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Lottery Summary for week of March 5, 2017

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Fans of the Irish bundle up for Scranton St. Patrick’s Parade

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; The thought of failure in a disappointing District 2 final was fleeting for Erin Gibbons.</p><p>She was too focused on helping Wyoming Valley West make history.</p><p>So Gibbons simply shrugged off a missed opportunity to seize the moment at hand, scoring 16 points Saturday while leading the Spartans past Twin Valley, 41-27 and to the school&#8217;s first state victory in the opening round of the PIAA Class 5A tournament at Wilkes University&#8217;s Marts Center.</p><p>&#8220;It was nice, especially as seniors,&#8221; Gibbons said. &#8220;It&#8217;s our last time. We did a great job.&#8221;</p><p>It was the first time the Spartans made the state brackets since suffering a 65-62 first-round Class 4A loss to Coatesville in 2002, although Valley West also competed in a PIAA play-in game in 2009, when the Spartans were defeated by Great Valley.</p><p>Valley West&#8217;s previous trips to states also ended in dejection, with losses in 1978, 1997 and 1999.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m very proud of them,&#8221; Valley West coach Gary Ferenchick said. &#8220;They picked themselves up after last week. And they showed what they have deep down inside.&#8221;</p><p>The 21-5 Spartans entered states off a difficult 32-30 loss to No. 6 seed Abington Heights in the District 2 championship last Saturday, when Gibbons put up a driving shot that was partially blocked in an attempt to win the game in the final seconds.</p><p>&#8220;After our last loss, we were coming in (to states) knowing we had to show up,&#8221; Gibbons said. &#8220;I think we did.&#8221;</p><p>Early and often.</p><p>Gibbons got things started with eight points in the first half, and Valley West&#8217;s defense tortured Twin Valley to advance into Wednesday&#8217;s PIAA second round against District 1 champion, Springfield Delco (24-4).</p><p>&#8220;We wanted to try to take the ball to the basket a little more,&#8221; Ferenchick said. &#8220;I thought we were patient on offense. I knew they (the Twin Valley Raiders) were big. We got up, and we started settling for outside shots. I wanted to take it right at them.</p><p>&#8220;I thought it was an all-around good game.&#8221;</p><p>It got a little uncomfortable for Valley West in the second quarter.</p><p>Twin Valley made a charge, pulling within two points late in the period by forcing the Spartans toward the perimeter.</p><p>But Toni Amato came off the bench to drill a 3-pointer 1:40 before halftime, Andi Blaski followed with another 3-pointer 47 seconds later, and both scored five points in the second quarter to send Valley West into intermission with a 22-14 lead.</p><p>The Spartans were never seriously threatened again.</p><p>&#8220;It was exciting,&#8221; Blaski, a sophomore guard, said. &#8220;At first, I really wasn&#8217;t hitting anything. I was getting a little nervous. Eventually, I got more confidence. I had enough to shoot a 3, and it went in.&#8221;</p><p>Gibbons scored four more points in the third quarter, and with help from another Blaski 3-pointer, Valley West boosted its lead to 11 points with a quarter to play.</p><p>&#8220;That&#8217;s our advantage,&#8221; Gibbons said. &#8220;We have some girls who come in, and they always seem to step up.&#8221;</p><p>Valley West stepped on the gas in the final quarter, as Gibbons scored her final three points, Natalie Gruver hit three foul shots and Valley West&#8217;s defense held the Raiders to 13 points in the second half &#8212; and to single digits in three of the game&#8217;s four quarters.</p><p>&#8220;A lot of good teams in this area have been (district) runner-up and made good runs in the states,&#8221; Ferenchick said. &#8220;I&#8217;m hoping we can do the same.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re looking forward to the next one.&#8221;</p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Wyoming Valley West 41, Twin Valley 27</strong></p><p><strong>TWIN VALLEY (27) &#8212;</strong> Julie Wallace 2 0-0 5, Ashlynn Lennon 1 2-4 2, Taylor Knorr 0 2-4 2, Cameryn Jamison 0 0-0 0, Gabrielle Parlaman 1 0-0 2, Peyton McDaniel 4 0-0 8, Julia Danilak 2 2-4 6, Alyssa Gibson 0 0-0 0. <strong>Totals 10 6-12 27.</strong></p><p><strong>WYOMING VALLEY WEST (41) &#8212;</strong> Erin Gibbons 4 7-8 16, Gabby Smicherko 3 1-6 7, Natalie Gruver 0 3-5 3, Colleen Cwalina 1 0-1 2, Andi Blaski 3 0-0 8, Toni Amato 2 0-0 5, Katie Johnson 0 0-0 0, Lindsey Gruver 0 0-0 0, Sidney Scarcella 0 0-0 0, Katie Mackiewicz 0 0-0 0. <strong>Totals 13 11-20 41.</strong></p><p><strong>Twin Valley `2`12`7`6`&#8212;`27</strong></p><p><strong>Wyoming Valley West`10`12`10`9`&#8212;`41</strong></p><p><strong>Three-point goals</strong> &#8212; TV 1 (Wallace); WVW 4 (Blaski 2, Gibbons, Amato).</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Wyoming Valley West&#8217;s Gabriela Smicherko drives to the basket against Twin Valley&#8217;s Julie Wallace. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_TTL031217GBWVWTwinVal2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Wyoming Valley West&#8217;s Gabriela Smicherko drives to the basket against Twin Valley&#8217;s Julie Wallace. </caption0><photoCredit0>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_TTL031217GBWVWTwinVal3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wyoming Valley West&#8217;s Gabriela Smicherko attempts a shot against Twin Valley&#8217;s Cameryn Jamison. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_TTL031217GBWVWTwinVal3.jpg</photo1><caption1>Wyoming Valley West&#8217;s Gabriela Smicherko attempts a shot against Twin Valley&#8217;s Cameryn Jamison. </caption1><photoCredit1>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_TTL031217GBWVWTwinVal1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wyoming Valley West&#8217;s Erin Gibbons eyes up the basket against Twin Valley&#8217;s Julia Danilak during the first round of the Class 5A state playoff game at Wilkes University&#8217;s Marts Center in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_TTL031217GBWVWTwinVal1.jpg</photo2><caption2>Wyoming Valley West&#8217;s Erin Gibbons eyes up the basket against Twin Valley&#8217;s Julia Danilak during the first round of the Class 5A state playoff game at Wilkes University&#8217;s Marts Center in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday. </caption2><photoCredit2>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Paul Sokoloski</p><p>psokoloski@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Paul Sokoloski at 570-991-6392 or on Twitter @TLPaulSokoloski</p></shirttailMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><videoMeta><p><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%;">fDOlcaz_FjA</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</p><p></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://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDOlcaz_FjA </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%;"></p><p>Wyoming Valley West&#8217;s Erin Gibbons scores two of her 16 points on Saturday</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 | Times Leader</p><p></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></p><p style="margin-top:10px;font-size:70%;color:#555;">(use the &#8220;for files&#8230;&#8221; link above to associate attached files with this source)</p></videoMeta></div>

Erin Gibbons leads Valley West to 1st girls basketball state win