District 2 Girls 5A Championship Recap (1-Pittston Area vs. 2-Abington Heights)
Written by: Jon K on March 6, 2022
March 5, 2022
Lady Comets Hold Off Top-Seed Lady Patriots
Abington Heights 38, Pittston Area 31
By Phil T.
WILKES-BARRE – After a slow start to second half, the Lady Comets were able to retake the lead and secure their 38-31 Girls 5A District 2 championship win.
Daniella Ranieli got the game started for the Lady Patriots with a layup, but Abington’s size advantage would quickly become apparent with 6’1” senior Allison Dammer bringing down six boards and scoring four points in the frame. The Lady Comets would score eight of nine points in the quarter from the paint.
Abington Heights would maintain their defensive presence en route to a 13-5 lead early into the second frame. Ranieli (freshman guard) would account for the entire Pittston offense until Kallie Booth converted the first of two foul shots with 2:52 left to play in the half. Ranieli would account for all the Lady Patriot’s field-goals in the opening half.
Pittston was able to find success at the foul line in the second quarter, going 6-8 from the charity stripe, as they went on an 8-0 run to tie the game at 13. Madison Zalewski would end the Pittston run with a triple late in the frame to give the Lady Comets a 16-13 edge at the break.
Before the start of the second half, a score correction would change a Ranieli mid-range jumper into a three-point field-goal that corrected the score to be 16-14.
After a slow start by most of the Patriots, Ava Callahan got the second half started with a triple to give Pittston their first lead since the start of the game. Abington would have a chance to retake the lead with Dammer at the line but was unable to convert either attempt. Ranieli and Booth would both follow that with their own trips to the foul line as the Lady Patriots extended their lead to 20-16.
With 1:19 left in the third quarter, Dammer would find the basket for the Lady Comet’s first points of the second half. The senior followed that bucket with another one shortly before the end of the frame to knot the score at 20 heading into the final eight minutes.
After a quiet start and only attempting one shot, Anna Scoblick found her groove driving to the basket for the first two scores of the final stanza. Dammer would add another bucket to extend the Lady Comet’s 10-0 run over the two periods.
Booth would end the rally with a drive to the hoop, but the Pittston Area offense would continue to struggle from the floor and be forced to rely on points from the foul line. From there the Lady Patriots would find success and convert all seven of their foul shots in the quarter, but their lack of offense from anywhere else on the floor allowed the Lady Comets to pull away en route to their 38-31 victory.
Allison Dammer led all Lady Comet players with 16 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks in her team’s victory. Anna Scoblick added ten points and six boards in the contest.
Daniella Ranieli led all scorers with 19 points in the game. Of Pittston’s 31 total points in the game, 17 of them came from the foul line.
With their championship win in hand, Abington Heights will host the sixth seeded team from District 3, Twin Valley, on Wednesday night in Clarks Summit.
Pittston Area will travels to play the second seed from District 11, Bangor, also on Wednesday.
Starting for Abington Heights
11 Caroline Murray
21 Maggie Coleman
24 Allison Dammer
30 Emily McDonald
33 Anna Scoblick pic.twitter.com/fHyiDpZtHo— Phillip Thrash (@ThrashPhillip) March 5, 2022
Starting for Pittston Area
2 Daniella Ranieli
3 Kallie Booth
13 Ava Callahan
33 Amanda Fath
34 Ava Butcher pic.twitter.com/zOnsaug2uC— Phillip Thrash (@ThrashPhillip) March 5, 2022
Danielle Ranieli gets the game going with a drive to the basket. pic.twitter.com/Qy1LNLCnU1
— Phillip Thrash (@ThrashPhillip) March 5, 2022
Scoblick on the drive puts Abington up 9-5. pic.twitter.com/14eU5ik2Qf
— Phillip Thrash (@ThrashPhillip) March 5, 2022
Dammer’s jumper extends the Comets lead 13-5. pic.twitter.com/Ih8gsIt0cz
— Phillip Thrash (@ThrashPhillip) March 5, 2022
Booth heading to the line with a chance to take the lead. pic.twitter.com/YzhLPDKtFh
— Phillip Thrash (@ThrashPhillip) March 5, 2022
D2 5A Championship (Girls)
End of 3rd Quarter
2.Abington Heights 20
1.Pittston Area 20
Dammer ties the game up with less than 20 seconds left on the clock. pic.twitter.com/Zgz9MGQIO8— Phillip Thrash (@ThrashPhillip) March 5, 2022
D2 5A Championship (Girls)
Final
2.Abington Heights 38
1.Pittston Area 31
Abington Heights wins the D2 5A Girls’ Championship. pic.twitter.com/lXIQTcdbfK— Phillip Thrash (@ThrashPhillip) March 6, 2022
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