Holy Cross will fill the court with veterans as it tries to improve on a deceiving 17-10 girls basketball record in 2019-20.
The Lady Crusaders reached the District 2 championship game and the second round of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association state tournament in Class 2A. Those accomplishments came despite a demanding schedule in which Holy Cross suffered nine of its losses to 20-win teams and seven of them came to district championship teams that were still alive when the state playoffs were halted in the quarterfinal round.
Kaci Kranson, who was a first-team Lackawanna League Division 3 all-star and second-team, all-District 2 choice as a sophomore, is back for her third season.
The 5-foot-8 junior forward will have plenty of help.
Holy Cross returns three all-stars who accounted for nearly 80 percent of the team’s scoring last season, another regular in the starting lineup and a total of eight players who have started at least one game in their high school careers.
“The recent layoff, followed by an immediate start to the season is a concern, but returning four starters will be a great asset during these uncertain times,” said coach Barry Fitzgerald, whose team is just four practices away from meeting its preseason requirements under PIAA rules.
Abbey Lentowski, a 5-7 senior forward, is ready for her fourth season as a starter.
Emily Ferguson, who joined Lentowski as second-team division all-stars, is expected to be ready to play by the end of January. The 5-foot-2 senior guard is completing her rehabilitation from surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her knee.
Julia Goetz, a 5-9 junior forward, is the other returning starter.
Four more juniors – 5-11 forward Caitlyn Bestrycki, 5-foot guard Rachel Hosie, 5-6 guard Krista Carachilo and 5-7 forward Molly White – started at some point last season when Holy Cross went 6-6 to finish fourth in Division 3 of the Lackawanna League.
Cate McGovern is a 5-6 senior forward with some experience.
OTHER GIRLS PREVIEWS
WILKES-BARRE AREA: https://nepabasketball.prestosports.com/2019-20/Articles/WBAGirlsPreview21.
PITTSTON AREA: https://nepabasketball.prestosports.com/2019-20/Articles/PittstonAreaGirlsPreview21.
WYOMING VALLEY WEST: https://nepabasketball.prestosports.com/2019-20/Articles/ValleyWestGirlsPreview21.
NANTICOKE: https://nepabasketball.prestosports.com/2019-20/Articles/NanticokeGPreview21.
BERWICK: https://nepabasketball.prestosports.com/2019-20/Articles/BerwickGirlsPreview21.
ABINGTON HEIGHTS: https://nepabasketball.prestosports.com/2019-20/Articles/AbingtonHeightsGirlsPreview21.
WYOMING AREA: https://nepabasketball.prestosports.com/2019-20/Articles/WAGirlsPreview21.
