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Lottery summary for the week of April 9, 2017

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Bullpen struggles haunt SWB RailRiders in 10-2 loss to Buffalo Bisons

<p>They came into high school with pure passion for the game they loved, but without many of the abilities that made them leaders of championship teams.</p><p>But by the time they walked off the court, everyone in the Wyoming Valley Conference was aware of how dangerous senior guards Erin Gibbons of Wyoming Valley West and Nanticoke Area&#8217;s Kayla Aufiero could be with a game in their hands.</p><p>That didn&#8217;t happen by accident. And neither did their selections to the Pennsylvania All-State Girls Basketball teams.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s great,&#8221; said Gibbons, who fueled Valley West&#8217;s WVC Division 1 title, the school&#8217;s first-ever state playoff victory and a run to the PIAA quarterfinals. &#8220;Especially with our team making it that far. Ending the season with that is nice.&#8221;</p><p>Gibbons, who averaged 15.6 points for the 22-6 Spartans, was selected to the Class 5A All-State second team while Aufiero was voted to the Class 4A third team after averaging 16.2 points and knocking down 40.2 percent of her 3-point field goals.</p><p>Class 3A standouts Maddie Martin of Dunmore, elected to the second team, and third-teamer Abby Anderson of Holy Cross were the only other District 2 representatives on the All-State teams, which were announced Saturday after voting by girls basketball writers throughout Pennsylvania.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s an elite honor,&#8221; Aufiero said. &#8220;I definitely was not expecting this at all.&#8221;</p><p>Their coaches contend nobody could have projected either Gibbons or Aufiero would have ended up among the state&#8217;s 16 best players in their respective classes when they first stepped into a high school varsity gym.</p><p>Gibbons, who regularly dazzled girls basketball fans around District 2 and later throughout the state with her knee-wrenching cross-over dribbles and sweet outside shooting, credited years of personal training for her high school success.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a testament to the hard work she&#8217;s put in, how hard she&#8217;s worked to make her teammates and the team better,&#8221; Valley West coach Gary Ferenchick said. &#8220;And not only in high school, but outside of it. It&#8217;s all paying off for her. I think it (the all-state honor) is just a testament to what she&#8217;s done. It&#8217;s a good thing for her.&#8221;</p><p>For Aufiero, the story was similar.</p><p>&#8220;Kayla, when she was in eighth grade, she was a nice little player,&#8221; Nanticoke Area coach Alan Yendrzeiwski said. &#8220;But I don&#8217;t think she was even starting. Nobody said this is going to be your next 1,000-point scorer, you&#8217;re next All-State player at Nanticoke. She kept getting better and better every year. She worked so hard, and got so much better from when she walked through the doors as compared to when she left.</p><p>&#8220;This incredible honor is a great credit to her.&#8221;</p><p>Yet, the success of her team meant the most to Aufiero.</p><p>She spearheaded Nanticoke Area&#8217;s run to a 26-2 overall record, a third consecutive WVC Division 2 title, and the school&#8217;s first District 2 championship and PIAA playoff victory since 2011. Aufiero sparked Nanticoke Area&#8217;s 16-game winning streak to open the season, and another 10-game run before it ended with a loss in the second round of Class 4A state play.</p><p>&#8220;My team and I had a tremendous season,&#8221; said Aufiero, who stands 5-foot-7 and will play for Wilkes next season. &#8220;This really caps it off. My team and I, we gave it our all and played our hearts out every game. I couldn&#8217;t ask for any more.&#8221;</p><p>Yet, Aufiero delivered more than anyone could have envisioned.</p><p>Known for her game-changing and game-winning shots over the past few years, Aufiero took her eye-popping performances to another level this season.</p><p>She set a Nanticoke Area girls basketball records by hitting eight 3-point field goals in one game. She scored 21 in the first quarter in a victory over Hazleton Area. Aufiero scored 61 points over two games as the Trojanettes extended their season-opening win streak to 16 consecutive victories. She ignited a press defense that regularly produced more than 20 turnovers per game by averaging 2.6 steals.</p><p>And then there was that perfect night against Holy Redeemer, when Aufiero went 9 for 9 from the floor, 2 for 2 from the foul line and scored a game-high 25 points to force a tie for the WVC Division 2 lead and, ultimately, propelled the Trojanettes to a division championship.</p><p>&#8220;She had a fantastic year,&#8221; Yendrzeiwski said. &#8220;She scored her 1,000th point toward the end of it. She led our team in scoring, on a very formidable team that went 26-2. The combination of the two got her noticed. The success our team had, and of her, I think both played a part in this.</p><p>&#8220;I think it&#8217;s well-deserved.&#8221;</p><p>Gibbons also deserved the title &#8220;Captain Clutch.&#8221;</p><p>After her personal 10-point scoring spree in the final minutes of a District 2 playoff game carried Valley West to a victory over Scranton near the end of her junior season, Gibbons picked up this season right where she left off the last one.</p><p>The 5-8 sharpshooter, who will play for Division II Mansfield next season, opened her senior league season by sharing game-high honors with 20 points in a victory over long-time rival Hazleton Area.</p><p>Gibbons later beat Berwick with three 3-pointers in the final 12 minutes, including the game-winner in overtime. And she scored 16 of Valley West&#8217;s 41 points in Valley West&#8217;s history-making first state win against Twin Valley.</p><p>&#8220;I just think it&#8217;s how I played for my team, and the way my teammates helped me,&#8221; Gibbons said of becoming Valley West&#8217;s first All-State girls basketball player since Tara Zdancewicz in 2012. &#8220;They made it easy for me to do what I needed to do. I wasn&#8217;t really expecting it. I thought it would be really nice to end my senior season with that.&#8221;</p><p>Along the way, Gibbons drove the Spartans to the WVC Division 1 crown, a District 2 Class 5A runner-up finish, a 22-6 overall record and Valley West&#8217;s first two state wins while willing Valley West to the PIAA quarterfinals.</p><p>During one magical night, Gibbons scored 43 points &#8212; her career and the WVC high &#8212; as the Spartans handed Nanticoke Area its first loss of the season.</p><p>&#8220;For us, winning as many games as you can and going deeper into states, more and more people kind of got a chance to see Erin play,&#8221; Ferenchick said. &#8220;It all came together.</p><p>&#8220;This is, I guess, the top prize.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Erin Gibbons was at the center of Wyoming Valley West&#8217;s first-ever state playoff victory and ended up on the Pennsylvania Girls Basketball Class 5A All-State second team, which was released Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_WVW-BerwickGBB_5.jpg</photo0><caption0>Erin Gibbons was at the center of Wyoming Valley West&#8217;s first-ever state playoff victory and ended up on the Pennsylvania Girls Basketball Class 5A All-State second team, which was released Saturday. </caption0><photoCredit0>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_D2Nan-BerwickGirlsBB_5.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Kayla Aufiero was right in the middle of Nanticoke Area&#8217;s District 2 Class 4A championship run, and now she has another award to hold high. Aufiero was selected to the Pennsylvania Girls Basketball All-State third team, which was released Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_D2Nan-BerwickGirlsBB_5.jpg</photo1><caption1>Kayla Aufiero was right in the middle of Nanticoke Area&#8217;s District 2 Class 4A championship run, and now she has another award to hold high. Aufiero was selected to the Pennsylvania Girls Basketball All-State third team, which was released Saturday. </caption1><photoCredit1>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></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>

WVW’s Erin Gibbons, Nanticoke’s Kayla Aufiero receive girls basketball All-State honors