1) Scranton
Prep at West Scranton (LL Div. 1) Dunmore at
Riverside (LL Div. 2) Montrose
at Mountain View (LL Div. 3) SATURDAY,
1/30 Tunkhannock
at Hazleton Area (WVC Div. 1) Wyoming
valley West at Crestwood (WVC Div. 1) Wilkes-Barre
Coughlin at Holy Redeemer (WVC Div. 2) Wilkes-Barre
Meyers at Hanover Area (WVC Div. 3) Northwest
at Wyoming Seminary (WVC Div. 4) Scranton
Prep at Honesdale (LL Div. 1) Scranton
at North Pocono (LL Div. 1) Carbondale
at Valley View (LL Div. 2) Dunmore at
Old Forge (LL Div. 2) Lackawanna
Trail at Montrose (LL Div. 3) Blue Ridge
at Mountain View (LL Div. 3) TUESDAY,
2/2 Crestwood
at Pittston Area (WVC Div. 1) Holy
Redeemer at Wyoming Valley West (WVC Div. 1/2 crossover) Wilkes-Barre
Meyers at Northwest (WVC Div. 3/4 crossover) Nanticoke
at MMI Prep (WVC Div. ¾ crossover) North
Pocono at Scranton Prep (LL Div. 1) Holy Cross
at Riverside (LL Div. 2) Montrose
at Blue Ridge (LL Div. 3) LLHOOPS.COM DIST.
2 BOYS PLAYERS OF THE WEEK Peter Alexis (6-11 junior center)
guided Holy Redeemer to a pair of
impressive home wins in WVC Division 1/2 crossover games. First, he scored 21 points in a 48-45 win
over Crestwood. Then, the junior (who
verbally accepted an offer to play at Penn State) set a school record against
Hazleton Area by netting 41 points in the Royals 71-60 win over the talented
and athletic Cougars. Those key wins
vaulted Holy Redeemer into a playoff game against Wilkes-Barre Coughlin for
the Division 2 first half title. Ross Danzig (6-3 senior forward)
kept Abington Heights right in the
thick of the Division 1 race. He
scored 22 points against West Scranton in a key showdown. Ross then netted 30 points for the Comets
against North Pocono for a 72-47 victory.
DISTRICT 2 BOYS
RECAP AND ANALYSIS WYOMING VALLEY CONFERENCE Team (first half record,
overall record) x–won
first half title y–in first
half playoff z–won first
half playoff DIVISION 1 x-Hazleton Area (5-1, 11-3) Crestwood
(4-2, 12-3) Pittston
(4-2, 9-5) Tunkhannock
(2-4, 7-8) Wyoming
Valley West (2-4, 4-10) Hazleton
Area wrapped up Division 1 first half honors last Tuesday. That was after the Cougars pulled away from
Wyoming Area for a 73-31 win. The
Warriors only trailed by one after the first period, but Paris Cleveland and Adam
Davis combined for 22 points in the balanced offensive attack. After Crestwood dropped a crossover game to
Holy Redeemer (48-45) the same night, the Cougars gained the division
nod. On Friday night, Hazleton
traveled to Wilkes-Barre for a much-anticipated matchup against Holy
Redeemer. Even though the game meant
nothing as far as league standings were concerned, there was the incentive of
holding onto the top district AAAA seed for Hazleton. On this night, Holy Redeemer was able to
deal with the usually stingy Hazleton press.
Paris Cleveland (24) had
the type of outside shooting evening that usually brings home a big W, but
Royal big man Peter Alexis had his
way inside, hitting 19 of 21 shots for a school record 41 points. Hazleton knotted the game at 36, but
trailed by a dozen after three periods.
A trey by Zach Ell all but
eliminated any hopes of a Cougars comeback as Holy Redeemer won 71-60. Elsewhere in the division, Pittston gained
a pair of big wins last week. Dwight Houseman netted 23 and Kendric Wiggins added 18 as the
Patriots topped Wyoming Valley West, 71-65 (Eugene Lewis had 17 for the Spartans). Pittston also got by Dallas in a crossover
game, 48-29 as Mike McGarry scored
13. And Tunkhannock’s luck might
finally have shifted. After dropping a
another tough crossover loss to Wilkes-Barre Coughlin (56-51), the Tigers put
together an impressive effort in defeating WVW, 59-53 as they outscored the
Spartans 30-12 in the middle periods. Mike Callum scored 16, Ryan McCarthy 13, and Mike Papi 12. In the loss, Jim Smicherko netted 24 and Eugene
Lewis had 18 for WVW. Second half
play begins Thursday with a pair of great games as Hazleton hosts Pittston
and Crestwood visits Coughlin. On
Saturday, Hazleton entertains Tunkhannock and WVW heads to play Crestwood. DIVISION 2 y-Wilkes-Barre Coughlin (5-1,
13-2) y-Holy Redeemer (5-1, 13-2) Dallas
(2-4, 6-8) Wyoming
Area (1-5, 1-13) Berwick
(0-6, 2-13) In
order for Holy Redeemer to keep pace with Wilkes-Barre Coughlin, they knew
they had a tall order in store last week.
They faced games against perennial Division 1 powerhouses Hazleton
Area and Crestwood. But, at least,
they could take some comfort that both games would be on their home
court. First up, their game with
Crestwood saw the Royals jump out to an 18-7 lead before the Comets stormed
back with a 12-0 run to take their only lead in the third quarter. Austin
Carr (15 points) had a nice game for Holy Redeemer with several nifty
drives. Jon Wojnar led Crestwood with 17 points as the Comets were forced
to play a mostly perimeter game in the 48-45 Redeemer win. Then, on Friday night, Hazleton came to
town and Holy Redeemer played a very solid game up and down the court –
classic Mark Belinski style
hoops. Nothing fancy, but yet quite
effective against the more athletic Hazleton team. Peter
Alexis netted a school record 41 points in the 71-60 victory. Coughlin, trailing Tunkhannock 38-32 after
three quarters, rallied for a 56-51 win over the Tigers as Brett Warren nailed 33 points (Mike Callum had 16 for Tunk). Then, the Crusaders notched a win over
Wyoming Area as Warren added 18
points (Anthony Bellino had 12 for
the Warriors). On Tuesday night, Holy
Redeemer and Coughlin will tip it up once again for the first half
championship (7:30 pm at Wilkes University).
When second half play begins Thursday, Coughlin hosts Crestwood. On Saturday, Holy Redeemer entertains
(guess who) Coughlin. Should be an
overflow crowd on hand for that one.
Next Tuesday, Holy Redeemer visits Wyoming Valley West (who upset
Coughlin in first half play). DIVISION 3 x-Wilkes-Barre Meyers (6-0,
10-5) Wilkes-Barre
GAR (5-1, 10-5) Hanover
(4-2, 9-6) Nanticoke
(2-4, 3-12) Lake-Lehman
(1-5, 3-12) Wilkes-Barre
Meyers wrapped up Division 3 with a perfect (6-0) mark. The Mohawks got 5 treys from Ross Lavan (17 points) and 15 points
from Naquan Spicer in a 53-41 win
over Lake-Lehman. Then, they took a
10-point halftime lead on their way to a 60-51 win over an improving
Nanticoke team. Spicer netted 16 and Ryan
Krawczeniuk had 16 for Meyers (Cael
Evans and Jared Kmietowicz
combined for 31 points for the Trojans).
Wilkes-Barre GAR finished one game back. The Grenadiers picked up an 80-41 win over
West Side Tech as Darian Twyman
scored 20 and Christian Skrepnak
added 19. They also got a 60-52 win
over a tough Northwest team in a crossover game. Darrell
Crawford scored 24 (5 treys) and Twyman
added 17. Anthony Swain paced Northwest with 14 points. Hanover Area also finished with a strong
showing in first half action. The
Hawks defeated Northwest 43-34 and also MMI Prep (56-43) as Nate Jendrzjewski and Pat O’Donnell each had 15. In non-league action, Lake-Lehman came up
just a bit short, losing 57-54 to Wyalusing as Kevin Bohan had 17 with 5 treys for the Black Knights. In upcoming games, on Thursday Hanover
hosts Wyoming Seminary in a big crossover game. Saturday, Hanover entertains Meyers. Next Tuesday, Meyers visits Northwest in
another interesting crossover matchup.
DIVISION 4 x-Wyoming Seminary (5-1, 8-5) Northwest
(3-3, 7-8) MMI Prep
(3-3, 5-10) West Side
Tech (1-5, 2-8) St.
Michaels (0-6, 0-7) Wyoming
Seminary wrapped up Division 4 with a wins over Nanticoke 40-30 (playing
great defense on Cael Evans) and
West Side Tech (56-24) as Kai Smith
scored 15 points. The Blue Knights
also logged a 37-29 non-league win over Dallas as Smith netted 12. Northwest
and MMI Prep finished 2 games out of the lead. The Rangers dropped a game to Hanover
(43-34) as Steve Merth scored
10. They also lost to GAR, 60-52. MMI topped St. Michaels (67-27) as Ryan Forte (21) and Fran Swankoski (18) paced the
Preppers. They dropped a 56-43 loss to
Hanover in a crossover game. Monday
night, MMI topped Moravian Academy in a non-league game, 56-38. This week, Wyoming Seminary visits Hanover
Area on Thursday before hosting Northwest on Saturday. Next Tuesday, Northwest hosts Meyers and
Nanticoke visits MMI Prep in crossover action. LACKAWANNA LEAGUE Team (first half record,
overall record) x–won
first half title y–in first
half playoff z–won first
half playoff DIVISION 1 x-Scranton (7-0, 12-3) Abington
Heights (6-1, 14-1) Scranton
Prep (5-2, 10-5) West
Scranton (4-3, 10-5) North
Pocono (3-4, 7-6) Honesdale
(1-6, 6-9) Delaware
Valley (1-6, 4-10) Wallenpaupack
(1-6, 4-11) Scranton
secured first half honors with a perfect 7-0 record. The Knights got a tremendous game from Terry Turner (25 points, 12 rebounds)
in a 69-62 win over Delaware Valley (Brendon
Sheldon netted 19 for the Warriors).
That set the stage for one of the most intense hoops environments of
the year as West Scranton hosted Scranton in their extremely small West side
gym. This was an interesting test for
the Knights because they found themselves playing a more deliberate
half-court game, definitely the style that the Invaders were seeking. The Scranton guards were able to control
the ball and be patient in the hectic atmosphere. Scranton took a 16-8 lead after the first
period, but West rallied to tie the game in the second sending their fans
(who sit just inches from the playing court) into a frenzy. However, Tim Fisch nailed a huge trey at the halftime buzzer to give
Scranton all the momentum going into the locker room. Ian
Redetsky continues to play very well for Scranton as does Terry Turner (16 points). In the end, Scranton got the hard fought
56-48 win over their rival. Tom Horan had a terrific game for the
Invaders, scoring 22 points and being a tough force inside. Abington Heights finished a game back. The Comets with be without their inside
man, Nate Basalyga, for a little
while as he is recovering from an AC joint injury. In his absence, junior Justin Klingerman filled in against West Scranton and his
performance was impressive in contributing 14 points in Abington’s 56-44
win. Ross Danzig added 22 points in the game. The Comets also added a win over north
Pocono 72-47 as they jumped out to a 15-point lead after the first
period. Ryan Vassil netted 16 and Danzig
added 30. Frank DePietro scored 18 for the Trojans. Scranton Prep finished strong in the first
half with wins over Wallenpaupack (62-52) as Adam Schroth netted 16 and over Delaware Valley (54-44) as Schroth added 14 and freshman Karlon Quiler scored 15 (Brendon Sheldon had 17 for
Del-Val). The Cavaliers stepped out of
league play Monday night against powerful Pocono Mountain West. Prep got 17 points from Schroth and stayed close, but came
out on the short end, 57-53 (PM-West was paced by Tynell Fortune with 22 and Keon
Scott with 16). In other action, Justin Haddix scored 21 points as
North Pocono rallied from a 16-11 deficit to defeat Honesdale 60-58 (Nick Joyal had 17 for the
Hornets). Joyal added 12 more to combine with 13 from Wade West in a 57-49 win over Wallenpaupack. In non-league play, West Scranton got by
Forest City on Saturday 53-23. East
Stroudsburg North defeated Delaware Valley 54-47. When second half play resumes Thursday, the
biggest rematch of the season takes place in Clarks Summit as Abington
Heights hosts Scranton. On Saturday,
North Pocono entertains Scranton. DIVISION 2 x-Dunmore (7-0, 12-3) Holy Cross
(6-1, 10-4) Riverside
(5-2, 8-7) Carbondale
(3-4, 10-5) Old Forge
(3-4, 8-7) Valley
View (3-4, 3-11) Lakeland
(1-6, 2-12) Mid Valley
(0-7, 4-11) In
Division 2, Dunmore finished the first half with a 7-0 record. They picked up a 84-56 in over Lakeland as
five Bucks reached double figures (Mike
Ehnot 26, Brian Copeland 12, Jake Rowland 12, Michael Perry 11, and Pat
Ross 11). Dunmore added a 62-47
win over Carbondale as Ehnot
scored 23. Just a game back, Holy
Cross gained a pair of wins. First
they topped Old Forge 41-28 as Eric
O’Hora scored 15 (Dom Avisato
had 21 for the Blue Devils). The
Crusaders then jumped out to a 28-0 lead and defeated Valley View 67-36 as O’Hora netted 19 and Brett Podhyski had 17. Riverside completed a strong first half
with two wins last week. They took an
early 18-9 lead over Carbondale on their way to a 52-46 win as Jerry Reilly scored 22. (Mike
Torch had 16 for Carbondale). The
Vikings then got 22 from Jerry Kincel
in a 51-42 win over their rival Old Forge (Tony Goodall had 21 for the Blue Devils). Elsewhere, Kyle Kiehart scored 23 for Lakeland in their 54-46 win over Mid
Valley – their first win in league play.
Coming up this week, on Thursday Riverside hosts Dunmore in a big game
before the Bucks visit Old Forge on Saturday.
Next Tuesday, Riverside entertains Holy Cross in what is usually one
of the better battles of the division season. DIVISION 3 y-Montrose (6-1, 14-2) y-Lackawanna Trail (6-1, 10-4) y-Elk Lake (6-1, 8-7) Mountain
View (4-3, 6-9) Blue Ridge
(2-5, 5-9) Western
Wayne (2-5, 4-10) Forest
City (1-6, 3-12) Susquehanna
(1-6, 3-11) Things got
a bit jumbled at the top of the Division 3 standings after Lackawanna Trail
played their way into a 3-way tie for the lead. The Lions got a huge effort from Steve Miller (22 rebounds) and many
second chance opportunities in their 46-36 win over Elk Lake. Then, on Friday night Trail led 43-37 after
three periods, but hung on for a 52-51 win over Mountain View. Steve
Miller had 19, but the Lions who only converted 10 of 20 free throws. Jon
McBride had 16 for the Eagles.
Also on Friday, Elk Lake rallied from a 7-point halftime deficit
(23-16) with balanced scoring from Will
Bennett, Mark Bush, and Tyler Williams (8 points each) to
edge previously undefeated Montrose, 45-43.
Colby Major scored 13 for
Mt. View (he had 17 earlier in the week against Forest City). That created the 3-way tie. Saturday night, Montrose and Elk Lake got
together for a rematch in a playoff game at Valley View high school. It certainly was the tale of two halves as
Montrose jumped out to a 26-8 halftime lead only to see Elk Lake chip away
and outscore the Meteors 30-13 in the second half. Mark
Bush netted 13 for the Warriors who took their first lead (38-37) with 31
seconds left. Then Colby Major got the ball on the other
end of the court and put up a shot that bounced around the rim four times
before falling through. The last
second shot by Elk Lake fell short in the 39-38 Montrose victory. That set up Tuesday’s first half title game
between Lackawanna Trail and Montrose at Carbondale. In other Division 3 news, Brandon Stone had a 2-game total of
39 points in a loss to Blue Ridge and a win over Western Wayne. In non-league action, Troy defeated Mt.
View in a game played at Misericordia University, 57-46 as Jordan Brunelle netted 25 for Troy
and the Eagles were paced by Luke
Jenkins and Jon McBride who
each had 20 points. Blue Ridge varsity
assistant coach Brian Woodruff took over for head coach Billy Arthur who
unexpectedly resigned from his position following a game last week. Coming up this week, Montrose visits Mt.
View Thursday before hosting Lackawanna Trail on Saturday night. GIRLS BASKETBALL GIRLS BASKETBALL GIRLS BASKETBALL GIRLS BASKETBALL GIRLS BASKETBALL GIRLS BASKETBALL GIRLS BASKETBALL THIS WEEK’S DISTRICT
2 GIRLS TOP 10 (games through January 25) 1.
Holy
Redeemer (11-3) AAA 2.
Abington
Heights (13-2) AAA 3.
Wyoming
Valley West (13-2) AAAA 4.
Hazleton
Area (11-5) AAAA 5.
Dunmore
(11-4) AA 6.
West
Scranton (12-3) AAA 7.
Williamsport
(10-6) AAAA 8.
Riverside
(11-4) AA 9.
Pittston
(9-5) AAA 10.
Scranton (8-7) AAAA OTHERS TO WATCH Berwick
(10-5), Crestwood (8-6), Dallas (8-5), Forest City (9-7), Holy Cross (11-4),
Honesdale (8-7), Lake-Lehman (11-4), Mid Valley (9-5), Mountain View (8-7),
Montrose (11-4), Nanticoke (9-7), Old Forge (10-4), Tunkhannock (7-6),
Western Wayne (9-7), UPCOMING DISTRICT 2
TOP GIRLS GAMES WEDNESDAY,
1/27 Hazleton
Area at Pittston Area (WVC Div. 1) Berwick at
Wyoming Valley West (WVC Div. 1/2 crossover) Holy
Redeemer at Dallas (WVC Div. 2) Abington
Heights at Scranton (LL Div. 1) West
Scranton at Scranton Prep (LL Div. 1) Valley
View at Old Forge (LL Div. 2) Carbondale
at Mid Valley (LL Div. 2) Riverside
at Dunmore (LL Div. 2) Mountain
View at Montrose (LL Div. 3) Blue Ridge
at Western Wayne (LL Div. 3) FRIDAY,
1/29 Crestwood
at Wyoming Valley West (WVC Div. 1) Berwick at
Dallas (WVC Div. 2) Wilkes-Barre
Meyers at Hanover Area (WVC Div. 3) Wyoming
Seminary at Northwest Area (WVC Div. 4) Honesdale
at Scranton Prep (LL Div. 1) North
Pocono at Scranton (LL Div. 1) Holy Cross
at Mid Valley (LL Div. 2) Valley
View at Carbondale (LL Div. 2) Old Forge
at Dunmore (LL Div. 2) Mountain
view at Blue Ridge (LL Div. 3) MONDAY,
2/1 Pittston
Area at Crestwood (WVC Div. 1) Wyoming
Valley West at Holy Redeemer (WVC 1/2 crossover) Dallas at
Hazleton Area (WVC Div. 1/2 crossover) Hanover
Area at Lake-Lehman (WVC Div. 3) Northwest
Area at Wilkes-Barre Meyers (WVC Div. 3/4 crossover) Abington
Heights at Honesdale (LL Div. 1) Scranton
Prep at North Pocono (LL Div. 1) Dunmore at
Valley View (LL Div. 2) Riverside
at Holy Cross (LL Div. 2) Mid Valley
at Old Forge (LL Div. 2) Blue Ridge
at Montrose (LL Div. 3) LLHOOPS DIST. 2 GIRLS
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK Maddie Lavery (junior center) was a
key reason that the Wilkes-Barre
Meyers was in the mix for the WVC Division 3 first half title. First, she netted 17 points in a loss to
Lake-Lehman last week. Maddie then had
a big game for the Lady Mohawks against Nanticoke, scoring 22 points in a
division win (39-35). The talented
junior then contributed 14 points through mostly double-teaming by Nanticoke
in a 46-36 playoff loss rematch to the Trojanettes. Dallas Ely (5-5 sophomore guard)
helped Montrose capture first half
honors in Division 3 of the Lackawanna League. She scored 10 points in an important 47-41
win over Forest City last week. Dallas
then netted 17 for the Lady Meteors in a 61-37 win over Elk Lake. That forced a playoff game against Western
Wayne for the first half title. The
talented sophomore contributed 13 points in their come-from-behind 53-50
win. DISTRICT 2 GIRLS
RECAP AND ANALYSIS WYOMING VALLEY CONFERENCE Team
(first half record, overall record) x–won
first half title y–in
first half playoff z–won first
half playoff DIVISION 1 xyz-Wyoming Valley West (5-1,
13-2) y-Hazleton Area (5-1, 11-5) Pittston
(3-3, 9-5) Crestwood
(1-5, 8-6) Tunkhannock
(1-5, 7-6) After
what seems like many seasons of dominance by Hazleton Area, Wyoming Valley
West finally captured a half championship Monday night. The playoff game was needed after Holy
Redeemer defeated the Lady Cougars 48-41 last week and WVW got by Tunkhannock
52-36 Thursday night as Sami Himin
netted 18 for the Lady Spartans (Jenna
Downs had 17 for Tunkhannock). In
the playoff game between Hazleton Area and WVW, the game went back and forth
with the Lady Spartans grabbing the lead for good 30-29 with 3:40 left and they
converted their foul shot down the stretch.
The games’ final score (42-31) actually seemed to be much closer
throughout the contest. Himlin was a real factor in the game
scoring 15 for WVW, complementing her teammates strong play (Nina Liguori 10 and Tara Zdanceewicz 9). Hazleton was led by Brianna Dudeck (8 points) as no Lady Cougar hit double
figures. Elsewhere in league play last
week, Pittston only hit 10 of 20 free throws and was outscored by Dallas in
the middle periods 26-15 in a 43-40 upset loss to the Mountaineers. Taylor
Dougherty had 13 for Dallas and Mia
Hopkins also had 13 for the Lady Patriots. In non-league action, Pottsville got 16
points from Taylor Gerchak in a
44-41 win over Crestwood (Carlissa
Gegaris had 16 for the Lady Comets).
This week, Hazleton visits Pittston Wednesday and Valley West hosts
Berwick in a good crossover game. Next
Monday, WVW visits Holy Redeemer in a must-see crossover game, matching two
of the best teams in the entire district.
DIVISION 2 x-Holy Redeemer (6-0, 11-3) Berwick
(4-2, 10-5) Dallas
(4-2, 8-5) Wilkes-Barre
Coughlin (1-5, 4-11) Wyoming
Area (0-6, 7-9) Holy
Redeemer captured Division 2 with an undefeated 6-0 mark. The Lady Royals came away with a huge road
win over Hazleton Area (48-41) as they repeatedly broke the Hazleton press
and made a big comeback from a 5-point deficit (36-31) to take a 38-36 lead
via some key treys. Jenna Montone (12 points) hit a big
3-pointer for Hazleton to make it a 2-point game (43-41 with 1:37 remaining),
but Holy Redeemer hit their foul shots in the end. Olivia
Francisco paced the Lady Royals with 12 points. In other division play, Dallas came away
with a big crossover win over Pittston, 43-40. Berwick got 20 points from Megan Nastelli in a 48-45 win over
Crestwood. And Coughlin got their
first win in division play as Kendra
Hayward netted 22 points in a 43-41 win over Wyoming Area (who was
leading 33-30 after three periods). Casey Bohan scored 21 points for the
Lady Warriors in the loss. Wyoming
Area also notched a big non-league win over Wyoming Seminary as Katie Scalzo scored 18 (Lauren Skudalski had 20 for the Lady
Blue Knights). Both teams experienced
woes from the charity stripe as they combined to only hit 19 of 55 free
throws. This week, on Wednesday,
Berwick visits WVW and Dallas hosts Holy Redeemer. Next Monday, all eyes will be in
Wilkes-Barre as Holy Redeemer hosts Wyoming Valley West in a terrific
crossover game. DIVISION 3 xyz-Lake-Lehman (4-1, 11-4) y-Nanticoke (4-1, 9-7) y-Wilkes-Barre Meyers (5-1,
7-10) Hanover
(3-3, 5-10) Wilkes-Barre
GAR (1-5, 2-13) In
Division 3, there was a 3-way tie between Nanticoke Area, Wilkes-Barre
Meyers, and Lake-Lehman. They arrived
at that point after Meyers rallied to defeat Nanticoke 39-35, after trailing
by 6 points after three periods. Maddie Lavery netted 22 points for
the Lady Mohawks. Jen Harnischfeger had 16 for the Trojanettes. That win resulted in another playoff
between the same two teams. In that
game, Harnischfeger came up big,
scoring 22 and grabbing 12 steals in their 46-36 win over Meyers. Nanticoke held Lavery in check to some degree, limiting her strong inside play
to 14 points. On Monday night
Nanticoke took on Lake-Lehman for the first half title. The Black Knights did something that very
few teams have been able to do this year – hold Harnischfeger to only 6 points.
That was huge, and getting 25 points from Selena Adamshick sealed the 41-34 win. Elsewhere in league play
last week, Raisha Piper scored 19
and Danielle Tuzinski added 18 for
Hanover Area in their win over MMI Prep.
Coming up this week, on Friday, Hanover hosts Wilkes-Barre
Meyers. Next Monday, Northwest visits
Meyers and Lake-Lehman entertains Hanover. DIVISION 4 xyz-Northwest (3-2, 7-8) y-Wyoming Seminary (3-2, 4-12) MMI Prep
(1-4, 1-14) Division 4
also required a playoff to decide first half honors. Monday night, Sam Maschat hit a trey with less than 10 seconds remaining to
seal a 43-40 division-clinching win for Northwest Area. Julia
Warnagiris added 15 for the Lady Rangers.
Lauren Skudalski had 22 for
Wyoming Seminary. The Lady Blue
Knights only converted 5 of 12 freet throws in the game. In non-league play, Jim Thorpe topped MMI
Prep 64-39. This week, Northwest hosts
Wyoming Seminary in a rematch Friday night.
Next Monday, Northwest visits Meyers in an challenging crossover game.
LACKAWANNA
LEAGUE Team (first half record, overall record) x–clinched
first half title y–in
first half playoff z–won
first half playoff DIVISION 1 x-Abington Heights (7-0, 13-2) West
Scranton (6-1, 12-3) Scranton
(4-3, 8-7) Scranton
Prep (4-3, 6-8) North
Pocono (4-3, 5-8) Honesdale
(2-5, 8-7) Wallenpaupack
(1-6, 4-11) Delaware
Valley (0-7, 4-9) Abington
Heights secured the first half championship with a 7-0 record. The Lady Comets played North Pocono (and
only led 18-13 at halftime) before gaining the 44-29 victory. Megan
Fraley netted 14. West Scranton
finished strong and only one game out of the lead. The Lady Invaders jumped out to a 22-11
lead over rival Scranton but needed a foul shot with 11 ticks left from Kat Perry to win, 50-49. Sabrina
Coleman scored 22 points on the inside and Shayna Miller added 14.
Scranton rallied from a 39-30 deficit after three periods to take the
lead for a short period. The Lady
Knights got 14 points from Kayla
Bailey. In other action, Scranton
Prep got a combined 26 points from Liz
Casey and Ellen FitzPatrick to
defeat Delaware Valley 46-27. Annie Vega had 24 for Wallenpaupack
in a loss to Honesdale. In non-league
play, West Scranton defeated Forest City 57-42 as Nora Joyce netted 19 for West side (Katie Yale had 24 for the Lady Foresters). DIVISION 2 x-Dunmore (7-0, 11-4) Riverside
(6-1, 11-4) Holy Cross
(4-3, 11-4) Mid Valley
(4-3, 9-5) Old Forge
(3-4, 10-4) Valley
View (3-4, 6-9) Carbondale
(1-6, 5-9) Lakeland
(0-7, 1-14) Dunmore
continues to roll in Division 2 and locked up the first half with an
undefeated 7-0 record. The Lady Bucks
got 21 from Cayla Boland and 19
from Ashley Murray in a 63-38 win
over Carbondale. Riverside continued
their winning ways by getting by rival Old Forge, 38-30. The Lady Vikes bolted out to an 11-0 lead
and had to withstand a strong Blue Devil rally to knot the game at 22 in the
third quarter. Their efforts were
dampened a bit when Aleca Semenza
had to leave the game midway through the final period with a severe gash
above her eye. Angela Dente scored 15 for Riverside. Elsewhere, Holy Cross got a combined 28
points from Julie Kosin and Molly Burke in a 47-45
come-from-behind win over Valley View.
The Lady Crusaders trailed by eight points after three periods
(37-29). Rebecca Keegan scored 13 for the Lady Cougars. Alli walsh netted 18 to lead Mid Valley to
a 50-31 win over Lakeland (Ruth Butts had 18 for the Lady Chiefs). In non-league action, Holy Cross came away
with an impressive road win over Lake-Lehman by once again rallying from 8
down after three stanzas. Julie Kosin
scored 14 in the 45-41 win over the Lady Black Knights. This week, Riverside visits Dunmore in a
key matchup Wednesday. On Friday,
Dunmore hosts Old Forge. And, next
Monday Holy Cross entertains Riverside.
DIVISION 3 xyz-Montrose (6-1, 11-4) y-Western Wayne (6-1, 9-7) Forest
City (5-2, 9-7) Mountain
View (5-2, 8-7) Blue Ridge
(3-4, 6-8) Elk Lake
(2-5, 4-10) Lackawanna
Trail (1-6, 3-10) Susquehanna
(0-7, 0-12) Montrose
and Western Wayne were deal-locked with 5-1 marks heading into the final night
of league play. The Lady Meteors got
17 points from Dallas Ely to
defeat Elk Lake 61-37 (Karly Caines
had 21 for the Lady Warriors). Western
Wayne got 16 from Courtney Kromko
and 14 from Charlcie Brink to
defeat Susquehanna 57-16 to set up the 1-game playoff. In that game, Montrose rallied was leading
42-40 before Western Wayne took a 50-42 advantage. That’s when the Lady Meteors took over with
a 11-0 game-ending run to seal the 53-50 championship win. Ely netted
13 and Katelyn Spellman scored 17
(including 7 big points at the end) while Kromko had 15 for WW who only hit 12 of their 27 free
throws. Elsewhere in the division,
Forest City got 23 from Katie Yale
and 14 from Cassie Erdmann in a
58-44 win over Blue Ridge (Kaitchen
Dearborn had 17 for the Lady Raiders).
And Mountain View got 21 from Kayla
Kazmierski and 17 from Alex Lynn
in a 55-27 victory over Lackawanna Trail.
This week, Montrose hosts Mountain View Wednesday while Western Wayne
entertains Blue Ridge. That’s it for this edition
of the NEP Beat. See you next time! Question or Comments, email
us at LLHoops.NEP-Beat@comcast.net Jon K. |
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