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Hazle Township tax collector’s bond challenged in Luzerne County audit

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Local Roundup: Dani McGrane rallies Coughlin girls swimming past Wyoming Area

HAZLE TWP. &#8212; All week long, the Crestwood Comets tried darting through a dizzying, self-employed press defense that almost had them seeing double.So when they faced the mistake-creating gauntlet thrown out by rival Hazleton Area, avoiding obstacles seemed like second-nature.&#8220;We worked against it,&#8221; Crestwood coach Ed Stepanski said. &#8220;I&#8217;ve got to tell you, we were in the gym every day. We&#8217;d have seven, eight defenders against it, and trying to trap the ball.&#8220;We have ballhandlers.&#8221;Now, they also have control of the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1.Freshman Helene Jardine changed the game with a big second quarter, Julia Makowski scored 22 points and Crestwood hammered Hazleton Area, 56-47, in a girls basketball battle for first place Friday at Hazleton Area&#8217;s McGeehan Gym.&#8220;This was our main goal,&#8221; said Makowski, who scored her final 17 points in the second half to keep the Cougars at bay. &#8220;Now we basically have the conference to ourselves. We just need to finish strong against Valley West.&#8221;The victory moved Crestwood to 10-4 in Division 1 and dropped Hazleton Area into second place at 9-5 with two games remaining in the regular season. Crestwood hosts streaking Valley West, which sits two games behind in the division, Monday and closes with winless Coughlin on Wednesday.&#8220;It definitely means a lot,&#8221; Crestwood point guard Sara Hopkins said of Friday&#8217;s win. &#8220;It&#8217;s a great win for us. Now we just focus on the next one.&#8221;The Comets had little trouble keeping concentration Friday.Facing a Hazleton Area defense long known for a rattling, trapping press defense that regularly causes confusion and creates turnovers, Crestwood never panicked.The Comets committed just three turnovers &#8212; and only one in the entire second half, despite a desperate Cougars team turning up the intensity on the press. What&#8217;s more, the Comets actually turned Hazleton Area&#8217;s tough defense into their own advantage &#8212; time and again beating the frenzy with long passes and sharp cuts for easy baskets.&#8220;Our first line of defense was to dribble through it,&#8221; Stepanski said. &#8220;Then, if we got trapped, get to the middle and get it up the floor.&#8221;Hopkins was a big key to it, often zig-zagging her way through the heart of the press and controlling the tempo once she crossed midcourt.&#8220;I just try to keep my composure and take my time,&#8221; said Hopkins, who hit a 3-pointer during a game-turning second period.Jardine played another big factor.She was pivotal in playing the role of a midcourt outlet on passes against the press, giving Crestwood another option to break it. Jardine also gave the Comets a presence in the paint, pulling down four rebounds.And she erupted for 11 points in the second quarter as Crestwood turned a six-point deficit at the end of the first quarter into a 29-18 halftime lead.&#8220;That was big,&#8221; Makowski said. &#8220;She really has stepped up as a freshman.&#8221;When Jardine stepped inside for the opening bucket of the second half, she gave the Comets their largest lead of 13 points.&#8220;Oh, she was huge,&#8221; Stepanski said. &#8220;She&#8217;s only a freshman. She was really feeling it offensively. People key on Makowski and Hopkins, they&#8217;re our big scorers. But she (Jardine) has been shooting really well.&#8221;Then Makowski shot down Hazleton Area&#8217;s comeback attempts, spoiling Senior Night for the Cougars.Hazleton Area pulled within five points twice, on Brooke Boretski&#8217;s two foul shots early in the third quarter and again on Maddie Mrochko&#8217;s 3-pointer 2:11 into the fourth.Both times, Makowski had an answer.She scored eight points in the third quarter to end it with Crestwood in seven-point lead. Then Makowski followed Mrochko&#8217;s trey with a 3-ball of her own, followed by two free throws to restore a nine-point advantage for the Comets midway through the final quarter.&#8220;That was huge,&#8221; Stepanski said of the win. &#8220;I didn&#8217;t know what to expect coming up here. We tried to control the tempo of the game. And on defense, we really clamped down.&#8221;Holy Redeemer 62, Nanticoke Area 49Sam Yencha and Sam Rajza both score a game-high 18 points to pace the Royals past Nanticoke Area.Julia Andrejko finished with 16 points while Luaren Wasiakowski scored 10 as all four Holy Redemeer scorers finished in double-figures.Lisa Radziak scored a team-high 17 points while Katie Butczynski was close behind with 15 to lead Nanticoke Area.Pittston Area 43, Dallas 35Pittston Area used a 17-point fourth quarter to pull away from Dallas in the final stanza. Leah Hodick scored a game-high 23 points for the Patriots.Dallas&#8217; Gianna Centrella scored a team-high 16 points on four 3-pointers.Berwick 68, Wyoming Area 20Reese Mensinger scored an impressive 36 points, inclduing a game-high seven 3-pointers to rout Wyoming Area.The Warriors were paced by 6-point efforts from both Nicole Silinskie and Sarah Holwig.Meyers 49, Forest City 32Allycia Harris scored a game-high 16 points for Meyers. Amanda Gray also scored 12 points.GIRLS BASKETBALLCrestwood 56, Hazleton Area 47CRESTWOOD (56) &#8212; Riley Magin 1 4-4 7, Sara Hopkins 1 0-1 3, Julia Makowski 6 8-8 22, Sarah Richards 1 0-4 3, Adrea Shipton 1 2-2 4, Helene Jardine 5 3-4 13, Bella Termini 2 0-0 4. Totals 17 17-23 56.HAZLETON AREA (47) &#8212; Kyra Antolick 0 2-2 2, Faith Grula 4 2-2 11, Marissa Trivelpiece 0 2-2 2, Virginia Yurchak 1 1-2 3, Maddie Mrochko 7 8-9 24, Diamond Truluck 0 0-0 0, Brooke Boretski 1 2-2 5, Olivia Wolk 0 0-0 0, Veronica Pecora 0 0-0 0, Abby Valente 0 0-1 0, Mia Cundro 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 17-20 47.Crestwood`7`22`12`15 &#8212; 56Hazleton Area`13`5`16`13 &#8212; 47Three-point goals &#8212; CRE 5 (Makowski 2, Hopkins, Magin, Richards); HAZ 4 (Mrochko 2, Boretski, Grula).Holy Redeemer 62, Nanticoke Area 49HOLY REDEEMER (62) &#8212; Sam Yencha 8 2-2 18, Sam Rajza 5 3-4 18, Julia Andrejko 6 2-2 16, Lauren Wasiakowski 3 4-4 10, Sarah Kuderka 0 0-0 0, Alyssa Gushka 0 0-0 0, Jordan Cicon 0 0-0 0, Cameron Marcinkowski 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 11-12 62.NANTICOKE AREA (49) &#8212; Lisa Radziak 6 1-3 17, Katie Butczynski 6 2-6 15, Alyssa Lewis 3 1-7 7, Amiah Lukowski 2 1-2 6, Casey Lauren 1 0-1 2, Bella Czeck 1 0-1 2, Maddy Grilz 0 0-0 0, Emily Hauer 0 0-0 0, Jil Baron 0 0-0 0. Totals 19-5-20-49.Holy Redeemer`11`16`14`21 &#8212; 62Nanticoke Area`10`21`11`7 &#8212; 49Three-point goals &#8212; HR 5 (Rajza 3, Andrejko 2); NAN 6 (Radziak 4, Lukowski 1, Butczynski 1).Pittston Area 43, Dallas 35DALLAS (35) &#8212; Gianna Centrella 6 0-1 16, Hanna Johnson 3 3-4 9, Samantha Kern 2 0-1 4, Olivia Johnson 1 0-0 2, Kendra Saba 1 0-1 2, Emily Weiland 1 0-0 2, Morgan MacNeely 0 0-0 0, Bella Hill 0 0-0 0, Hanna Doran 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 3-7 35.PITTSTON AREA (43) &#8212; Leah Hodick 7 9-11 23, Alexa Noone 4 8-8 17, Gianna Centrella 6 0-1 16, Brooklyn Pedana 1 0-0 2, Andrea Ruby 0 1-2 1, Mary Silinskie 0 0-0 0, Emily O&#8217;Brien 0 0-0 0, Nicole Zambetti 0 0-0 0, Portia Weidlich 0 0-0 0. Totals 12 18-21 43.Dallas`11`5`9`10 &#8212; 35Pittston Area`12`6`8`17 &#8212; 43Three-point goals &#8212; DAL 4 (Centrella 4); PIT 1 (Noone 1).Berwick 68, Wyoming Area 20WYOMING AREA (20) &#8212; Nicole Silinskie 2 0-2 6, Sarah Holwig 3 0-0 6, Cassidy Orzel 0 3-4 3, Aleah Kranson 1 0-0 2, Elliz Glatz 0 1-2 1, Mackenzie Nocchi 0 0-0 0, Jalen Rhodes 0 0-0 0, Tinsley Sarnak 0 0-0 0, Kristi Skok. Totals 7 4-8 20.BERWICK (68) &#8212; Reese Mensinger 14 1-1 36, Roni Isenberg 6 3-3 15, Katie Starr 2 1-2 5, Sierra Miedaner 2 0-0 5, Makayla Force 1 0-0 2, Renny Murphy 0 0-0 0, Jackie Nevel 0 0-0 0, Haley Owens 0 0-0 0, Jadyn Micheal 0 0-0 0, Mallory Pinterich 0 0-0 0, Emily Ouimet 0 0-0 0. Totals 27 6-7 68.Wyoming Area`8`7`5`0 &#8212; 20Berwick`23`15`23`7 &#8212; 68Three-point goals &#8212; WA 2 (Silinski 1); BER 8 (Mensinger 7, Miedaner 1).Meyers 49, Forest City 32MEYERS (49) &#8212; Allycia Harris 6 4-4 16, Amanda Gray 4 0-0 12, Erin Morris 4 0-0 8, DaNayia Ballard 2 0-0 4, Sarah Bottger 2 0-0 4, Ashley Bruno 1 1-2 3, Selena Soto 1 0-0 2, Bella Gray 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 5-6 49.FOREST CITY (32) &#8212; Kawaleski 4 1-2 9, Fortuner 3 2-2 8, Urban 2 0-0 4, Hartman 1 2-2 4, Pleska 1 0-0 3, Bailer 0 2-4 2, Kellcher 1 0-0 2. Totals 12 7-10 32.Meyers`10`8`14`17 &#8212; 49Forest City`4`10`5`13 &#8212; 32Three-point goals &#8212; MEY 4 (A. Gray 4); FC 1 (Pleska 1).<style>
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<div class="neCaption">Hazleton Area&#8217;s Maddie Mrochko, left, drives to the basket as Crestwood&#8217;s Sara Hopkins defends in a WVC Division 1 girls basketball matchup in Hazle Township on Friday night. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_TTL021018GBB_Hazleton-Crestwood_1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Hazleton Area&#8217;s Maddie Mrochko, left, drives to the basket as Crestwood&#8217;s Sara Hopkins defends in a WVC Division 1 girls basketball matchup in Hazle Township on Friday night. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_TTL021018GBB_Hazleton-Crestwood_2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Crestwood&#8217;s Helene Jardine, right, initiates a fastbreak ahead of Hazleton Area&#8217;s Maddie Mrochko. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_TTL021018GBB_Hazleton-Crestwood_2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Crestwood&#8217;s Helene Jardine, right, initiates a fastbreak ahead of Hazleton Area&#8217;s Maddie Mrochko. </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_TTL021018GBB_Hazleton-Crestwood_3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Crestwood&#8217;s Julia Makowski, left, has the ball stripped by Hazleton Area&#8217;s Maddie Mrochko, back, and Kyra Antolick. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_TTL021018GBB_Hazleton-Crestwood_3.jpg</photo2><caption2>Crestwood&#8217;s Julia Makowski, left, has the ball stripped by Hazleton Area&#8217;s Maddie Mrochko, back, and Kyra Antolick. </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_TTL021018GBB_Hazleton-Crestwood_3_CMYK-2-.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Crestwood&#8217;s Julia Makowski, left, has the ball stripped by Hazleton Area&#8217;s Maddie Mrochko, back, and Kyra Antolick. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_TTL021018GBB_Hazleton-Crestwood_3_CMYK-2-.jpg</photo3><caption3>Crestwood&#8217;s Julia Makowski, left, has the ball stripped by Hazleton Area&#8217;s Maddie Mrochko, back, and Kyra Antolick. </caption3><photoCredit3>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit3></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Crestwood shakes Hazleton Area for first place in Division 1</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>

Girls Basketball: Julia Makowski, Crestwood take control of WVC Division 1