Junior guard Kallie Booth led the way on the court while Jeff Gregory provided guidance from the sideline as Pittston Area went from being a one-win, last-place team in Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 to winning a playoff to capture the championship.
Those roles were recognized when Booth was named Player of the Year and Gregory Coach of the Year on the WVC Division 1 girls all-star team selected by NEPABasketball.com. The team was announced Monday night to begin the series of all-star selections on the website.
Gregory came to Pittston Area after serving as assistant coach at Scranton Prep for five seasons, including three straight perfect seasons in Lackawanna League Division 1 girls. The only previous head coaching experience for the second-year coach of the Lady Patriots had been as a boys coach at Mountain View for two years and Mid Valley for four years.
Freshman Daniella Ranieli also represented Pittston Area on the first team.
Booth was a second-team, all-star choice last season. She led the team in scoring and finished second to Ranieli, the second-leading scorer, in 3-pointers.
The first team also features two players who finished their careers by being recognized for the fourth time.
Wyoming Valley West’s Trinity Johnson and Wilkes-Barre Area’s Gloria Adjayi each repeated as first-teamers after being second-team choices in both their freshmen and sophomore seasons.
Adjayi’s first selection as a second-teamer, in 2019, came in Division 3 when she played at GAR before the three former Wilkes-Barre schools merged athletic programs.
Dallas sophomore Elizabeth Viglone rounds out the first team.
A second team was also named, along with the return of an honorable mention listing with the division’s expansion back to eight teams.
The all-star teams from the WVC Division 1 boys will also include an honorable mention while the other 10 divisional teams around District 2 will each consist of just a first and second team. Those divisions have between five and seven teams in each.
WYOMING VALLEY CONFERENCE DIVISION 1
Coach of the Year
Jeff Gregory, Pittston Area
Player of the Year
Kallie Booth, Pittston Area junior
First Team
Gloria Adjayi, Wilkes-Barre Area senior
Trinity Johnson, Wyoming Valley West senior
Lacie Kringe, Hazleton Area junior
Daniella Ranieli, Pittston Area freshman
Elizabeth Viglone, Dallas sophomore
Second Team
RaeAnna Andreas, Berwick sophomore
Shelby Ardo-Boyko, Wilkes-Barre Area junior
Danayjha Moore, Wilkes-Barre Area senior
Mackenzie Perluke, Wyoming Valley West sophomore
Victoria Spaciano, Dallas junior
Honorable Mention
Ava Callahan, Pittston Area junior
Nadia Evanosky, Dallas senior
Julia Glowacki, Crestwood junior
Cadence Hiller, Crestwood junior
Brianna Kennedy, Hazleton Area junior
Sophia Shults, Hazleton Area freshman
Gabby Starr, Berwick sophomore
