District 2 Girls Season Recap
Written by: Jon K on December 13, 2022
Welcome Back to the Northeast Beat.
Today LLHoops takes a look at how District 2 Girls’ teams have started the 2022-2023 season. As we did for the Boy’s teams yesterday, we’ll break things down into divisions of the Wyoming Valley Conference and Lackawanna League.
Girls Standings (link)
Wyoming Valley Conference Girls’ Teams
In Division 1 there is tremendous balance as many of the teams feature ample experience and leadership. So far, the eight squads have a combined 21-5 overall record. Pittston Area is off to a 4-0 start with wins over Delaware Valley, Nanticoke Area, Wyoming Area, and North Pocono. The Lady Patriots have been getting strong contributions from Kallie Booth, Daniella Ranieli, and Maddie Karp. In their win over Del-Val, the trio netted 40 points and then added 43 more in their win over Nanticoke Area. PA was able to pull away in their game against cross-river rival Wyoming Area (tied 19-19 after three periods) as Booth scored 17 points in the 26-23 win. Hazleton Area (5-0) captured their Tip-Off Tourney with wins over Abington Heights and Nazareth. They defeated the Lady Comets as Sophia Shults, Brianna Kennedy, and Lacie Kringe combined for 32 points. The Lady Cougars then rallied in the final period to grab the championship (50-48 over Nazareth) as Kringe led the way with 14 points. In a matchup against highly regarded Scranton, Hazleton Area got balanced scoring across the court as the same trio netted 41 combined points. HA also got a big 54-20 victory over Pottsville as Kennedy led the way with 16 points. Tuesday night the Lady Cougars kept their mark perfect with a 50-30 win over Williamsport. Wyoming Valley West (3-0) is another team that deserves a lot of attention. The Lady Spartans defeated West Scranton (53-36) and Honesdale (51-43) to win the Mike Duda Rotary Memorial Tournament. Mackenzie Perluke had a fantastic tourney scoring a combined 49 points. Monday night, WVW added a 52-31 victory over Nanticoke Area. Wilkes-Barre Area (3-0) was another team that got a big win Monday night defeating previously unbeaten Wallenpaupack, 29-25. To start the season, the Wolfpack got wins over North Pocono and West Scranton. Yet another team that has their sights set on division honors this season is Crestwood. The Lady Comets (1-1) got 13 points from Cadence Hiller in a 47-39 win over Valley View. In a matchup against Schuylkill League contender Marian Catholic, Julia Glowacki scored 12 points (all triples) while Hiller and Keira Dougherty combined for 20 points as Crestwood came up a bit short to the Fillies, 59-51. Dallas (2-1) dropped their opener in the Duda Memorial event, 40-38 to Honesdale, as Molly Walsh and Elizabeth Viglone combined for 21 points. In the consolation game, the pair teamed up for 25 points in a 44-24 victory over West Scranton. The Lady Mounts also picked up a 47-34 win over Lackawanna Trail as Viglone led the way with 16 points. Tunkhannock (2-1) also features a solid lineup. The Lady Tigers got wins over Elk Lake and Nanticoke Area. Sable Stephens and Erin Van Ness combined for 27 points in a 49-26 win over the Lady Warriors and Lexi Corby hit 10 points in the win over GNA. Monday night, Tunk dropped their first game to a talented Valley View squad, 52-41. Berwick (1-2) has struggled a bit so far dropping games to Lackawanna Division 1 contenders Scranton Prep (50-24) and Abington Heights (49-17). Rachel Whitenight and Rae Ann Andreas have been playing well for the Lady Dawgs. They combined for 37 points as Berwick picked up their first win of the season, 57-34 over Riverside.
In Division 2, Lake-Lehman (2-2) has received much of the preseason attention, although there are several teams that are going to challenge the Black Knights on any given night. They dropped the opening round game of the Hazleton Tip-Off event 36-31 to Nazareth (Hailey Kline scored 13), but bounced back to defeat Abington Heights in the consolation game, 48-27. In that win, L-L got 15 points from Ella Wilson, 13 from Lia Keefe, and 11 from Kline. In a matchup against perennial District 2 powerhouse Scranton Prep, Keefe contributed 15 points but the Black Knights came up short, 44-38. Lake-Lehman evened their mark Monday night getting a 59-39 victory over Southern Columbia. Holy Redeemer (3-2) started their season at the Angela Wolfe Tournament in Selinsgrove. The Lady Royals dropped their first game to a strong Bloomsburg squad (62-40), but got 15 points from Mia Ashton as they picked up a 56-38 win over the host Seals. Angie Corridoni netted 10 points in their 40-31 win over Williamsport. On Friday night, Ashton and Corridoni combined for 23 points but dropped a game to Abington Heights, 53-43. On Tuesday, the Lady Royals defeated Holy Cross, 59-35. Wyoming Area (3-2) is definitely a team that can make some noise. They have wins over Riverside, Shikellamy, and Lackawanna Trail plus losses to Central Columbia and Pittston Area. Morgan Janeski netted a 2-game total of 40 points for the Lady Warriors at the Central Columbia Tip-Off. In their win over Riverside, Jocelyn Williams led the way with 18 points while Janeski and Halle Kranson combined for 22 points. Against cross-river rival Pittston Area, WA had the game knotted at 19 after three periods before losing to Pittston Area as Janeski hit a dozen points. Wyoming Seminary (2-2) is another team with plenty balance with Clare Griffin, Ellie Parra, Cassidy Skoranski, Maddie Olshemski, and Lexy Lichtenstein. Sem has wins over Northwest Area (42-26) and Mountain View (54-46). In their win over the Lady Eagles, Skoranski and Olshemski each netted 13 points while Griffin and Parra combined for 23 points. The Blue Knights dropped a close game to Old Forge (51-44). Monday night they lost to highly-regarded Marian Catholic, 55-36. Nanticoke Area (1-4) has been getting strong efforts from Claire Aufiero. The Trojanettes are trying to navigate through one of the more challenging non-league schedules with losses to Pittston Area, Scranton, Tunkhannock, and Wyoming Valley West. Both Hanover Area and MMI Prep are still looking for their first victory. The Lady Hawks feature Hannah Salwoski. The Lady Preppers rely on Bria Kringe.
Lackawanna League Girls’ Teams
In Division 1, Scranton Prep, Scranton, Valley View and Abington Heights are all off to a good start. Scranton Prep (2-0) started their season with a 50-24 victory over Berwick as the Classics were paced by Jenna Hillebrand (17 points) and Maya Jenkins (13 points). Prep then got a big 44-38 win over WVC Division 2 contender Lake-Lehman as Gianna Cafarella led the way with 19 points (including 3 triples). Scranton (3-1) began their campaign with a 59-23 win over Holy Cross as Finley Bittenbender scored 16 points and Kamryn Alers added 13 points. The Lady Knights then dropped a 57-41 loss to WVC Division 1 contender Hazleton Area. Scranton bounced back for a 65-50 win over Nanticoke Area as Maggie O’Shea (19 points) and Finley Bittenbender (15 points) led the way. The duo combined to hit 6 triples. Tuesday night, Scranton defeated Riverside, 48-41. Valley View (3-1) is a very solid squad that may make a run for the top of the division this year. The Lady Cougars dropped their first game of the season to a strong Crestwood team, 47-39, as Molly Murphy netted 12 points. They have since rebounded with wins over Holy Cross, Montrose, and Tunkhannock. Murphy scored 16 points against Holy Cross. Alexa Evangelista and Lucy Loftus combined the contribute 33 points in their overtime 53-50 win over Division 4 favorite Montrose. Abington Heights (3-2) dropped both games of the Hazleton Tip-Off Tourney, dropping games to the host Lady Cougars 41-31 (Maggie Coleman had 17 points with 5 treys for AH) and Lake-Lehman (48-27). The Lady Comets have since put together three straight wins over Berwick, Holy Redeemer, and Montrose. Coleman continued her scoring streak with 33 total points in wins over HR and Montrose. AH is also getting strong support from Madison Zalewski and Peyton Houlihan. West Scranton is still seeking their first win on the season.
Among Division 2 teams, Wallenpaupack is off to a 3-1 start. The Lady Buckhorns got victories over Stroudsburg (46-21) and East Stroudsburg North (63-31) to win the Hawley Tip-Off Tourney. Ella Smith and Grace Steffen came up big in both games combining for 38 points against Stroudsburg and 29 points against ESN. Erika Badner led the way in their 60-22 win over Lakeland. Monday night Paupack dropped their first game as they lost to Wilkes-Barre Area, 29-25. Honesdale (1-1) split their pair of games at the Mike Duda Memorial Tourney. The Lady Hornets rallied in the final period to get by Dallas (40-38) as they got 14 points from Elyse Montgomery. In their championship loss to Wyoming Valley West, Montgomery netted 15 points. Western Wayne (1-2) again began their season at the State College Tip-Of event. The Lady Wildcats dropped both game to the host Lady Lions and to Central Bucks West from District 1. WW got their first victory, 43-24 over Susquehanna Community, as Peyton Graboske, Stephanie Mildner, and Allie Pauler combined for 33 points. Delaware Valley (2-2) has a pair of wins over Mid Valley and Forest City while their two losses are to Pittston Area and Mountain View. North Pocono (1-5) dropped games to Nanticoke Area, Notre Dame Green Pond, Dunmore, and Pittston Area. The Lady Trojans picked up a win over Mid Valley as Amaya Monacelli and Autumn Koch combined for 23 points.
In Division 3, some teams are trying to navigate through challenging schedules as the seven teams are off to a combined 7-15 mark. Dunmore got their season started on Saturday and came away with a 46-26 win over North Pocono as Carrie Toomey got her first career victory of the Lady Bucks program since taking over for Ben O’Brien (who is now leading the University of Scranton Women’s team). Old Forge is off to a 3-0 start as the Lady Devils have wins over Wyoming Seminary (51-44), Lackawanna Trail (33-28), and West Scranton (45-33). Talia Piragas scored 28 points in their win over Wyoming Seminary. Riverside (1-3) has been led by Lillie Pon, Lexi Kostoff, and Kiley Williams. Lakeland (1-3) is paced by Alexia Bauer, Naomi Rude, and Kaylyn Davis. Bauer netted 25 points with 6 triples in their opening night loss to Lackawanna Trail (37-36). Mid Valley (1-3) got 14 points from Krista Cortazar in a 38-35 loss to Lackawanna Trail. Carbondale and Holy Cross are both still looking for their first win.
In Division 4, Mountain View is off to a 4-1 start. The Lady Eagles started their season with a win over MMI Prep as Vanessa Harvey and Addison Kilmer combined for 37 points. Kilmer then added 23 points in a 45-38 victory over Lakeland. Mt. View also got wins over Hanover Area and Delaware Valley (38-17) Monday night. Their loss was to Wyoming Seminary (54-46) as Kilmer hit 23 points and Taylor Neri added 11 points. Division favorite, Montrose (0-2) has already played a pair of Division1 contenders, dropping road games to Valley View (53-50 in OT) and Abington Heights (35-26 Monday night). In the loss to Valley View, the Lady Meteors got 14 points (with 4 triples) from Mia Snyder plus 11 each from Aspen Smith and Hayley Pompey. Lackawanna Trail got 13 points from Gretchen Rejrat in their 37-36 season-opening win over Lakeland. Mackenzie Schirg has been steady for the Lady Lions, netting 24 points in their win over Mid Valley and 24 combined in their losses to Old Forge and Dallas. Tuesday night, the final District 2 team to get their season underway, Blue Ridge, got a 45-43 win over Carbondale Area. Elsewhere, Emily Matoushek scored 20 points for Forest City in their 51-26 win over Hanover Area. Sydney Upright and Delaney Curley combined to score 29 points but Elk Lake came up just short in a loss to Troy, 44-36. And Lexi Iveson scored 21 points as Susquehanna Community topped Hanover Area, 51-21.
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