District 2 GIRLS Division Races (Weekly Highlights)
DISTRICT 2 GIRLS DIVISION ANALYSIS
(games through 1/9)
WYOMING VALLEY CONFERENCE
DIVISION 1
Hazleton Area (5-1, 8-4) 6A
Wyoming Valley West (3-3, 7-5) 5A
Pittston Area (2-4, 5-7) 5A
Dallas (2-4, 3-7) 4A
Crestwood (1-5, 1-11) 5A
Wilkes-Barre Coughlin (0-6, 0-11) 5A
Hazleton Area continues to be one of the top surging teams in District 2 and has taken a two-game lead in Division 1. After dropping their opening game to Holy Redeemer, the Lady Cougars have reeled off five impressive crossover victories. Last week they defeated Nanticoke Area (50-40) and Berwick (51-41). This week they topped Lake-Lehman (59-49) and Wyoming Area (67-33) Wednesday night. In their win over Nanticoke, Brooke Boretski hit 13 while Virginia Yurchak and Kyra Antolick combined for 21 points. Against Berwick, the Lady Cougars jumped out to a 20-9 lead as they got 15 from Marissa Trivelpiece and 10 from Antolick. Trivelpiece then netted 17 as Hazleton used a 22-8 final period run to rally by Lake-Lehman. Faith Grula also contributed 14 points. Wyoming Valley West dropped close games last week to Berwick and Holy Redeemer but rebounded with wins over Nanticoke and Tunkhannock this week. Nicole Boutanous netted 26 points in their 52-50 loss to Berwick. She then hit 13 and Toni Amato connected on 6 triples (25 points) in their 63-53 loss to Holy Redeemer. Monday night, Amato led the way with 16 as the Lady Spartans nipped GNA, 37-34. Pittston Area is tied with Dallas at 2-4 in the division. The Lady Patriots came away with wins over Tunkhannock (53-44) and Wyoming Area (54-42) wrapped around losses to Lake-Lehman (59-26) and Holy Redeemer (66-24 Wednesday night). Nicole Zambetti scored 10 points in their loss to L-L. She then hit 15 points (with 3 treys) while Lily Savoy and Jada Sharp combined for 20 in PA’s win over Tunkhannock. Zambetti and Savoy also teamed up for 26 points in Pittston’s victory over Wyoming Area. Dallas got 16 from Lauren Charlton in a 43-27 win over Wyoming Area. Though very competitive, the Lady Mounts then dropped their next three games to Lake-Lehman (53-41), Berwick (44-39), and Nanticoke (47-43) on Wednesday night. Gianna Centrella scored 10 in their Monday loss to Berwick. Crestwood has come up short in their last four games. Kristen Andrews and Krista Papura combined for 16 in their 46-40 loss to Tunkhannock. Bella Termini hit 15 as the Lady Comets lost to Nanticoke 59-40. Wilkes-Barre Coughlin is still looking for their first win of the season as the Lady Crusaders are now playing under interim head coach Phil Shoener. Ajalaya Butts netted 16 (including 4 triples) in their loss to Holy Redeemer. She then contributed 15 while Milady Zabala and Abby Cicon combined for 21 in a 48-38 loss to Wyoming Area. On Monday, in a close 51-46 loss to Tunkhannock, Cicon and Zabala teamed up for 25 points. On Friday, Wyoming Valley West visits Dallas. Next Monday, Hazleton travels to play a key game at WVW.
DIVISION 2
Holy Redeemer (6-0, 8-2) 3A
Berwick (5-1, 9-2) 4A
Lake-Lehman (5-1, 8-3) 4A
Nanticoke Area (4-2, 8-3) 4A
Tunkhannock (2-4, 7-4) 4A
Wyoming Area (1-5, 3-8) 4A
It would be tough to find a more competitive race than the one developing in Division 2. Teams wrapped up their crossover games against Division 1 and now begin crossovers against Division 3 squads. Holy Redeemer leads the way at 6-0 with Berwick and Lake-Lehman trailing by one game. The Royals rolled over Wilkes-Barre Coughlin 59-19 as Julia Andrejko scored 19 (with 3 triples) and Samantha Yencha added 14. HR then jumped out to a 16-6 lead as they got 23 from Andrejko and 21 from Yencha in a 63-53 win over Wyoming Valley West. Yencha then netted 17 in their 58-24 win over Crestwood Monday night. They defeated Pittston Area 66-24 Wednesday night. Berwick got by Wyoming Valley West last week, 52-50, as Katie Starr (20 points), Renny Murphy (16), and Megan Dalo (13) led the way. Starr again led the Lady Dawgs with 17 while Dalo and Murphy combined for 23 in their 51-41 loss to Hazleton Area. On Monday, Berwick rallied for a 44-39 win over Dallas as Murphy hit 16 while Dalo and Starr teamed up for 25. Wednesday night, they won their third in a row, 42-26 over Crestwood. Lake-Lehman picked up wins last week over Pittston (59-26) and Dallas (53-41). Madison Borum scored 18, Sarah Salus 14, and Savannah Purdy 11 in the win over PA. In the win over Dallas, the Lady Knights placed four into doubles (Claire Dougherty 12, Corinna Scoblick 10, Purdy 10, Borum 10). In their 59-49 loss to Hazleton Area on Monday, they got 33 combined points from Dougherty, Purdy, and Borum. On Wednesday L-L rebounded with a 57-28 victory over Wilkes-Barre Coughlin. Nanticoke Area (4-2) has been alternating wins and losses. Last week they got 16 points from Jilann Baron in a 50-40 loss to Hazleton Area. The Trojanettes then got 10 each from Riley Baird and Lauren Casey in a 59-40 victory over Crestwood. Monday, GNA got 12 from Casey but came up short to Wyoming Valley West, 37-34. Nanticoke Area rebounded Wednesday night with a 47-43 win over Dallas. Tunkhannock picked up wins over Crestwood (46-40) and Coughlin (51-46). The Lady Tigers got 19 from Annalise Verbeek, 16 from Abby Ritz, and 10 from Rebecca Avery in the win over Crestwood. Verbeek (19), Avery (18), and Ritz (10) again paced Tunk in their victory over Coughlin. Wyoming Area got 17 points (with 3 triples) from Cassidy Orzel in a 43-27 loss to Dallas. The Lady Warriors then got 7 triples (21 points) from Nicole Silinskie and 11 from Aleah Kranson in a 48-38 win over Coughlin. Kranson then hit 15 for WA in a 54-42 loss to Pittston Area Monday night. Coming up on Friday, Lake-Lehman visits Wilkes-Barre Meyers, Berwick travels to Hanover Area, and Nanticoke is at Wyoming Seminary. On Monday, Lake-Lehman hosts Northwest Area, Nanticoke entertains top rival Hanover Area, and Berwick takes on Wyoming Seminary.
DIVISION 3
Wyoming Seminary (5-0, 7-3) 3A
Northwest Area (3-1, 6-3) 2A
Hanover Area (3-2, 4-7) 4A
Wilkes-Barre Meyers (2-3, 8-3) 3A
MMI Prep (0-4, 1-8) 1A
Wilkes-Barre GAR (1-4, 5-6) 4A
For Division 3 teams, focus will now shift toward crossover action following the first rotation of intra-division games. Wyoming Seminary has the early division lead with a 5-0 mark. The Blue Knights defeated MMI Prep (53-16), Wilkes-Barre GAR (49-37), Hanover Area (49-35), and Wilkes-Barre Meyers (53-44) Wednesday night. Alex Wesneski led the way with 20 points while Mia Raineri added 11 in their win over MMI (the Lady Preppers got 15 combined points from Kim Amentler and Irene Altmiller). Sem then stormed out to a 24-11 halftime lead, getting 15 points (including 3 triples) from Ally Vezendy, in their win over GAR (Hannah Cook netted 11 for the Lady Grenadiers). And, then in another big first half outburst to take a 28-12 lead, they got 21 from Wesneski and 10 from Vezendy in the win over Hanover. The Lady Hawks got a combined 20 points from Madison Hooper and Kyleen McCance. Northwest Area defeated GAR (49-39) and Meyers (52-35), and Hanover Area (58-32) Wednesday night. Monday’s game against MMI Prep was postponed. Brenna Babcock netted 25 and Reagan Harrison added 9 in their win over GAR (Olivia Prato scored 9 for the Lady Grenadiers). The same duo also combined for 34 points in their win over Meyers (Allycia Harris had 16 for the Lady Mohawks). Hanover Area got victories over Meyers (45-42) and MMI Prep (65-43) last week before dropping both games this week. Sarah Tuzinski scored 12 points in their narrow win over Meyers (Harris netted 21 for the Lady Mohawks). Then, in the win over MMI, three players reached doubles for Hanover (Hooper 12, McCance 11, Sara Whitesell 10). The Lady Preppers got another terrific effort from Irene Altmiller (18) and Kim Amentler (15). Wilkes-Barre Meyers came away with a win this week over city-rival GAR (67-32) before losing to Wyoming Seminary Wednesday night. Four Lady Mohawks reached doubles in the win over GAR (Harris 18, Ashley Bruno 13, Bella Skaff 13, Bella Gray 10). Gloria Adjayi hit a dozen for the Lady Grenadiers. On Friday, Wyoming Seminary hosts Nanticoke Area is a key matchup while Hanover Area entertains Berwick. Next Monday, Wyoming Seminary visits Berwick, Hanover travels to play top rival Nanticoke Area, and Northwest is at Lake-Lehman.
LACKAWANNA LEAGUE
DIVISION 1
Scranton Prep (3-0, 10-1) 4A
Abington Heights (3-0, 10-2) 5A
Valley View (3-0, 10-2) 4A
West Scranton (2-1, 6-4) 5A
Scranton (0-3, 2-9) 6A
There’s plenty of exciting hoops basketball across the Lackawanna League this year, especially in Division 1 where a three-way tie for first place currently exists between Scranton Prep, Abington Heights, and Valley View (all at 3-0). West Scranton, another very talented squad, is just one game back. And this type of intense division competition really helps prepare teams for the post-season. Scranton Prep (their only loss coming to powerhouse Dunmore) continues to roll along. The Classics picked up crossover wins over Honesdale and North Pocono along with a division win over Scranton. Rachel Rose led the way with 22, Cecilia Collins hit 14, and Maria Belardi added 12 in their 65-32 win over the Hornets. In their 42-28 victory over NP, Prep got 10 points each from Collins, R. Rose, Belardi, and Kathleen Rose. On Monday, Rachel Rose paced their 63-23 win over the Lady Knights with 17 while Collins and Elisa Penatar each netted 12 (Colette Mulderig scored 13 for Scranton in the loss). Abington Heights held serve with division wins over Scranton and West Side wrapped around a crossover victory over Wallenpaupack. Maria Tully netted 20 while Erin Albright, Clair Marion, and Rachel McDonald each added 9 in a 50-41 win over Scranton. Muldering had another solid effort for the Lady Knights with 20 while Ky’Ahni Harbin added a dozen. In their 51-22 win over Paupack, Marion and Albright each scored 13 while Tully chipped in 11. Monday night, the Lady Comets showed some resilience as they rallied for a 42-38 win over West Scranton. Marion and McDonald teamed up for 23. The Lady Invaders, who led 28-25 entering the final stanza, got 15 points from Nya Johnson. Also among the leaders, Valley View picked up three crossover wins. Skylar Bianchi and Jadyn Swartout combined for 21 in a 41-34 win over Western Wayne. Bianchi and Arianna Nardelli then netted the same total as the Lady Cougars topped Honesdale, 49-41. Then, on Monday night, VV got out to a quick 16-3 start and got a big effort from Swartout (20 points with 3 triples) in a 58-45 win over North Pocono. Bianchi and Mia Rudalavage combined to contribute 21 points in the win. Just one game behind, West Scranton picked up wins over North Pocono and Scranton before Monday’s loss to AH. The Lady Invaders rallied for a 39-38 victory over North Pocono as Tatum Repshis and Cassandra Moraca combined for 23. West then got 24 from Nya Johnson and 15 from Repshis as they dominated the middle periods to secure a 49-42 win over city rival Scranton. The Lady Knights, who led early 17-8, got 22 points from Mulderig. On Thursday, Scranton Prep visits West Scranton, Valley View travels to Scranton, and Abington Heights is at Western Wayne. Monday features a pair of terrific division match-ups as Scranton Prep hosts rival Abington Heights and Valley View entertains West Scranton.
DIVISION 2
Wallenpaupack (2-1, 8-3) 5A
Western Wayne (1-2, 9-3) 4A
Honesdale (1-2, 4-7) 4A
North Pocono (0-3, 5-7) 5A
Delaware Valley (0-3, 1-10) 6A
In Division 2, Wallenpaupack (2-1) leads both Western Wayne and Honesdale by one game. The Lady Buckhorns bounced back from their crossover loss to Abington Heights with wins over Delaware Valley and Western Wayne. Hannah Smith (22 points) and Megan Guerrieri (18) led Paupack to a 60-37 win over Del-Val (who got 13 points with 3 triples from Ashley Thalassinos). Smith (17) and Guerrieri (12) then led Paupack to a 40-23 win over the Lady Wildcats (who were paced by Gracie Guarino with 13 pojnts). Western Wayne got 22 combined points from Guarino and Kaeli Romanowski, but dropped a crossover game to Valley View, 41-34. The Lady Wildcats rebounded for their first division win, 49-38 over Delaware Valley, as they got 18 from Romanowski and 13 from Guarino. Elizabeth Bobo hit 17 points for the Lady Warriors. Honesdale also picked up their first division win, 62-53 over Delaware Valley, as the Lady Hornets placed 4 players into doubles (Sophia Goyette 15, Nicole Longman 15, Camden Bannan 12, Alexa Jones 11). DV got 18 from Brooke Acoveno and 24 combined from Amber Recksiek and Kaitlyn Hernandez. Last week, Honesdale got 14 points from Alexa Jones in a loss to Scranton Prep. The Lady Hornets then got 16 points from Goyette in a crossover loss to Valley View. North Pocono is still looking for their first division victory. The Lady Trojans got 14 points from Carena Colo in a loss to Scranton Prep and then Jordyn McDonough netted 13 for them in a loss to Valley View. On Thursday, Wallenpaupack visits Honesdale while Western Wayne entertains Abington Heights. Next Monday, Honesdale visits Western Wayne in a key matchup.
DIVISION 3
Dunmore (3-0, 10-0) 3A 0-0 crossover
Riverside (2-0, 11-0) 3A 1-0 crossover
Holy Cross (2-0, 7-4) 2A 1-0 crossover
Old Forge (1-2, 8-3) 2A 0-0 crossover
Mid Valley (1-2, 4-7) 3A 0-0 crossover
Lakeland (0-2, 5-6) 3A 1-0 crossover
Carbondale (0-3, 2-9) 3A 0-0 crossover
Dunmore and Riverside are currently the only remaining undefeated teams in District 2, and along with Holy Cross, leading the Division 3 race. The Lady Bucks have been cruising along. They got 20 points (including 4 triples) from Moriah Murray, 16 from Gianna Delfino, and 10 from Victoria Toomey in a 67-34 win over Old Forge (who got 12 points from Olivia Ciullo). Toomey and Murray (24 combined) then led 12 players in the scoring column as Dunmore defeated Carbondale, 63-14. On Monday, Toomey netted 22 (including career #1,000) in a 46-22 victory over Mid Valley. Emily Morano hit 11 for the Spartanettes. Riverside also topped Carbondale and Mid Valley. The Lady Vikings got 23 from Kylie Lavelle, 18 (with 4 treys) from Emily Taylor, and 10 from Julia Antoniacci in their 72-25 win over the Chargerettes. Antoniacci then netted 20 and Kayla Rose added 13 in a 57-27 win over Mid Valley. Holy Cross picked up victories over Old Forge and Lakeland. Four players reached doubles for the Lady Crusaders (Abbey Lentowski 18, Caroline Kranick 13, Kaci Kranson 11, Abby Sempa 10) in their 67-55 win over Old Forge (the Lady Devils got 20 points from Lindsey Walsh, 11 from Angelina Rios, and 10 from Olivia Ciullo). HC again got 4 into doubles (Haley Bestrycki 15, Kranson 14, Sempa 12, Lentowski 10) in a 70-26 win over Lakeland (who got a dozen points from Addie Piraino). Old Forge picked up their first division win, 63-32 over Carbondale, as they got 19 from Ciullo, 18 from Walsh, and 11 from Makayla Parker. The Chargerettes got 9 points from Halley Schwartz (3 triples). Mid Valley picked up a division win as the Spartanettes got 27 points from Emily Morano in a 50-24 win over Lakeland. There were also 3 crossover games (which do not count in the division standings). Holy Cross got 18 each from Bestrycki and Kranick plus 9 from Sempa as they defeated Susquehanna, 57-44. Lakeland got by Elk Lake 54-28 as Piraino netted 16 and Colby White added 11. And Riverside got 17 from Antoniacci, 15 from Lavelle, and 10 from Kayla Rose as the Lady Vikes topped Mountain View, 60-22. Coming up on Thursday, Holy Cross hosts Carbondale and Old Forge visits Mid Valley. Next Monday, Riverside entertains Holy Cross in a key game.
DIVISION 4
Susquehanna (2-0, 6-3) 1A 0-1 crossover
Mountain View (2-0, 2-8) 2A 0-1 crossover
Montrose (2-1, 3-8) 3A 0-0 crossover
Elk Lake (1-1, 3-8) 2A 0-1 crossover
Lackawanna Trail (1-2, 1-9) 2A 0-0 crossover
Forest City (1-2, 1-10) 1A 0-0 crossover
Blue Ridge (0-3, 0-10) 2A 0-0 crossover
In Division 4, Susquehanna and Mountain View are currently at 2-0. Susquehanna defeated Montrose (43-36) and Elk Lake (49-30). The Lady Sabers got 19 points from Taylor Huyck and 10 from Mackenzie Steele in the win over the Lady Meteors. Harper Andre netted 15 points (with 4 triples) for Montrose. In their win over Elk Lake, Susquehanna got 16 from Steele, 15 from Bethany Maby, and 11 from Huyck. The Lady Warriors got 14 points from Mercedes Zajaczkowski in the loss. Mountain View got wins over Blue Ridge (47-21) and Lackawanna Trail (48-45). Regan Cameron (13 points) and Sydney Newhart (12) paced the Lady Eagles in the win over Blue Ridge (who got 9 from Danielle Goff). Cameron then hit 14 and Morgan Hammond added 9 in their close win over LT (the Lady Lions got 17 from Rachel Beemer and 12 from Kassidy Kostick). Montrose got wins over Forest City and Blue Ridge wrapped around their loss to Susquehanna. Harper Andre netted 14 in the 36-18 win over the Lady Foresters. Andre then scored 11 while Mckenzie Reeves added 9 as they got by Blue Ridge 46-21 (Goff had 9 for the Lady Raiders). Elk Lake, Lackawanna Trail, and Forest City all picked up a division won. Elk Lake got 20 points from Mercedes Zajackowski in a 48-39 win over Lackawanna Trail (who got 13 from Cali Fauquier). Forest City got 15 from Bella Pleska and 14 from Maggie Kowalewski in their 52-31 victory over Blue Ridge (who got 14 from Goff). Trail defeated Forest City 63-37 as Fauquier hit 22, Beemer 11, and Monica Stuenzi 10. The Lady Foresters got 24 combined points from Sarah Korty and Madeline Shema. In crossover action, Taylor Huyck scored 19 in a 57-44 loss to Holy Cross. Elk Lake placed 8 players in the scoring column but dropped a 54-28 loss to Lakeland. And Mountain View lost to undefeated Riverside, 60-22. Coming up on Thursday, Elk Lake hosts Mountain View and Montrose visits Lackawanna Trail. On Monday, Susquehanna travels to Mountain View.
