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2015 letter belies pope’s claim of ignorance of sexual abuse

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Hazleton council approves 30 percent tax hike

WRIGHT TWP. &#8212; By now, Julia Makowski has grown quite accustomed to fighting her way through a sea of defenders swarming all around her.That doesn&#8217;t necessarily mean she enjoys it.&#8220;It&#8217;s hard,&#8221; Makowski said. &#8220;I want to score as much as I can. But if it&#8217;s hurting the team, I try to pass the ball if I can. But it&#8217;s hard.&#8221;Sometimes, it&#8217;s just hard to stop her.Dallas tried with a smothering defensive effort, only to watch Makowski shake loose with 10 straight points that turned a hard-fought tussle into a 49-33 Crestwood victory in the Comets&#8217; Pink Game at Crestwood High School.&#8220;Everybody keys on her and (point guard) Sara Hopkins,&#8221; Crestwood coach Ed Stepanski said. &#8220;They pinpoint those two as the ones to stop. And it&#8217;s hard. We&#8217;re trying to set them up and get them open, but a lot of it is them fighting through it.&#8220;They&#8217;ve got to work twice as hard.&#8221;Makowski made it twice as nice for Crestwood.She hit a 3-point field goal and a regular bucket during the final minute of the first half, then reversed the order with a layup and a 3-pointer in the opening minutes of the second.Her 10 straight points for the team turned a two-point Crestwood lead into a 26-19 advantage at halftime and boosted it to 10 points just 1:05 into the second half.Dallas never recovered.&#8220;You get a couple baskets, a couple 3s, that was great,&#8221; Stepanski said. &#8220;That got the momentum in our favor. The girls started playing harder at that point.&#8221;Now, the Comets will try to keep it going.They improved to 9-4 and moved within a half-game of 9-3 Hazleton Area for the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 lead with three regular-season games remaining for the Comets. The two Division 1 leaders will square off at 7:15 p.m. Thursday at Hazleton Area, making Monday sort of a trap game for the Comets &#8212; who avoided losing focus and looking ahead to a probable division-deciding showdown.&#8220;It is difficult to keep it,&#8221; said Makowski, who finished as the only Crestwood player in double digits with a game-high 17 points. &#8220;Our goal is to beat Hazleton to get first place in the league. But we just need every league game at this point. We really do need to sweep the rest of the conference season to be champions.&#8221;For the longest stretch, Crestwood had a tough time just fending off a determined Dallas team playing most of the season without injured star scorer Lauren Charlton.The Mountaineers used an aggressive defense and fast-break attack to stay within by the end of the first quarter, and took a 16-15 lead early in the second quarter when Morgan MacNeely came off the bench to hit three buckets for six of her team-high 11 points.&#8220;This is an aggressive team. They play hard,&#8221; Stepanski said of the Mountaineers. &#8220;We said at halftime, &#8216;We&#8217;ve got to work through the physicalness. I thought they (the Comets) did that well.&#8221;Makowski got it going.Her 10 points within a two-minute span that ended the second quarter and started the third proved to be the only stretch she worked free all night. Outside of that outburst, Makowski was held to one other basket and a 5-for-8 performance at the foul line.But it was enough to give the Comets enough breathing room to keep Dallas from damaging their league championship dreams. Crestwood&#8217;s defense took care of the rest, holding the Mountaineers to a combined 14 points through the second half and to single digits in three of the four quarters.&#8220;We&#8217;re not the offensive machine that a lot of teams are,&#8221; Stepanski said. &#8220;We need to do it on defense. We&#8217;ve all got a lot of big games ahead of us. There&#8217;s a lot of basketball left.&#8220;Anything can happen here.&#8221;Holy Redeemer 49, Tunkhannock 39Sam Rajza led the Royals with 14 points and Redeemer broke a two-game losing streak despite missing starters Julia Andrejko and Sam Yencha.Tunkhannock&#8217;s Becca Avery led the team with 19 points.GAR 63, MMI Prep 43Khira Cook led the Grenadiers with 20 points.Kim Amentler had 16 points for MMI Prep.Pittston Area 71, Coughlin 29Alexa Noone erupted for 37 points, knocking down nine 3-pointers for Pittston Area.Kira Meager led Coughlin with 9 points.Meyers 38, Wyoming Seminary 34Allycia Harris led the Mohawks with 16 points.Ally Vezendy had 11 points for the Blue Knights, who fell three games behind Northwest in the WVC Division 3 with three to play.<ins>Four games postponed </ins><ins>Monday&#8217;s icy conditions forced the postponement of four WVC girls basketball games Monday. </ins><ins>Division 1-leading Hazleton Area will travel to Wyoming Valley West, Wyoming Area will be at Lake-Lehman and Hanover Area will play at Northwest, all at 7:15 p.m. Tuesday. The game between Berwick and Nanticoke Area was moved to Saturday at Syl Bozinski gym. </ins>Crestwood 49, Dallas 33DALLAS (33) &#8212; Hanna Johnson 2 0-0 4, Olivia Johnson 1 0-0 2, Gianna Centrella 2 0-0 6, Kendra Saba 3 0-0 6, Samantha Kern 1 0-0 2, Hannah Doran 0 0-0 0, Morgan MacNeely 4 3-5 11, Emily Weiland 1 0-0 2, Claire Charlton 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 3-5 33.CRESTWOOD (49) &#8212; Sara Hopkins 3 1-2 7, Julia Makowski 5 5-8 17, Kristen Andrews 0 2-5 2, Sarah Richards 1 3-3 5, Andrea Shipton 2 0-0 4, Bella Termini 1 2-2 4, Helena Jardine 2 2-6 6, Riley Magin 1 1-2 4. Totals 15 17-28 49.Dallas`9`10`9`5 &#8212; 33Crestwood`11`15`12`11 &#8212; 49Three-point goals &#8212; DAL 2 (Centrella 2); CRE 3 (Makowski 2, Magin).Holy Redeemer 49, Tunkhannock 39HOLY REDEEMER (49) &#8212; Sam Rajza 5 2-4 14, Lauren Wasiakowski 4 2-2 10, Alyssa Gushka 3 4-5 10, Jordan Cysen-Cicon 2 0-0 9,Sarah Kuderka 2 0-1 4, Lynzie Skoronski 0 2-2 2, Anna Capaci 0 0-2 0, Alesha Pekarovsky 0 0-0 0, Sierra Hines 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 10-16 49.TUNKHANNOCK (39) &#8212; Becca Avery 8 2-5 19, Abby Ritz 5 2-6 12, Jess Ell 2 0-0 5, Kelly Barber 1 1-2 3, Anna Brown 0 0-0 0, SadieTrochak 0 0-0 0, Annalise Verbeek 0 0-0 0, Sam Generotti 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 5-13 39.Holy Redeemer`8`17`6`18 &#8212; 49Tunkhannock`10`11`6`12 &#8212; 39Three-point goals &#8212; HR 5 (Rajza 2, Cyson-Cicon 3); TUN 2 (Avery, Ell).GAR 63, MMI Prep 43GAR (63) &#8212; Khira Cook 7 6-11 20, Alana Germano 5 0-2 11, Emily Engle 3 2-4 8, Olivia Prato 0 6-10 6, Simone Harris 0 6-10 6,Hannah Cook 1 3-8 5, Lyann Pena 1 0-2 2, MiKayla Andrzejewski 1 0-1 2, Jada Redditt 0 1-4 1. Totals 18 24-48 63.MMI PREP (43) &#8212; Kim Amentler 6 4-6 16, Julie Amentler 2 2-7 6, Irene Altmiller 2 2-2 6, Morgan Allen 1 4-7 6, Maddie Perchak 3 0-06, Bailey Slusser 1 0-0 2, Jessica McClellan 0 1-3 1. Totals 15 13-25 43.GAR`24`18`7`14 &#8212; 63MMI Prep`8`17`12`6 &#8212; 43Three-point goals &#8212; GAR 1 (Germano)Pittston Area 71, Coughlin 29COUGHLIN (29) &#8212; Kira Meager 4 0-0 9, Ajalaya Butts 2 2-6 6, Le&#8217;June Berry 3 0-2 6, Abby Cicon 3 0-0 6, Yansel Perez 1 0-0 2,Arianna Brittingham 0 0-0 0, Abigail Kush 0 0-0 0, Molly Pordy 0 0-0 0, Milady Zabala 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 2-8 29.PITTSTON AREA (71) &#8212; Alexa Noone 11 6-6 37, Leah Hodick 8 0-0 16, Mary Silinskie 1 2-2 5, Emily O&#8217;Brien 2 0-1 4, Nicole Zambetti1 0-0 3, Kayleigh Walker 1 0-0 2, Brooklyn Pedana 1 0-0 2, Andrea Ruby 0 0-0 0, Hannah Getz 0 0-0 0, Portia Weidlich 0 0-0 0, LilySavoy 0 0-0 0, Emma Coles 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 8-9 71.Coughlin`3`12`4`10 &#8212; 29Pittston Area`20`16`20`15 &#8212; 71Three-point goals &#8212; CHS 1 (Meager); PA 11 (Silinskie, Zambetti, Noone 9).Meyers 38, Wyoming Seminary 34WYOMING SEMINARY (34) &#8212; Ally Vezendy 4 0-0 11, Julia Gabriel 4 0-0 8, Alex Wesneski 2 3-4 7, Mia Raineri 2 0-0 4, MaaikeReitsma 1 0-1 2, Olivia Meuser 1 0-0 2, Paige Parsons 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 3-5 34.MEYERS (38) &#8212; Allycia Harris 5 6-9 16, Da&#8217;Nayia Ballard 4 0-2 8, Erin Morris 2 0-2 4, Amanda Gray 2 0-0 4, Ashley Bruno 1 1-2 3,Sarah Bottger 1 1-2 3, Selena Soto 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 8-17 38.Wyoming Seminary`11`13`2`8 &#8212; 34Meyers`4`10`15`9 &#8212; 38Three-point goals &#8212; SEM 3 (Vezendy 3)<style>
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<div class="neCaption">Crestwood&#8217;s Julia Makowski pushes the ball the length of the court against Dallas Monday night in Wright Township. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_TTL020618GBB-Crestwood-Dallas_6.jpg</photo0><caption0>Crestwood&#8217;s Julia Makowski pushes the ball the length of the court against Dallas Monday night in Wright Township. </caption0><photoCredit0>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_TTL020618GBB-Crestwood-Dallas_1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Crestwood&#8217;s Sara Hopkins, right, drives past Dallas&#8217; Kendra Saba in WVC girls basketball action Monday night in Wright Township. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_TTL020618GBB-Crestwood-Dallas_1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Crestwood&#8217;s Sara Hopkins, right, drives past Dallas&#8217; Kendra Saba in WVC girls basketball action Monday night in Wright Township. </caption1><photoCredit1>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_TTL020618GBB-Crestwood-Dallas_2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Dallas&#8217; Hanna Johnson, left, and Crestwood&#8217;s Helena Jardine dive for a loose ball in a WVC girls basketball game in Wright Township on Monday night. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_TTL020618GBB-Crestwood-Dallas_2.jpg</photo2><caption2>Dallas&#8217; Hanna Johnson, left, and Crestwood&#8217;s Helena Jardine dive for a loose ball in a WVC girls basketball game in Wright Township on Monday night. </caption2><photoCredit2>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_TTL020618GBB-Crestwood-Dallas_3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Crestwood&#8217;s Julia Makowski goes in for a layup against Dallas in a WVC girls basketball game in Wright Township on Monday night. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_TTL020618GBB-Crestwood-Dallas_3.jpg</photo3><caption3>Crestwood&#8217;s Julia Makowski goes in for a layup against Dallas in a WVC girls basketball game in Wright Township on Monday night. </caption3><photoCredit3>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_TTL020618GBB-Crestwood-Dallas_4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Crestwood&#8217;s Sarah Richards, right, passes the ball to open teammate Andrea Shipton against Dallas Monday night in Wright Township. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_TTL020618GBB-Crestwood-Dallas_4.jpg</photo4><caption4>Crestwood&#8217;s Sarah Richards, right, passes the ball to open teammate Andrea Shipton against Dallas Monday night in Wright Township. </caption4><photoCredit4>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit4></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_TTL020618GBB-Crestwood-Dallas_5.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Crestwood&#8217;s Helena Jardine looks to steal the ball from Dallas&#8217; Hannah Doran in WVC girls basketball action Monday night in Wright Township. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo5>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_TTL020618GBB-Crestwood-Dallas_5.jpg</photo5><caption5>Crestwood&#8217;s Helena Jardine looks to steal the ball from Dallas&#8217; Hannah Doran in WVC girls basketball action Monday night in Wright Township. </caption5><photoCredit5>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit5></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta></subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Paul Sokoloskipsokoloski@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Paul Sokoloski at 570-991-6392 or on Twitter @TLPaulSokoloski</shirttailMeta></div>

Makowski’s 17 points keep Crestwood in WVC girls basketball title chase