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Reporter shares her father’s children’s book with youngsters at Osterhout Free Library

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Attorneys duel over release of W-B Area school building plans

<p>Always in the middle of the action, Gianna Roberts typically scores a lot.</p><p>Usually on the outside looking in, Amber Grohowski hardly gets any points at all.</p><p>But whether they&#8217;re making baskets or preventing other teams from getting them, each member of Nanticoke Area&#8217;s girls basketball team seems to find a way to influence the outcome.</p><p>That&#8217;s a big reason why the Trojanettes are going back to the state playoffs for a 5 p.m. PIAA Class 3A opener Saturday against 26-1 Danville at Shamokin High School.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s definitely awesome,&#8221; Grohowski said. &#8220;Everybody has a part in our team. It&#8217;s definitely amazing to know if some of our girls aren&#8217;t doing as well, we have other players we can look to. It&#8217;s everybody doing what they&#8217;re supposed to.&#8221;</p><p>The 23-3 Trojanettes believed they were supposed to be playing for a District 2 championship.</p><p>But after entering as the top-seeded team in the district tourney, Nanticoke Area had a 15-game winning streak snapped when a furious fourth-quarter rally in the semifinals fell just short during a 40-36 loss to Scranton Prep.</p><p>The dejection from missing out on a district title bid lingered until the Trojanettes survived an 80-73 double-overtime victory against Wyoming Area in the tourney&#8217;s third-place game to enter states as the No. 3 representative from District 2.</p><p>&#8220;As disappointing as (the Scranton Prep) game was for us, we talked to the kids about showing their dedication to being here,&#8221; Nanticoke Area coach Alan Yendrzeiwski said. &#8220;I&#8217;m so proud of our kids.&#8221;</p><p>All of them.</p><p>Because from stalwart starters to super subs, the state playoff-clinching victory shined a spotlight on teamwork of the Trojanettes.</p><p>Roberts, one of the Wyoming Valley Conference&#8217;s top scorers, finished with 29 points while controlling the paint while Kayla Aufiero played through cramps and a sore hamstring to bury four 3-point field goals and finish with 21 points.</p><p>But Lisa Radziak came off the bench to pop four 3-pointers and score 15 points, while light-scoring senior guard Grohowski sealed the game by hitting all four of her foul shots in the second overtime &#8212; the only points she scored all night.</p><p>&#8220;Our strength is that we don&#8217;t give up,&#8221; Grohowski said.</p><p>That mindset gave the Trojanettes their first state appearance since 2002, when current assistant coach Sammy Gow was a player on the team that beat Shamokin in a first-round state game before falling in the second round.</p><p>&#8220;We haven&#8217;t been there in a few years,&#8221; Grohowski said. &#8220;For it to be my senior year, just going to the state playoffs is an amazing feeling.&#8221;</p><p>The Trojanettes will meet a team rolling through an amazing season.</p><p>Danville won its first 17 games, defeated Mifflinburg 56-44 for the school&#8217;s first District 4 title since 2005 and is ranked as the No. 5 Class 3A team in the state.</p><p>The Ironmen are led by 5-foot-10 senior forward Amber Rentz, the top scorer in District 4 who has more than 1,700 career points, along with 5-11 senior center Riley Glass and ball-hawking freshman captain Paige Harris, a 5-4 guard.</p><p>But the Trojanettes are pumped up for the challenge of finally playing a game in the state field.</p><p>&#8220;Being a senior, I think it&#8217;s an awesome thing to do,&#8221; Roberts said. &#8220;We never got a chance to do it before.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Nanticoke&#8217;s Gianna Roberts (No. 34, center) helped the Trojanettes reach the PIAA Class 3A playoffs which open Saturday, and now they are looking to grab the opportunity to make a state run. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/web1_nanticokewa02.jpg</photo0><caption0>Nanticoke&#8217;s Gianna Roberts (No. 34, center) helped the Trojanettes reach the PIAA Class 3A playoffs which open Saturday, and now they are looking to grab the opportunity to make a state run. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>From super subs to stalwart starters, Nanticoke Area taking teamwork into state playoffs</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Paul Sokoloski</p><p>psokoloski@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>PIAA GIRLS BASKETBALL CLASS 3A FIRST ROUND</strong></p><p>Nanticoke Area (23-3) vs. Danville (26-1)</p><p>5 p.m. Saturday, Shamokin High School</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Paul Sokoloski at 570-991-6392 or on Twitter @TLPaulSokoloski</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Trojanettes trusting teamwork to take them on a state playoff run