District 2 Basketball Tournament (Girls 6A Preview)

Written by: Jon K on February 17, 2020

GIRLS AAAAAA

(1) Hazleton Area (19-5) bye

(2) Wilkes-Barre Area (14-8) bye

(3) Williamsport (7-15) bye

(4) Scranton (5-17) vs. (5) Delaware Valley (3-19)

FAVORITE: Hazleton Area

KEEP AN EYE ON: Wilkes-Barre Area

DON’T COUNT OUT: Williamsport, Scranton

BEST SEMI-FINAL: Wilkes-Barre Area vs. Williamsport

THE NITTY-GRITTY:

There are moments in a basketball season which severely test the character of a team. Goals unreached can either unite a team or tear it apart. For the top seed in the Girls 6A sub-regional, it’s been an emotional roller-coaster. Hazleton Area started their season cruising along at 16-2 before dropping 3 of their final 6 games. A pair of losses to Dallas cost the Lady Cougars a division championship and Saturday’s night’s 35-33 stunner to Lake-Lehman cost them a Wyoming Valley Conference Championship. And maybe that’s the beauty of the district playoffs. While not exactly a clean slate, it does give teams a chance to reset their focus as the season winds down. The Lady Cougars play superb defense, but too often they do not see the scoring benefit of the turnovers they create. The urgency to run a fast break often results in giving the ball right back to their opponent. Brooke Boretski is their junior point guard who hits 5.3 ppg. She is joined by junior guard Olivia Wolk (12.4 ppg with 33 triples) and senior Kyra Antolick (5.3 ppg). Their versatile playmaker is 6-0 senior guard Marissa Trivelpiece (14.5 ppg with 24 triples). Inside HA has 5-10 senior forward Faith Grula (9.3 ppg) who needs to be involved in the offense for her team to succeed. Head coach Joe Gavio also has plenty of quality reserve players such as junior Carley Krizansky, junior Jaya Franek, junior Isabella Colyer, and freshman Lacie Kringe. The #2 seed, Wilkes-Barre Area, stated their season 8-0 before slumping with a 2-6 skid. The Wolfpack features one of the top players in the district in Allycia Harris (5-9 senior forward, 18.9 ppg). Another top player is sophomore forward Gloria Adjayi who contributes 9.5 ppg. The Pack also has a duo of talented juniors in guard Vanessa Luna (9 ppg) and forward Hannah Cook (3.6 ppg) who have combined for 28 triples. Williamsport comes in at the #3 seed. The Lady Millionaires played a tough schedule which included several District 2 squads (losses to Hazleton Area, Scranton Prep, Dallas, and West Scranton). Port has played well in spots, but putting together a complete game has mostly eluded them. They play great defense and love to get their fast break going. Their lineup does have good size and depth. The Cherry and White certainly has the potential to get to a championship game and create some noise. Their 5-10 senior center, Samiyah Little, can be a game-changer. She is joined by 5-11 senior Sophia Erb. They also have 5-8 senior Emily Pardee. Around the perimeter, they have senior Katelyn Wilson, junior Enya Green-Pratt, and sophomore Kailee Helmrich. Additional contributions from Whitney Felix and Sarina Beiter. Scranton, the #4 seed, features standout 6-4 senior center Colette Mulderig who has reached 1,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds. She nets 15.8 ppg. She is joined by 5-8 senior forward Ky’Ahni Harbin (4.1 ppg). The Lady Knights have a pair of solid senior guards in Sophia Glogowski (7.5 ppg) and Fione Evans (4.4 ppg) who have combined for 67 triples. Scranton also has a pair of freshmen in Lanee Olson (6.9 ppg, 19 triples) and 5-9 forward Zayliah Small (2.7 ppg). They will take on #5 seed Delaware Valley. The Lady Warriors are led by 5-11 junior forward Brooke Acoveno (13.3 ppg. 20 triples) and sophomore guard Mackenzie Olsommer (9 ppg, 18 triples). Del-Val also has senior guard Ashley Thalassinos (5.7 ppg, 18 triples) and junior guard Gabby White (4.1 ppg, 19 triples). Only one team will advance to their state tournament.