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Wyoming Valley West January Seniors of the Month honored

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Police announce arrest of suspect in alleged Tuesday stabbing

One way or another, they made it here.Now, they plan to make a mark on history.A Nanticoke team short on height. A Berwick team enduring a double-decade title drought. A Wyoming Valley West team trying to recapture some old glory. A Holy Redeemer team that lost its championship core and a Hazleton Area team that lost its way for awhile before both rediscovered strings of success.They&#8217;ve all secured spots in Championship Week at Mohegan Sun Arena, where District 2 girls basketball titles will be decided in six different classes over three days. Suddenly, surprising contenders and traditional Northeastern Pennsylvania powers find themselves clashing for one common goal.A district gold medal.&#8220;This is why people love March Madness,&#8221; Hazleton Area coach Joe Gavio said. &#8220;Tough games.&#8221;Starting with Thursday&#8217;s Class 4A final between Berwick and Nanticoke.And while the top-seeded Trojanettes won 24 of their 25 games this season, they did it a different way from some other strong Nanticoke teams that made deep District 2 runs during the past few seasons after graduating two post players that hovered near 6-foot.They used five guards, the tallest being 5-9 Riley Klepadlo.&#8220;We don&#8217;t have any players 6-1, 6-foot,&#8221; Nanticoke coach Alan Yendrzeiwski said. &#8220;We&#8217;ve just got a bunch of kids from Nanticoke who play their tails off every game.&#8221;Holy Redeemer, which will play in Saturday&#8217;s noon District 3 title game, is in a similar situation.After reaching two consecutive PIAA semifinal games followed by last season&#8217;s run to the state&#8217;s quarterfinals, the Royals revamped after three-year starting stalwarts Lydia Lawson, Rebecca Prociak and Megan Corridoni all graduated. They now feature an offensive system built on ball sharing and scoring balance that also starts five guards but mixes in 6-foot subs Sam Yencha and Cameron Marcinkowski.The result is a 20-5 record and a championship date with unbeaten Dunmore.&#8220;We&#8217;re difficult to guard, because we have so many players who can score,&#8221; Redeemer&#8217;s first-year head coach John Jezorwski said.Valley West has a group of experienced seniors who won the District 2 freshman championship four years ago, but will play in the school&#8217;s first varsity district title game since the 2012-13 season.&#8220;They all know their roles,&#8221; said second-year Valley West coach Gary Ferenchick, whose top-seeded, 20-4 Spartans will take on Abington Heights in Friday&#8217;s 6 p.m. Class 5A title game. &#8220;It&#8217;s all coming together. It&#8217;s been a good run. We&#8217;re having a lot of success.&#8221;This type of success is something Berwick isn&#8217;t accustomed to.But the Bulldogs are on a five-game winning streak and looking to win their first District 2 title since 1998.&#8220;After (beating) Wyoming Area, they said we have six games left to get there,&#8221; Berwick coach Bill Phillips said following a district semifinal victory over Scranton Prep. &#8220;That&#8217;s five.&#8221;This is the third straight district championship appearance for both Holy Redeemer and Hazleton Area, as both won District 2 titles in different classes last season.Holy Redeemer was the district&#8217;s Class 2A champ and Hazleton Area won the Class 4A title, before the PIAA expanded from a four-class setup to six in boys and girls basketball.But a Hazleton Area team that&#8217;s based its past success on swarming, pressure defense and potent outside shooting took some time to find itself after adjusting to some new-found height. Once they did, the Cougars ripped off six wins over their past seven games and earned a spot in Saturday&#8217;s 6 p.m. Class 6A championship showdown with top-seeded Scranton.&#8220;We&#8217;re not the defending 6A champs,&#8221; Gavio said. &#8220;But we definitely want to be the first 6A champs.&#8221;Here&#8217;s a look at all the WVC teams trying to become champs as District 2 holds its title games at Mohegan Sun Arena for a second straight year.CLASS 4A6 p.m., ThursdayNo. 1 Nanticoke (24-1) vs. No. 2 Berwick (16-8)This is a rematch of a late-season game nobody expected to happen.Nanticoke escaped with a 50-47 victory on Feb. 6, which helped the Trojanettes tie for the WVC Division 2 title and eventually win it in a league playoff while Berwick dropped to 11-8 at the time with their third heartbreaking loss in the span of two weeks.But the Bulldogs haven&#8217;t lost since and rode Reese Mensinger&#8217;s 47 points in two district games into the finals.If there&#8217;s anything that slows down speedy Nanticoke, it&#8217;s an opponent with size. And Berwick has it, with forward Tori Talanca, center Roni Isenberg and post player Megan Dalo off the bench.&#8220;All three are around 6-foot,&#8221; Phillips said. &#8220;We&#8217;ve been very unselfish. Tori and Reese have definitely carried us offensively, but we have four different players who can score in double figures. I think our size is bothering teams.&#8221;Still, Nanticoke hasn&#8217;t been bothered by much. The Trojanettes won their first 16 games, suffered their only loss to Valley West, then rolled off eight more wins. Lately, though, it&#8217;s been a struggle.Nanticoke used a fourth-quarter comeback to win the WVC Division 2 championship over Holy Redeemer, then rallied from 10 points down with just over six minutes remaining to defeat Dallas by a point in a District 2 semifinal.But the Trojanettes can rely on sharp-shooting Kayla Aufiero, all-around phenom Riley Klepadlo &#8212; at 5-9, the team&#8217;s tallest player &#8212; and 3-point ace Lisa Radziak for heavy point production. And when that sputters, defensive ace Katie Butczynski and spark plug Alyssa Lewis off the bench can combined to put up 25 points, like in that 55-54 nailbiter over Dallas.&#8221;Berwick is going to be a tough task,&#8221; said Yendrzeiwski, whose Trojanettes are the state&#8217;s fourth-ranked team in Class 4A. &#8220;We had all we could handle at their place when we played them during the season. It should be a good game.&#8221;CLASS 5A6 p.m., FridayNo. 1 Wyoming Valley West (20-4) vs. No. 6 Abington Heights (13-11)The streaking Spartans have won nine straight games after suffering a midseason loss against Holy Redeemer, including last Saturday&#8217;s heart-pounding 55-52 overtime victory over Pittston Area in a district semifinal.The Spartans lean heavily on slick ballhandler Erin Gibbons to break presses and put up 20-some points, but it&#8217;s far from a one-player show at Valley West.Under-rated Gabby Smicherko is key at both ends, averaging nearly 15 points while providing ball security and some strong defense, while sophomore Andi Blaski is quickly turning into a force.&#8220;Gabby&#8217;s been a good, all-around player for us,&#8221; Ferenchick said. &#8220;She&#8217;s improved more and more every year. Andi Blaski just surprises me more and more every time. Natalie Gruver, I call her the secretary of defense.&#8221;The big key may be 6-foot center Colleen Cwalina.The senior center is a key point producer and rebounding force &#8212; evidenced by the six boards she collected in the first quarter against Pittston Area. But she&#8217;s also been plagued by foul problems often, and Valley West will need her on the floor against a Comets lineup that sends out four starters standing near 6-foot.&#8220;It&#8217;s going to be a tough game, a good matchup,&#8221; Ferenchick said.Abington Heights entered districts as a .500 team, but upset third-seeded West Scranton and No. 2 Crestwood behind strong defense and stellar shooting from Hannah Kowalski, Nicole Getz and Alessia Brunari.&#8220;With Abington Heights, you take the records and throw them out the window,&#8221; Ferenchick said. &#8220;It&#8217;s a nice team, a very experienced team. They&#8217;re just playing good basketball right now.&#8221;CLASS 3ANoon, SaturdayNo. 1 Dunmore (23-0) vs. No. 2 Holy Redeemer (20-5)This is a rematch of the 2015 Class 2A championship game won by Dunmore, but Sam Rajza&#8217;s the only one remaining from that game on Redeemer&#8217;s side.Now a senior leader, Rajza has helped inspire the young Royals to 19 victories in their past 21 games &#8212; with both losses over that span coming to WVC Division 2 champ Nanticoke Area. But with Talia Kozierowski &#8212; a returning starter from last year&#8217;s district title team &#8212; teaming with Julia Andrejko and transfers Irelyn Jannuzzi and Maya Kornfield, guard play has been great for the Royals and scoring surges come from everywhere on the floor.&#8220;What we did with our system was a little more team-oriented,&#8221; rookie high school varsity head coach Jezorwski said. &#8220;Everybody&#8217;s helping.&#8221;The Royals will need all the help they can get against a Dunmore team that features Maddie Martin, who came up big in a 49-45 overtime win over Riverside in Saturday&#8217;s district semifinal.An experienced group of Bucks, ranked No. 3 in the state in Class 3A and No. 11 among teams from all classes, will make their 12th straight appearance in the PIAA tourney regardless of Saturday&#8217;s outcome but will be playing at Mohegan Sun Arena for the first time.&#8220;We just need to play our game,&#8221; said Jezorwski, whose Royals are ranked No. 12 in Class 3A. &#8220;If we play our game, we&#8217;ll likely hang in there with them. We can&#8217;t get down against them. We have to start fast and play smart the whole game.&#8221;Class 6A6 p.m., SaturdayNo. 1 Scranton (17-5) vs. No. 2 Hazleton Area (15-8)A couple small changes late in the season tweaked Hazleton Area&#8217;s fortunes.And suddenly, a Cougars team that was 9-7 at one point rallied into a second-place tie in the WVC Division 1 and into the District 2 title game.&#8220;I have a couple seniors coming off the bench now,&#8221; Gavio said. &#8220;They&#8217;re understanding their role. Now we&#8217;re subbing about every minute and a half. It&#8217;s not about scoring, it&#8217;s about winning.&#8220;Couple little changes, we&#8217;re a different team.&#8221;The Cougars get plenty of scoring from dangerous outside shooters Kendra Pfeil and Maddie Mrochko, but also depend on steady output from sisters Marissa and Megan Trivelpiece.That press defense that traditionally gives teams fits is there, but it&#8217;s not nearly as dominating as in the program&#8217;s past.&#8220;But we&#8217;re still up-tempo,&#8221; Gavio said. &#8220;We&#8217;re not as quick as we were, but we&#8217;re playing a lot more kids.&#8221;The Cougars will try to gang up on shooting star Ciaira Loyd, who led Scranton to 14 straight victories and an unbeaten season as the Lackawanna League&#8217;s Division 1 champion.&#8220;We can&#8217;t let Loyd go crazy on us,&#8221; Gavio said. &#8220;She lights up for 30, I don&#8217;t think we can win. But we&#8217;ve played pretty good down the stretch, which is when you want to be playing well. I like the direction we&#8217;re heading in.&#8221;<ins>For other sports stories, <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/category/sports" target="_blank">click here</a>.</ins><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Hazleton Area will depend on the shooting of Kendra Pfeil as the Cougars go for a second straight District 2 title, this time in Class 6A, on Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_WVW-Hazleton-GBB-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Hazleton Area will depend on the shooting of Kendra Pfeil as the Cougars go for a second straight District 2 title, this time in Class 6A, on Saturday. </caption0><photoCredit0>Tony Callaio | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_Nan-RedeemerGBB_2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Nanticoke&#8217;s Kayla Aufierio and Holy Redeemer&#8217;s Sam Rajza battled for the WVC Division 2 girls basketball championship and both will now try to lead their teams to district titles. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_Nan-RedeemerGBB_2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Nanticoke&#8217;s Kayla Aufierio and Holy Redeemer&#8217;s Sam Rajza battled for the WVC Division 2 girls basketball championship and both will now try to lead their teams to district titles. </caption1><photoCredit1>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta></subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Paul Sokoloskipsokoloski@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta>ON THE WEBTo see video of Wyoming Valley West&#8217;s District 2 semifinal victory against Pittston Area, see this story at timesleader.com.</factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Paul Sokoloski at 570-991-6392 or on Twitter @TLPaulSokoloski</shirttailMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><videoMeta><table style="border:none;width:98%;" class="mceItemTable"><tbody><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">VideoID:</td><td id="videoid" style="width:50em;font-size:90%;"> eYIpr2s7li8</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">VideoType:</td><td id="videotype" style="font-size:90%;"> YOUTUBE</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">URL:</td><td id="url" style="font-size:90%;"> https://youtu.be/eYIpr2s7li8</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Embed String:</td><td id="videoembedstring" style="font-size:90%;"> </td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Caption:</td><td id="videocaption" style="font-size:90%;"> Blaski and Spartans get to district final</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Credit:</td><td id="videocredit" style="font-size:90%;"> Paul Sokoloski</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Position:</td><td id="videoposition" style="font-size:90%;"> </td></tr></tbody></table>(use the &#8220;for files&#8230;&#8221; link above to associate attached files with this source)</videoMeta></div>

Previewing the District 2 girls basketball championships