District 2 Girls Recap (Dallas vs. Honesdale)

Written by: Jon K on December 15, 2021

December 14, 2021

Dallas Win Mike Duda Championship Over Honesdale

Dallas 67, Honesdale 49

By Phil Thrash

WYOMING – The Lady Mounts squared off against the Lady Hornets in search of an early season trophy on Tuesday night. In the end, Victoria Spaciano would lead her Dallas teammates to a 67-49 victory, picking up 23 points and being awarded the MVP award in the process.

Right from the opening tip, Dallas hit the floor running. The Mountaineers sprinted to a 7-0 lead before a Chloe Lyle mid-range jumper got Honesdale on the board. Buckets by Elizabeth Viglone, Nadia Evanosky and Spaciano would then give Dallas a 14-2 lead forcing the Hornets to use their second timeout midway through the opening stanza.

Honesdale’s head coach was able to get his team refocused as they emerged from the timeout and they went on a 6-0 run to pull within six points. Evanosky would not back down as she finished the frame with two buckets giving the Lady Mounts a double-digit lead after the first period, 18-8.

After creating eight steals to start the game, Dallas maintained their high-press defense en route to a 17-2 run over the opening two quarters. Honesdale would whittle their 21-point deficit to 15 before halftime as Dallas led 37-22 at the break.

Evanosky and Audrey DelGaudio showcased the patented Lady Mounts’ press as they combined for 19 points and nine steals in the first half.

A high-pressure defense, the story of the opening for Dallas, is exactly what the Lady Hornets set out to accomplish in the second half. Coming out of the break Honesdale turned up the pressure and sprinted out to a 13-2 run to pull the game within six points. The intense press eventually had to die down as the Hornets accumulated eight team fouls early in the third quarter.

The Mountaineers’ offense was able to get back to work. Spaciano would score 10 of her teams’ 17 points down the stretch to regain their double-digit lead. Dallas would take a commanding 56-42 advantage into the final stanza.

Similar to what they did effectively in the opening half, Dallas would keep their foot on the gas as the Hornets began to show a bit of fatigue. Honesdale would fail to make a shot from the field in the quarter until a Paige Fiume putback, late in the game, brought the deficit back to within 20 points. Dallas built a comfortable lead with a 26-8 barrage en route to their 67-49 championship victory.

Spaciano led the Mounts to victory with 23 points and eight rebounds. Evanoksy filled her stat sheet with 18 points, four assists (leading to eight points) and five steals in the contest. Elizabeth Viglone added ten points and five boards in the Dallas win.

Rowan Murray led the Hornets with 11 points in the game. Chloe Lye added eight points and nine rebounds in the losing effort.

Team of the Tournament was selected to be Rowan Murray and Katie Ludwig (seven points) from Honesdale along with Victoria Spaciano, Elizabeth Viglone and Nadia Evanoksy from Dallas. Spaciano also brought home the tournament MVP Award with 43 points scored in the tournament.

Dallas will look to keep their early season momentum going when the Lady Mounts host highly-regarded Holy Redeemer on Wednesday night.

After a runner-up performance, the Lady Hornets will look to keep building consistency as they travel to face another WVC contender, Wilkes-Barre Area, on Thursday night.

In the preceding consolation game, Wyoming Valley West defeated West Scranton, 61-33. Haylie Oliphant led the Lady Spartans to victory with 18 points. Trinity Johnson and Mackenzie Perluke each added 15 points in their victory. Madison Maloney led the Lady Invaders with six points.

Mike Duda Championship (Girls)
Halftime
Dallas 37
Honesdale 22
Chloe Lyle hits a mid-range jumper seconds before the buzzer. pic.twitter.com/4IOBbnE0Al

— Phillip Thrash (@ThrashPhillip) December 15, 2021