By Tom Robinson, NEPABasketball.com
FORMAT: There are three rounds, with higher-seeded teams hosting the first two rounds before the championship game is played at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza. The top three teams will advance to the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association state tournament, so there will be a third-place game, at a neutral site, as well.
2021 RECAP: Scranton Prep won its fourth straight title by winning 3 games by a total of 104 points, including 51-25 over third-seeded Berwick in the championship game. Dunmore was the second seed, but never got to play because of COVID, clearing the way for Berwick to reach the final by defeating Nanticoke, a seventh seed that had advanced by forfeit. The only on-court win by a lower seed came when ninth-seeded Wyoming Area got past eighth-seeded Tunkhannock in a preliminary round game.
HIGHEST SEEDS: 1. Dunmore; 2. Scranton Prep; 3. Lake-Lehman; 4. Holy Redeemer.
REGULAR-SEASON CHAMPIONS: Dunmore won its ninth straight Lackawanna League Division 3 title. Scranton Prep won its fifth straight Division 1 title, all with perfect Lackawanna League records. Lake-Lehman won its second straight Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 title and also its second straight WVC Tournament title, adding to the 2020 championship of an event that was not held last year.
RANKED TEAMS: Dunmore, Scranton Prep and Lake-Lehman rank 1-2-3 among Big School girls teams in the My City Mortgage Super Six Power Rankings of District 2 teams.
WINNING RECORDS: Dunmore 20-1, Scranton Prep 18-3, Lake-Lehman 18-3, Holy Redeemer 13-9, Nanticoke 12-10, Wyoming Area 12-10.
BEST OPENER: Nanticoke finished third in WVC Division, one spot behind Holy Redeemer, its quarterfinal opponent, and holds the only WVC win over first-place Lake-Lehman. The Trojanettes improved as the season went on, going 9-2 between a 3-7 start and a loss at Dallas in the non-league, regular-season finale. Holy Redeemer is a strong defensive team, but has had some offensive struggles at times.
KEY GAME: The anticipated semifinal sending Lake-Lehman to Scranton Prep Friday would be a rematch of the only game that the Classics were pushed before breaking away in last year’s tournament, 51-30, in the semifinals. The winner clinches a state berth and earns an expected shot at state contender Dunmore. Lake-Lehman has won 11 straight, including beating back-to-back Division 1 opponents in the WVC Tournament.
PLAYERS TO WATCH: Ciera Toomey, Moriah Murray, Mia Blume and Sophia Talutto from Dunmore; Lizzie Neville, Maria Belardi and Rita Collins from Scranton Prep; Claire Dougherty and Ella Wilson from Lake-Lehman; Jillian DelBalso and Mia Ashton from Holy Redeemer; Riley Baird, Claire Aufiero and Brooklyn Biehl from Nanticoke; Morgan Janeski from Wyoming Area; Rowan Murray from Honesdale; RaeAnna Andreas from Berwick.
NOTEWORTHY: The three teams at the top have generally dominated and fourth-seeded Holy Redeemer made it to the WVC Tournament while fifth-seeded Nanticoke gave hope to the rest of the field with an upset of third-seeded Lake-Lehman. … The loss by Lake-Lehman to Nanticoke and Scranton Prep’s loss to Dunmore in the Lynett Memorial Tournament are the only losses by the top three within District 2. … Dunmore is 17-0 within District 2, winning by an average of 38.2 points per game. … Toomey, Murray, Dougherty and Baird are all 1,000-point career scorers. … Murray, Dunmore’s career record-holder for 3-pointers, is a three-time, first-team, all-state choice while Toomey is a two-time, all-stater. … Toomey, the nation’s No. 3 women’s basketball prospect from the Class of 2023, plans to make her college choice from Connecticut, Duke, Maryland, North Carolina, Northwestern, Penn State, Vanderbilt and Villanova. … Murray is headed to play National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I basketball at Drexel University. ... Dougherty will play on scholarship at NCAA Division II Holy Family. ... Lake-Lehman lost all-star forward Chase Purdy, who is headed to Division II Bloomsburg University, to a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her knee. ... Baird set a school record in the upset of Lake-Lehman when she made eight 3-pointers in the game. She had 15 points in the final 2:55; four 3-pointers and 23 points in the fourth quarter; and 42 total points in the 70-58 win. … Lake-Lehman had non-league games scheduled with Scranton Prep and Dunmore, but both were postponed, then eventually canceled as midseason schedules were juggled around COVID issues. … Last year’s tournament was nine teams because Wyoming Area, the ninth-place team in the power ratings, met the criteria of .500 or better. There are 11 Class 4A teams in District 4, but only 6 had winning records so the bracket held at 8 teams with Valley View, Tunkhannock and Hanover Area falling short of the playoffs.
COMPLETE PAIRINGS
Tuesday’s quarterfinals
8, Berwick (7-15) at 1, Dunmore (20-1), 6 p.m.
5, Nanticoke (12-10) at 4, Holy Redeemer (13-9), 7 p.m.
6, Wyoming Area (12-10) at 3, Lake-Lehman (18-3), 7 p.m.
7, Honesdale (9-12) at 2, Scranton Prep (18-3), 7 p.m.
Friday’s semifinals
Berwick-Dunmore winner vs. Nanticoke-Holy Redeemer winner
Wyoming Area/Lake-Lehman winner vs. Honesdale-Scranton Prep winner
March 1 third-place game
Semifinal losers at neutral site
March 3 final
Semifinal winners at Mohegan Sun Arena, 6 p.m.
