District 2 Basketball Tournament (Girls 3A Preview)

Written by: Jon K on February 18, 2020

GIRLS AAA

(1) Dunmore (21-1) vs. (8) Mid Valley (3-19)

(4) Wyoming Seminary (15-7) vs. (5) Lakeland (11-11)

(2) Riverside (20-2) vs. (7) Carbondale (6-16)

(3) Holy Redeemer (18-5) vs. (6) Montrose (13-9)

FAVORITE:  Dunmore           

KEEP AN EYE ON:  Riverside              

DON’T COUNT OUT:  Holy Redeemer              

BEST QUARTER-FINAL:  Wyoming Seminary vs. Lakeland              

BEST SEMI-FINAL:  Riverside vs. Holy Redeemer 

THE NITTY-GRITTY: 

     The Girls 3A tourney is one of the most anticipated because it features several of the elite teams from across the entire district.  This year is no different and, once again, an outstanding season will come to an end in the semi-finals as only two teams advance to the state tournament.  Top-seed Dunmore has been spectacular this season.  Their only blemish was a 44-28 loss to undefeated Scranton Prep in the Lynett Championship back on December 29.  Their wins include a pair over #2 seed Riverside plus ones over Loyalsock Township, Holy Redeemer, West Scranton, and Mount Carmel Area.  The Lady Bucks feature an incredible playmaker in sophomore guard Moriah Murray (16.1 ppg and 45 triples).  While she can calmly orchestrate the offense, she can also kick things into high gear and drive to the basket or dish off to 6-2 freshman forward Ciera Toomey (15 ppg with 16 triples).  That combination has continued to develop throughout the season and is downright formidable at times.  What makes Dunmore even more difficult to beat is all their other talent on the floor.  A trio of junior guards, Anna Talutto, Alisa Delfino, and Alexis Chapman all contribute a combined 12.8 ppg and 47 triples.  Sophomore Mia Blume adds 7.5 ppg and has netted 44 treys.  For #2 seed Riverside, they will have to take care of bracket business before turning their thoughts to a possible third matchup with the Lady Bucks.  The only losses on the Lady Vikings resume are a pair to Dunmore (50-36 and 52-40).  The Vikes are led by versatile 6-1 sophomore guard Kylie Lavelle who nets 21.1 ppg and has 19 triples.  She is joined by junior guard Emily Taylor (8.7 ppg with 40 treys).  Inside, 5-8 junior forward Kayla Rose contributes 9.1 ppg.  Another player who can do things all over the floor is 5-10 senior center Leah Hodick (9 ppg).  Getting her more involved in the offensive flow might pay big dividends.  Another key junior forward for Riverside is Alese Karpinski.  The #3 seed, Holy Redeemer, would love to spoil the all Lackawanna League championship arena-fest.  The Lady Royals lost 5 games on the season, two of them to strong out-of-state teams.  The others were to Holy Cross, Dunmore, and Hazleton Area (in the Wyoming Valley Conference semi-finals).  They had a 15-game winning streak before the loss to the Lady Cougars.  HR is led by 5-11 senior forward Sam Yencha, a 1,000-point scorer.  She averages 18.6 ppg and has 15 triples.  Another forward, Liv Moore, hits 8.8 ppg and has 14 treys.  Karissa Spade is their talented junior guard who contributes 6.5 ppg.  The Lady Royals always have upcoming talent on their roster and this edition is no different.  Sophomore guards Faith Sekol and Aubrey Curley hit a combined 11.4 ppg and have 45 triples on the season.  Freshman guard Jillian DeBalso ads 5.5 ppg and has connected on 22 treys.  Wyoming Seminary, the #4 seed, finished their season on a 4-1 streak.  The Blue Knights dropped both division meetings against Holy Redeemer and Lake-Lehman.  Sem is led by a talented pair of senior guards in Ally Vezendy (13.3 ppg ) and Alex Wesneski (10.6 ppg).  The pair combined to hit 28 triples.  They also have junior guard Ava Bufalino, sophomore guard Margaret Mihalick, and freshman guard Maddie Olshemski.  Lakeland, the #5 seed, competes in the rugged Lackawanna League Division 3.  The Lady Chiefs will definitely be looking to build on their 11-11 campaign with a host of underclassmen.  They are led by junior guards Colby White (11.9 ppg, 29 triples) and Addie Piraino (11.7 ppg).  They are joined by a duo of rising sophomore guards in Skylar Arendt (9.2 ppg and 25 triples) and Angelica Nowak (5.7 ppg and 29 triples).  Montrose, the #6 seed, finished the season winning 4 of their last 5 games and finished 10-2 in their division.  The Lady Meteors, featuring a youthful lineup, are paced by a pair of freshmen – guard Mia Snyder (10.6 ppg, 35 triples) and 5-9 forward Hayley Pompey (10.4 ppg).  Sophomore guard Tangi Smith averages 9.5 ppg and junior guard Elizabeth Lathrop averages 4.8 ppg.  Carbondale, the #7 seed, also features a bunch of young talent.  The Chargerettes are led by a pair of junior guards in Deana Mancuso and Alyvia Schiavone who hit a combined 11.1 ppg and have 36 combined triples.  They also have 5-6 junior forward Sarah Tolerico (10.9 ppg) and 5-8 sophomore forward Mia Marrero (4.2 ppg).  Mid Valley, the #8 seed, is led by a pair of sophomore guards in Kaylee Terranella (9.2 ppg, 23 triples) and Katie Glinsky (5.5 ppg, 19 treys).  The Spartanettes also have junior guard Bethan Brown (3.9 ppg). 

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