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Hopkins, O’Neill lead PA to Marseco Girls’ title
Old Forge’s Lauren Carey almost has the ball stripped as Pittston Area’s Grace O’Neill defends.
Old Forge’s Taylor Nemetz drives past Pittston Area’s Allie Barber.
photos by BILL TARUTIS
Old Forge’s Rhyan Barnic gets fouled by Pittston Area’s Kelly Mitchell during the championship game of the 12th annual Anthony “Badger” Marseco Memorial Tip-Off Tournament last Sunday.
Wyoming Area’s Abby Thornton and GAR’s Madisen Nichol fight for a held ball.
Wyoming Area’s Sara Radzwilka dribbles ahead of GAR’s Unique Twyman in Wilkes-Barre on Monday night. The Lady Warriors gave first-year coach Ryan Kennedy his first win with their victory over the Lady Grenadiers.
photo by BILL TARUTIS
PAs Mia Hopkins eyes the basket as she drives the lane against Old Forge’s Vicki Lee in the championship game ’Badger’ Tournament. Hopkins scored 20 in the win.
photo by BILL TARUTIS
It was no surprise that Old Forge built a double-digit lead on Pittston Area late in the third quarter of Sunday’s 12th annual Anthony “Badger” Marseco Memorial Boys’ and Girls’ Tip-Off Tournament Championship game in the Devils Den. After all, the Blue Devils had held Lady Patriots sharp-shooter Grace O’Neill without a point through the first 23 minutes of action.
Unfortunately for Old Forge, O’Neill caught fire in the final nine minutes.
The senior guard scored eight points during a 16-0 run over the end of the third quarter and beginning of the fourth to lead Pittston Area to a come-from-behind, 54-41, victory, and its third Marseco Memorial girls’ title.
Trailing 32-19 with 2:56 left in the third quarter, PA began its game-changing spurt on one free throw each from Mia Hopkins and Allie Barber. O’Neill then drilled a three-pointer from the left wing – her first field goal of the night – to get the Lady Patriots within 32-25 with 1:11 left in the third. Hopkins added her only field goal of the third quarter in the last minute before the final stanza, and PA trailed, 32-27, heading into the fourth quarter.
Barber added another free throw to open the fourth, and Liz Waleski dished to Hopkins on a break to get Pittston Area to within 32-30. The Lady Patriots then took the lead for the first time since late in the second quarter when Waleski found O’Neill on another fastbreak for her second triple of the night hand a 33-32 lead with 7:17 left in the fourth.
O’Neill capped the run with a layup on an assist from Hopkins, and the Lady Patriots had its biggest lead of the night at 35-32 with 6:53 left.
Old Forge responded with four free throws from sophomore Rhyan Barnic sandwiched around a Hopkins bucket to get within 37-36 with 4:29 left in the game.
But Hopkins and the Lady Patriots were too much the rest of the way.
Pittston Area ended the game with a 15-5 run as Hopkins scored seven more points in the quarter, including a 5-for-6 performance from the free throw line. The junior forward finished the night with a game-high 24 points, 10 rebounds and five steals.
Pittston Area outscored Old Forge, 37-21, in the second half, including a 27-9 run in the final stanza.
Barber added 10 points for Pittston Area, and O’Neill finished with nine.
Sophomore Lauren Carey scored 16 points and got 12 rebounds to lead the Blue Devils. Natalie Bieryla added six points, and Taylor Nemetz chipped in with five points.
WA 36, Mid Valley 56
Wyoming Area had no answer for Mid Valley star Danielle Terranella in a 56-36 loss to the Spartanettes in the girls’ consolation game of the Anthony “Badger” Marseco Memorial Boys’ and Girls’ Tip-Off Tournament at Old Forge High School on Sunday.
Terranella scored 27 of her tournament record 36 points in the first two quarters as Mid Valley bolted out to a 36-14 lead at halftime. The Lady Warriors had trouble matching her total for the game.
WA hung tough for the first four minutes of action, trailing just, 11-7, but Mid Valley finished the final 14 minutes of the first half on a 25-7 run to take command.
Serra Degnan scored eight of the Lady Warriors 14 points in the first half.
Ashlee Blannett added seven points for Wyoming Area, and Sara Radzwilka chipped in with six.
WA 33, Seminary 37
Wyoming Area had its two-game winning streak snapped in a 37-33 loss to Wyoming Seminary in a non-league game on Friday night in Exeter.
Tied at halftime, Wyoming Area was edged in the second half as the Lady Blue Knights held a 21-17 advantage.
Serra Degnan and Abby Thornton led the Lady Warriors with eight points each. Lexi Coolbaugh and Ashlee Blannett each chipped in with seven points for Wyoming Area (2-3).
WA 43, Lehman 35
Wyoming Area won its second straight game after opening the season with two losses as it held off Lake-Lehman, 43-35, in a non-league game on Wednesday night in Exeter.
The Lady Warriors opened the game with a 10-3 run in the first quarter, led by a balanced offensive scoring output.
Junior forward Ashlee Blannett took team-high honors for Wyoming Area (2-0) with 12 points on the night. She was followed by Serra Degnan who added 10 points for the Lady Warriors and Lexi Coolbaugh chipped in with nine.
Sophomore Abby Thornton added eight points for WA.
WA 46, GAR 39
Wyoming Area picked up its first win of the season – and in the process first-year head coach Ryan Kennedy notched his first victory – as the Lady Warriors turned back GAR, 46-39, in a non-league game in Wilkes-Barre on Monday night.
WA used 13-point quarters in the first and third quarters to pull away from the Lady Grenadiers.
Serra Degnan scored a season-high 16 points for the Lady Warriors, who also got strong offensive play from post players Ashlee Blannett and Abby Thornton.
Thornton scored 12 points and Blannett added 10 for Wyoming Area (1-2).
PA 61, GAR 24
Pittston Area jumped out to a 20-point lead after the first quarter and cruised to a 61-24 victory over GAR in a non-league game on Wednesday night in Wilkes-Barre.
Mia Hopkins scored season-high 26 points to give her a total of 80 in four games so far this season. Hopkins needs just 203 points to reach the 1,000-point plateau for her career.
Grace O’Neill added 11 points, including three three-pointers, for the Lady Patriots, and freshmen Allie Barber and Liz Waleski chipped in with six points each.
PA 72, Hanover 29
Mia Hopkins notched her second straight 20-point game as Pittston Area rolled to a 72-29 win over Hanover Area on Tuesday night in the Thomas R. Kelly Gymnasium in Yatesville.
The junior forward scored a game-high 20 points as the Lady Patriots steamrolled their way to a 46-12 halftime lead. Hopkins tallied seven field goals to go with a 7-for-8 performance from the charity stripe.
Grace O’Neill added 14 points on four three-pointers for PA, and freshman Allie Barber scored a career-high 11 points in the win.
Liz Waleski and Jackie Rabender chipped in with six points each for Pittston Area (3-0).
The PA defense did not allow the Lady Hawks to score double-figures in any quarter, holding Hanover to just three points in the second stanza.
OF 49, Blue Ridge 19
Old Forge buried seven three-pointers on its way to a 49-19 victory over Blue Ridge in a non-league game on Wednesday night in the Elio Ghigiarelli Gymnasium.
Sophomore Rhyan Barnic drilled three of the seven shots from long rang for her nine points on the night.
Lauren Carey led the Blue Devils with 11 points, and Brittany Souryavong added seven.
Old Forge (3-1) limited the Lady Red Raiders to just seven points in the second half, including just two in the third quarter when they pushed its lead from 12 to 25.
OF 35, Forest City 26
Trailing by one at the half, Old Forge pitched a shutout in the third quarter to take control of its 35-26 victory over Forest City on the road Monday night in a non-league contest.
The Blue Devils were behind, 15-14, at the break when they went on a 12-0 run during the third quarter to take a 26-15 lead into the final stanza.
Lauren Carey scored a game-high 11 points for Old Forge (2-1). Brittany Souryavong added eight points for the Blue Devils.
This week’s schedule
Monday
PA v. Nanticoke
WA v. Northwest
Tuesday
OF v. Mid Valley
Wednesday
WA at Hanover
Thursday
PA v. Dallas