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N.Eastern PA Report
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Past Columns |
ed
note: We are pleased to have the some info from the North Eastern part of the
state. We are pleased to have a long time LLHoops fan , Jon K. to contribute. Thanks Jon. Hope you enjoy. PLEASE HIT YOUR BROWSER “REFRESH” BUTTON
TO MAKE SURE YOU ARE VIEWING THE MOST RECENT UPDATE OF THE N.EAST PA BEAT. DISTRICT 2 GIRLS DIVISION
PREVIEWS WYOMING VALLEY
CONFERENCE GIRLS DIVISION 1 1.
Wyoming Valley West (Curt
Lloyd) 4A 2.
Crestwood (Isiah
Walker) 3A 3.
Pittston Area (Kathy Healey) 3A 4.
Hazleton (Joe Gavio) 4A 5.
Wilkes-Barre Coughlin (Tony
George) 3A Division 1 looks to be a battle between
defending champion Crestwood and Wyoming Valley West. WVW
gets the early nod because they do return a solid nucleus of players. They will rely mostly on all-star Tara Zdancewicz
and Kaitlyn Smicherko. Taylor
Reilly as a great role player all over the floor. A pair of sophomore transfers from GAR will
add depth to their lineup. Crestwood also has a nice blend of
players on the floor. Kayla Gegaris
and Sarah Andrews are their senior
guards. The Lady Comets should be very
competitive. Pittston Area could be the surprise team in the division. The Lady Patriots return Mia Hopkins, one of the top players
in the league along with Grace O’Neil
who is deadly from 3-point land. The
Pats also feature some upcoming freshmen in Allie Barber and Liz Waleski.
Perennial powerhouse Hazleton
Area finds themselves in unfamiliar territory. The Lady Cougars will be clawing to get out
of the lower part of the division. A
tough pre-season schedule did not produce any wins, but they do have a good
of mix of seniors including Rebecca Zamonas who returns from a knee injury. Without much height, Joe Gavio is moving players around the
floor looking for the right mix. Wilkes-Barre Coughlin is looking for some
improvement. Senior guard Dannah Hayward is a solid all-around
player. DIVISION 2 1.
Holy Redeemer (Chris Parker-1st
year) 3A 2.
Tunkhannock (Amanda Golden) 3A 3.
Berwick (Bill Philips) 3A 4.
Dallas (Kelly Johnson-1st year)
3A 5.
Wyoming Area (Ryan Kennedy-1st
year) 3A Despite
graduating eight seniors, Holy
Redeemer looks to still be the team to beat in Division 2. But the gap
has definitely narrowed. Julia Wignot
returns along with Paige Makowski and Shannon
Murray. The Lady Royals expect to
get strong contributions from soph Alyssa Platko
and frosh Alana Wilson (a terrific
5-11 prospect). Close behind will be Tunkhannock. The Lady Tigers have gotten to an
impressive start and are paced by the inside-outside senior combo of Lisa Kintner
and Kassie Williams. They’ve also be getting scoring from Gabby Alguire
and Katie Prouix. Berwick
will be a factor also. The Lady Dawgs have height in Geena Palermo and versatile playmaker Margaret Bridge. Watch out
for junior Kelly Sheptock
also. Dallas did graduate several seniors, but the Lady Mounts are
learning quickly and could pull off several upsets to climb higher in the
division. Ashley Dunbar is a terrific floor leader. Wyoming
Area will be looking to improve each night. Serra
Degnan is their returning starter. The Lady Warriors have several promising
underclassmen such as sophomore Abby
Thornton. DIVISION 3 1.
Nanticoke Area (Alan Yendrzeiwski) 3A 2.
Lake-Lehman (Charlie Lavan-1st
year) 2A 3.
Wyoming Seminary (Ron Strothers) 2A 4.
Wilkes-Barre Meyers (Chris
Gray) 2A 5.
Hanover Area (Steve Horensky) 2A 6.
Northwest Area (Chris Piatt) 1A 7.
Wilkes-Barre GAR (Hattie
Caruso-1st year) 8.
MMI Prep (Patty Medvecky) 1A Nanticoke appears to be one of the
better teams in the entire district this year. The Trojanettes
feature a trio of sensational guards in Teresa
Kalinay, Sami
Gow, and Kayley Schinski. Inside, Katie Wolfe is outstanding. They appear to be the runaway favorite to
capture Division 3. Lake-Lehman
graduated all-star Selena Adamshick and had another
key player transfer, so the Lady Knights are in a bit of a rebuilding
season. Fortunately, their senior
guard, Nikki Sutliff,
is back and freshman Cayle Spencer has been their leading
scorer. Wyoming Seminary, with the addition of Jess Neare, is going to have a fine
season. They also have veteran Ann Romanowski
back again. Wilkes-Barre Meyers will be an interesting work in progress. Senior guard Amy Kowalczyk is their top scorer. Hanover
Area returns their senior forward Danielle
Tuzinski, a terrific shooter. The Lady Hawks could pull off a few upsets
during the season. Northwest Area will rely on Alivia Womelsforf
down the middle. The junior center is
one of the better inside players in the division. GAR
had a pair of freshmen transfer and is fairly inexperienced. MMI
Prep is another young squad. The
Lady Preppers have soph Maria Carrato
and freshman Rachel Stanziola. LACKAWANNA LEAGUE
GIRLS DIVISION 1 1.
Wallenpaupack
(Robin Scartelli) 4A 2.
Abington Heights (Vince Bucciarelli) 4A 3.
Scranton Prep (Ross Macciocco) 3A 4.
Honesdale (Tracy Ludwig) 3A 5.
North Pocono (Dan Hogan-1st
year) 3A 6.
Scranton (Mauren
Kenny-1st year) 4A 7.
West Scranton (Leo Ciullo) 3A 8.
Delaware Valley (Gina Lee-1st
year) 4A Division 1 is shaping up to be a fantastic
race. The favorite to win it all has
never won the championship. And
perennial contenders are not about to let the title leave the county without
a fight. Several teams could be in the
dark horse role. First off, Wallenpaupack returns four starters (led by junior
center Alexix Roman) and several others with
varsity experience. How the Lady
Buckhorns react in a big game atmosphere will go a long way in how much they
can achieve. Abington Heights returns a solid pair of guards in Lauren Hoyt and Tiffany O’Donnell. Inside,
Katherine Rosencrance
has been productive. The Lady Comets
are always a factor in the race. So is
Scranton Prep. The Classics are paced by soph guard Tricia
Byrne. Like AH, they also have
great coaching. Honesdale is a team to watch.
The Lady Hornets have been getting strong play from junior guard Mary Martin. They have a youthful team and look to be a
force next year. North Pocono has a talented pair of senior guards in Amanda Reach and Alyssa Hamill. Scranton saw their winning fortunes
drop off in recent years, but the Lady Knights do feature skilled forwards in
Kaila Foster and Kylie McHugh. West
Scranton, who enjoyed a highly successful campaign last year, got hit
hard by graduation. Soph guard Jane
Joyce leads the way and soph center Kate Hart shows a lot of potential.
Delaware Valley has been getting balanced contributions and looks
to improve as the season progresses.
DIVISION 2 1.
Dunmore (Ben O’Brien) 2A 2.
Mid Valley (Bob Doughton) 2A 3.
Holy Cross (Barry Fitzgerald)
2A 4.
Riverside (Jack Mekilo) 2A 5.
Valley View (John Duffy) 3A 6.
Old Forge (Tom Gatto) 1A 7.
Western Wayne (Colleen Kloss) 3A 8.
Carbondale (Will Reckless) 2A Going for
Number 7 in Bucktown. Winning the Division 2 championship doesn’t go through Dunmore, it LIVES there.
The Lady Bucks have three starters back (Courtney Murray, Alexa Gerchman, and Molly
Burke). Add in a pair of terrific
freshmen in Jillian Korgeski and Kayleigh Semion, and you have the makings of yet another title
team. There will be a quartet of team
jockeying for position, each capable of giving Dunmore a tough game if they
put it all together. Mid Valley had all-stater Danielle Terrannella back along with Sara Jackson inside. Holy Cross doesn’t have any superstar
players, but they bring a deep lineup and have great balance. A number of different players can hit a
trey. Riverside will be another team to watch. They have a senior talented inside-outside
combo in Kellie Nash and Rebecca Mekilo. Old
Forge is another team that, if the pieces come together, could climb into
the middle of the division. The Lady
Blue Devils are paced by sophomore forward Lauren Casey. Western Wayne does have returning
senior guard Abby Carmody
plus a bunch of upcoming freshman players.
Carbondale is another young
team that will be looking to develop some confidence. The Chargerettes
top four scorers are sophomores and freshmen. DIVISION 3 1.
Montrose (Al Smith) 2A 2.
Lakeland (Pat Walton-1st year)
2A 3.
Lackawanna Trail (Errol Mannick) 2A 4.
Forest City (Carl Urbas) 1A 5.
Elk Lake (Dave Shingler-1st
year) 2A 6.
Mountain View (Jason Nese) 2A 7.
Susquehanna (Brian Niblock-1st
year) 1A 8.
Blue Ridge (Michael Budnick) 1A Montrose brings back a pair of terrific
players in Dallas Ely and Sara Krupinski. Soph Myra Lattimore
has also been playing very well. The
Lady Meteors get the Division 3
edge. Lakeland will be a good team with the return of Allison Kraky
and Dana Prudente. Lackawanna
Trail should be able to crack the upper half of the division. Forest
City had their lineup depleted by graduation, but does have soph guard Carly
Erdmann. Elk Lake returns junior Meghan
Bush (14 ppg).
Mountain View features
senior forward Megan Kress. Susquehanna
is looking toward the future with soph guard Mashawna Hargett. And Blue
Ridge, despite returning the majority of their team from last year, has
struggled offensively so far. If they
can put it together, the Lady Raiders will definitely climb much higher in
the division. |
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