EDITOR’S NOTE: While NEPABasketball.com compiles more complete reports, here is a quick recap of Tuesday’s highlights.
By Tom Robinson, NEPABasketball.com
TAYLOR – Kylie Lavelle landed her third Taylor Lions Club girls tournament Most Valuable Player award and all-tournament selection Katie Slaboda led a second-half, 3-point barrage that allowed Riverside to pull away for a 57-40 championship game victory over Abington Heights Tuesday night.
Lavelle, who is committed to play National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I basketball at Drexel University, scored 22 points, grabbed 8 rebounds and blocked 3 shots.
The only season during her high school career that Lavelle did not earn Taylor Lions MVP recognition was when the 2020 tournament was canceled.
Riverside shot 80 percent from 3-point range in the second half, making eight, including six in the nine-minute stretch after falling behind for the only time in the game.
Caroline Murray made three straight 3-pointers for Abington Heights in a span of 2:36. Her shots countered two Lexi Kostoff 3-pointers early in the second half and keyed a 13-4 run to give the Lady Comets their only lead, 30-29, on an Allison Dammer basket with 3:12 left in the third quarter.
Slaboda responded by going 5-for-5 on 3-pointers the rest of the way to finish 6-for-8 from long distance while producing 19 points, 8 rebounds and 2 steals. She hit three before the third quarter ended, erasing the last deficit with 2:38 left, breaking the last tie with 59 seconds left, then sending the Lady Vikes into the fourth quarter with a 38-32 lead.
The consecutive Slaboda 3-pointers kicked off a 17-2 run, capped by seven points, including a 3-pointer, from Lillie Pon in less than two minutes and featuring another Slaboda 3-pointer.
Slaboda hit one more with 2:06 left for the game’s biggest lead, 55-36.
Morgan Antoniacci had 10 assists, including 8 in the second half, along with making key late-game defensive contributions.
Kostoff, who had five assists, and Pon, who came off the bench, each had seven points and seven rebounds.
Dammer and Anna Scoblick made the all-tournament team from Abington Heights. Dammer had 13 points, 17 rebounds, 6 steals and 2 blocked shots. Scoblick had 10 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocked shots.
The girls championship game was the third Taylor Lions Tournament game of the day.
West Scranton won the other two, reaching the boys final and taking third place in girls.
Evan Laybourn Boddie led the Invaders past Stroudsburg, 69-61, and into Wednesday night’s final against host Riverside.
Laybourn Boddie finished with 21 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.
Tristan Lee had 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Sincere Jean-Louis added 10 points.
West Scranton topped Lackawanna Trail, 41-37, in the girls consolation game.
Olivia Dougher scored 15 points and all-tournament pick Madison Maloney had 10 for the Lady Invaders, who broke a seven-game losing streak.
Maloney made two 3-pointers in the fourth quarter when West Scranton outscored Lackawanna Trail, 10-6, to break a tie.
All-tournament selection Gretchen Rejrat and Mackenzie Schirg had 10 points each for the Lady Lions.
The only other girls action was at the Honesdale Jaycees Tournament where Western Wayne defeated the host Lady Hornets, 58-26, and Wallenpaupack routed Forest City, 69-19.
Emily Romanowski scored 15 points, Kaeli Romanowski 13 and Skyla Long 11 for Western Wayne.
Tuesday’s schedule was significantly impacted by COVID issues, including the cancellation of the James Akens Memorial Tournaments, a pair of four-team events at North Pocono, and the postponement of the Crestwood-Holy Redeemer championship game of the McGrane Tournament, a boys event at the Wyoming Valley Catholic Youth Center.
In other boys games: Dallas opened the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 schedule with a 76-37 rout of Berwick; Old Forge defeated Wyoming Area, 60-49, in the Badger Game; Honesdale hammered Wallenpaupack, 52-19, and East Stroudsburg South routed Western Wayne, 71-31, in the Honesdale Jaycees Tournament; Muhlenberg downed Hazleton Area, 68-59, in the Allentown Allen Tournament; Warwick (N.Y.) defeated Delaware Valley, 65-41, in a Milford-Matamoras Rotary game; and Tunkhannock beat Nanticoke, 71-67; Mountain View defeated Northeast Bradford, 57-48; and Canton defeated Susquehanna, 46-31, in non-league games.
The only league game to be played in District 2 prior to the New Year matched the WVC Division 1 favorite Mountaineers against the visiting Bulldogs, who were winless in the division last season.
Austin Finarelli scored 17 of his 22 points and Nick Nocito had 8 of his 11 in the first quarter to get Dallas out to a 28-7 lead.
Joe Macciocco poured in 28 points to send Old Forge to the final of the Anthony “Badger” Marseco Tournament.
The tournament, which returned from a 10-year hiatus, honors the memory of Marseco, the former Old Forge player and Wyoming Area assistant coach.
The opener of the boys tournament, between Wyoming Seminary and Pittston Area, was postponed because of COVID concerns at Wyoming Seminary. Tournament officials are waiting until around noon Wednesday to determine if the game can be rescheduled in time to include in the event.
Ben Chilson hit five 3-pointers and scored 24 points to lead Tunkhannock, which overcame a 12-point halftime deficit.
Josh Brown added 22 points.
Ryan Henke scored 23 points and freshman Jackson Gesford added 17 for Mountain View.
Colton Stone scored 13 points to lead Susquehanna, which lost in its return from a week-plus COVID pause.
