By Tom Robinson, NEPABasketball.com
WILKES-BARRE TWP. – Abbey Lentowski ruled the paint; Emily Ferguson showed off her 3-point shooting proficiency; and Kaci Kranson took the ball to the basket with authority.
Lentowski, Ferguson and Kranson established a triple-threat Holy Cross offense early on the kept the Lady Crusaders rolling all the way through a 59-38 victory over Old Forge in a physical District 2 Class 2A girls championship game Friday afternoon at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.
All three scored in an early nine-point streak by Holy Cross, which never trailed in the game. And, all three finished with at least 15 points.
Lentowski, who went 8-for-13 on the way to 21 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals, said Ferguson’s shooting helped open things up for the other two inside.
“Ferg is a fantastic 3-point shooter,” Lentowski said of the senior, who was 3-for-5 from long range while scoring 15 points. “We would be nowhere without her.”
All three got going early.
Lentowski scored the team’s five points after offensive rebounds.
Ferguson’s 3-pointer started the 9-0 run to a 14-4 lead with 1:20 left in the first quarter and her next one started a streak of seven straight points for a 24-10 advantage with 4:47 left in the half.
“Emily knocked down some shots,” Holy Cross coach Barry Fitzgerald said. “That helped. She had (two) threes here last year. She doesn’t mind the atmosphere.
“Those threes helped us and we’re used to it with Abbey and Kaci.”
The two 1,000-point career scorers have combined for nearly 40 points per game this season.
Kranson finished with 17 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. She followed Ferguson’s first 3-pointer with transition drives for the next two baskets.
While producing on the offensive end, Kranson was also limiting Old Forge all-stater Olivia Ciullo, holding her to one field goal in the first half.
“I thought we did a nice job on Ciullo in the first half, but then all of a sudden, we couldn’t keep (Makayla) Parker in front of us,” Fitzgerald said.
Parker led the Lady Devils with 17 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals and 4 blocked shots. Ciullo went 7-for-8 from the line and finished with 13 points and 8 rebounds.
The teams combined to take 32 foul shots in a game that got rough at times.
“It got a little chippy,” Fitzgerald said. “There’s something about us and Old Forge. We don’t particularly care for each other.
“But, I have a lot of respect for a lot of those kids out there. … Like I told (Olivia) Ciullo after the game, ‘no disrespect intended,’ but I’m not going to miss her. It’s been four years of fighting that kid and I wish her the best.”
While Kranson did her most important work on the defensive end, Lentowski and Ferguson combined for all the team’s points in the second quarter.
By halftime, Lentowski had 15 points, Ferguson had 10 and the Lady Crusaders had a 34-17 lead.
Kranson helped keep Old Forge at bay with 11 second-half points.
Holy Cross, which lost at Old Forge in the season opener, claimed the advantage in the rivalry, at least temporarily.
The teams had split their regular-season meetings and in District 2 Class 2A championship games the previous two seasons.
EXPANDED BOXSCORE: All the statistics from the Holy Cross win over Old Forge. https://nepabasketball.com/2020-21/articles/2AGirlsBoxscore.
