District 2 Basketball Tournament (Girls 2A Preview)
Written by: Jon K on February 17, 2020
GIRLS CLASS AA
(1) Old Forge (16-6) bye
(4) Elk Lake (11-11) vs. (5) Mountain View (9-13)
(2) Holy Cross (14-8) vs. (7) Blue Ridge (3-18)
(3) Northwest Area (11-10) vs. (6) Lackawanna Trail (5-16)
FAVORITE: Old Forge
KEEP AN EYE ON: Holy Cross
DON’T COUNT OUT: Northwest Area
BEST QUARTER-FINAL: Elk Lake vs. Mountain View
BEST SEMI-FINAL: Holy Cross vs. Northwest Area
THE NITTY-GRITTY:
The top-seed, Old Forge, competes in the talent-filled Lackawanna League Division 3. And they always play a challenging non-league schedule. All of their six losses came to powerhouse teams – Dunmore and Riverside twice, Scranton Prep, and North Pocono. The Lady Devils are led by 1,000-point scorer Olivia Ciullo, a 5-9 junior forward who averages 17.5 ppg. She is joined inside by junior Angelina Rios (5.3 ppg) and 5-10 senior Maria Garcia (4.5 ppg). In the backcourt, they feature an experienced senior guard in Lindsey Welsh (11.3 ppg, 28 triples) along with junior Makayla Parker (7.9 ppg with 21 treys). Old Forge enters the tourney with a pair of division wins over the #2 seed, Holy Cross. The Crusaders, like the Lady Devils, also dropped division losses to both Dunmore and Riverside. They have a talented trio of underclassmen. Leading the way will be 5-8 sophomore Kaci Kranson who nets 18.8 ppg and has 20 triples. She missed the final three games of the season with a concussion, but was expected to return for the district tournament. She is joined by junior forward Abbey Lentowski (13 ppg and 17 treys). Junior guard Emily Ferguson contributes 9.8 ppg and has hit 36 triples on the season. Northwest Area is the #3 seed. The Lady Rangers are led by a pair of seniors, Reagan Harrison (11.7 ppg including 41 triples) and Tess Edwards (8.8 ppg). They also have freshman Morgan Hermanofski who hits 4.9 ppg. Elk Lake comes in at the #4 position. The Lady Warriors finished 3rd in Lackawanna League Division 4 play with losses to front-runners Susquehanna Community and Montrose. Sophomore guard Krista Jones leads the way with 11 ppg. She is joined by junior Tamara Voda (6 ppg). They have combined to hit 33 triples. Inside, Elk Lake has 5-9 senior Mercedes Zajaczkowski (10.5 ppg) and versatile 5-8 sophomore Lily Decker (8.2 ppg with 17 treys). Mountain View, the #5 team, is paced by junior guard Regan Cameron. She scores 11.1 ppg and has 28 treys on the season. The Eagles also feature senior guard Abby Neri (5 ppg), junior guard Jade Travis (5.5 ppg), and freshman guard Taylor Neri (4.4 ppg). Inside, junior forward Morgan Hammond nets 5.2 ppg. Lackawanna Trail comes in at the #6 seed. The Lady Lions have a trio of guards who will all be back next year – sophomores Amarilas Thiel (9.5 ppg) and Megan Gatto (7.4 ppg) plus junior Kassidy Kostick (5.3 ppg). #7 seed Blue Ridge is led by senior guard Ashley Torres (7.3 ppg), senior Savannah Glover (3.5 ppg) and 5-9 freshman forward Lily Bleck (3.8 ppg). Two teams will advance to the state tournament.
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