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Masonic Lodge No. 61 announces appointed officer

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Lottery Numbers for Monday, Feb. 6

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; When Ellie Bartoli got the news Friday that she was days away from playing in her first official high school basketball game, her first reaction was to offer hugs to all the Pittston Area girls basketball coaches.</p><p>There were hugs &#8211; and some tears &#8211; all around Monday night after family and teammates shared in the experience as Bartoli, a senior with Down Syndrome, took the floor for a game at Coughlin.</p><p>Bartoli found a comfortable spot to the right of the basket and returned to it repeatedly to score the final 10 points in Pittston Area&#8217;s 67-33 Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 victory.</p><p>&#8220;I was more excited than ever,&#8221; Bartoli said of the anticipation for Monday&#8217;s game.</p><p>Bartoli had played in an intrasquad scrimmage as part of Meet the Patriots nights and practices with the team periodically throughout her two seasons. On the days she does not take the floor during practice, Bartoli handles the team manager duties, running the scoreboard during timed parts of practice and helping coach Kathy Healey track different information.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s just incredible,&#8221; Healey said. &#8220;Coaching is not just about wins and losses all the time. It&#8217;s about life lessons. Hopefully, we taught our players a life lesson. Everybody is special and we need to accept everybody in our lives.</p><p>&#8220;This is one of the greatest moments in my coaching career.&#8221;</p><p>The 18-year-old National Honor Society student has shared other special moments with her classmates. In the fall, Bartoli was selected as Pittston Area&#8217;s Homecoming queen.</p><p>Ellie has always loved basketball, according to her mother, Eileen Bartoli, and practiced with the junior high team at times while in seventh grade.</p><p>&#8220;It was amazing,&#8221; Eileen said. &#8220;She loves playing and having this opportunity, for her, was just overwhelming.</p><p>&#8220;She is a part of the team in every way possible, but to have her have some playing time was just tremendous.&#8221;</p><p>Taryn Ashby made sure the game was well in hand early, scoring 21 of her 40 points in the first quarter.</p><p>Leading 57-25 with Bartoli waiting at the scorer&#8217;s table, the Patriots committed an intentional turnover with 2:59 left to stop the clock and get her in the game.</p><p>Bartoli, who entered the game to standing ovation, clearly enjoyed herself from the start. She smiled as she dribbled the ball up court for the first Pittston Area possession after she checked in. When she missed from five feet on the right side, teammates retrieved rebounds and got the ball right back to her.</p><p>On the third try, Bartoli scored her first basket to another big cheer.</p><p>She was just getting started.</p><p>Bartoli didn&#8217;t need rebounding help while hitting from the same spot on the first try on the next two possessions.</p><p>The last two times up the floor, she tried scoring on the move, dribbling up the right side for a layup. Bartoli wound up making 5 of 10 shots, retrieving one of her own rebounds and getting the ball back from teammates two more times for scores, including once at the final buzzer.</p><p>Alexa Noone scored all her 12 of her points in the first half for Pittston Area. She also had eight steals.</p><p>Kira Meager hit four 3-pointers, including three in the first quarter, to lead Coughlin with 12 points.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Pittston Area 67, Coughlin 33</strong></p><p><strong>PITTSTON(67) &#8212;</strong> Mary Silinskie 0 0-0 0, Nicole Zambetti 0 0-0 0, Portia Weidlich 0 0-2 0, Leah Hodick 1 3-4 5, Cherokee Musto 0 0-0 0, Alexa Noone 5 2-2 12, Brooklyn Pedena 0 0-0 0, Andrea Ruby 0 0-0 0, Ellie Bartoli 5 0-0 10, Taryn Ashby 16 2-7 40. <strong>Totals 27 7-15 67.</strong></p><p><strong>COUGHLIN (33) &#8212;</strong> Emily Cicon 2 0-0 6, Ajalaya Butts 2 1-3 5, Le&#8217;June Berry 2 0-0 4, Ariana Brittingham 1 0-0 2, Molly Poray 2 0-0 4, Morgan Gayton 0 0-0 0, Courtney Wartella 0 0-0 0, Kira Meager 4 0-0 12. <strong>Totals 13 1-3 33.</strong></p><p><strong>Pittston `31`12`9`15`&#8212;`67</strong></p><p><strong>Coughlin`16`2`3`12`&#8212;`33</strong></p><p><strong>Three-point goals</strong> &#8212; PA 6 (Ashby 6); COU 6 (Cicon 2, Meager 4).</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Pittston Area's Ellie Bartoli, who has Down syndrome, drives the baseline for two of her 10 points against Coughlin Monday night in Wilkes-Barre.   Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_Pittston-CoughlinGBB_1-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Pittston Area's Ellie Bartoli, who has Down syndrome, drives the baseline for two of her 10 points against Coughlin Monday night in Wilkes-Barre.   Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader</caption0><photoCredit0>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta></subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Tom Robinson</p><p>For Times Leader</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Times Leader sports at 570-829-7143 or on Twitter @tlsports</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Pittston Area team manager Ellie Bartoli plays in first varsity game