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WRIGHT TWP. &#8212; A whole year went by with the Hazleton Area Cougars wondering, wishing and wistfully thinking about what could have been last season.They don&#8217;t have to lament about lost chances anymore.Point guard Brooke Boretski burned the nets for 20 points Monday, Faith Grula and Marissa Trivelpiece combined for 22 more and the Cougars became this year&#8217;s Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 girls basketball champion by crushing last year&#8217;s champ Crestwood, 71-41 at Crestwood High School.&#8220;It&#8217;s amazing,&#8221; Boretski said. &#8220;There&#8217;s no other words to describe it. The feeling&#8217;s just great.&#8220;We wanted to take it for ourselves this time.&#8221;The Cougars took it to Crestwood from the start while securing their second Division 1 title in three years.Boretski led the way. The sophomore ballhandler suddenly turned into a sniper, burying the first of her four 3-point field goals and scoring nine points in the first quarter as Hazleton Area rolled to a 10-point lead.&#8220;She started on fire,&#8221; Hazleton Area coach Joe Gavio said. &#8220;I said, &#8216;Let me feel your hand.&#8217; She had a great game. She&#8217;s really getting better, making some nice passes with our bigs. She&#8217;s shooting well, which really opens it up for our bigs.&#8221;Those bigs played a big part in the title clincher, which gave the 12-2 Cougars a 3 1/2-game lead over 8-5 Dallas with two games to play in Hazleton Area&#8217;s regular season.Trivelpiece had four rebounds and three blocked shots in the opening quarter and finished with 12 points, while Grula tossed in another 10 points. Forward Virginia Yurchak only added to the dominance, scoring seven of her eight points in the first half as Hazleton Area romped into halftime with a 36-22 lead.Boretski added her final trey and five more points in the third quarter as the Cougars expanded their lead to 54-31 and kept making things difficult for 2-11 Crestwood.&#8220;I don&#8217;t know, I just kind of felt it tonight,&#8221; Boretski said. &#8220;Once they started going in, my teammates knew once the ball was in my hands, I&#8217;d be putting it up.&#8221;That helped the Cougars put away memories of a difficult 2017-18 season, when they made a furious charge at the end but wound up three games behind Crestwood and tied with Pittston Area for second place in the Division 1 standings.&#8220;We thought we should have beaten them last year,&#8221; Gavio said. &#8220;How fitting is it to win it here, against the defending Division 1 champion?&#8221;The title clincher gave Hazleton Area its 12th victory in 13 games, as the Cougars overcame a 3-4 start to take this year&#8217;s title.&#8220;We always had goals like this,&#8221; Boretski said. &#8220;You can&#8217;t win every game. In the beginning of the season, we just needed any win we could get. Now the team&#8217;s different. We know the talent that we have and we we know what we can do.&#8221;What Monday&#8217;s convincing win did was wash away the bitterness of Hazleton Area&#8217;s first attempt at clinching the Division 1 crown &#8212; which ended with Saturday&#8217;s 44-41 loss to Wyoming Valley West and snapped an 11-game winning streak for the Cougars.&#8220;It&#8217;s a blessing in disguise,&#8221; said Gavio, whose team improved to 15-5 overall and will head to the first, four-team WVC league championship playoffs as a division winner. &#8220;We were flying real high there. We didn&#8217;t play well (Saturday).&#8220;Today, they were motivated.&#8221;It showed, as a smiling group of CougarsThat changed in two days, leaving the Cougars celebrating something they sorely missed a season ago.&#8220;Even last year as a freshman, I wanted it,&#8221; Boretski said of the championship. &#8220;This year, we wanted it a little more. We have a lot of goals.&#8220;We&#8217;re not done yet.&#8221;Wyoming Valley West 43, Coughlin 30The Spartans put on a defensive clinic in the first half, leading 27-8 at the break, en route to a 13-point victory over the Crusaders.Toni Amato scored a game-high 20 points, including 6 3-pointers, to pace Wyoming Valley West. Ajalaya Butts led Coughlin with 11 points.Wyoming Seminary 46, MMI Prep 24Alex Wesneski scored a game-high 15 points as the Blue Knights moved closer to clinching the WVC Division 3 title and a berth in the WVC league playoffs. Wesneski also hit a pair of 3-pointers.Kim Amentler paced MMI Prep with 12 points.Dallas 39, Pittston Area 23The Mountaineers used 22 points from Lauren Charlton to get past the Patriots.Charlton was the only player to reach double figures for Dallas. Emma Coles led Pittston Area with 11 points.Meyers 44, Hanover Area 35Allycia Harris and Bella Skaff led the Mohawks with 12 points apiece in the victory.Hanover Area was led by Madison Hooper, who had a game-high 15 points.Lake-Lehman 68, Tunkhannock 28Madison Borum had 17 points and the Black Knights dominated the Tigers.Sarah Salus added 16 in the victory and Savanah Purdy finished with 15.Holy Redeemer 41, Nanticoke Area 39Julia Andrejko had a game-high 15 points and the Royals pulled out their sixth straight win, rallying to victory in the final minute to remain unbeaten at the top of the WVC Division 2.Cameron Marcinkowski finished with 14 points for Redeemer, which trailed by a point with a minute to play came back down the stretch for their 12th victory in the last 13 games.Jil Baron had 11 points to lead Nanticoke Area.Northwest 57, GAR 41Brenna Babcock had a game-high 20 points and Reagan Harrison scored 18 to lead the Rangers to victory.Harrison finished with with four 3-pointers.Berwick 39, Wyoming Area 37Renny Murphy scored Berwick&#8217;s four final points as the Bulldogs held off Wyoming Area to remain in the chase for a WVC league playoff berth.Murphy hit a 3-pointer with 48 seconds left to give Berwick a 38-35 lead, only to see Erika Holweg sink a pair of free throws to cut the lead to one point. But Murphy put the nail in the coffin with one final free throw to secure the win.Murphy netted a team-high 14 points to pace Berwick while Nicole Silinski scored a game-high 16 points to lead the Warriors.Hazleton Area 71, Crestwood 41HAZLETON AREA (71) &#8212; Brooke Boretski 7 2-2 20, Kyra Antolick 1 0-2 3, Faith Grula 4 2-2 10, Marissa Trivelpiece 4 4-4 12, Virginia Yurchak 3 1-2 8, Olivia Wolk 2 1-2 6, Diane Garnett 0 0-0 0, Katie Lipinski 1 0-0 3, Carley Krizansky 0 0-0 0, Madelyn LaBuda 1 0-0 2, Megan Fay 0 0-0 0, Allie Zumar 0 0-0 0, Maddison Plesh 3 0-0 6, Alyssa Holodick 0 1-2 1. Totals 26 11-16 71.CRESTWOOD (41) &#8212; Jaden Weiss 3 0-2 7, Helena Jardine 6 8-11 22, Kristen Andrews 0 0-0 0, Bella Termini 1 2-4 4, Riley Magin 1 0-0 2, Jill Taleroski 0 0-0 0, Krista Papura 2 3-6 7, Julia Johnson 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 13-23 31.Hazleton Area`16`20`18`17 &#8212; 71Crestwood`6`16`9`10 &#8212; 41Three-point goals &#8212; HAZ 8 (Boretski 4, Yurchak, Antolick, Wolk, Lipinski); CRE 2 (Weiss, Jardine).Wyoming Valley West 43, Coughlin 30COUGHLIN (30) &#8212; Ajalaya Butts 5 1-5 11, Arianna Brittingham 2 4-6 9, Abby Cicon 3 2-4 8, Abigail Kush 0 0-2 0, La&#8217;June Berry 0 0-0 0, Yanel Perez 0 0-0 0. Totals 11 7-19 30.WYOMING VALLEY WEST (43) &#8212; Toni Amato 6 2-3 20, Aubrey Boyd 1 2-2 5, Andi Blaski 1 2-2 4, Nicole Boutanos 2 0-2 4, Trinity Johnson 2 0-2 4, Karaline Stelma 1 0-0 2, Jessica Shaver 1 0-0 2, Lindsey Gruver 1 0-0 2. Totals 15 6-11 43.Coughlin`5`3`9`13 &#8212; 30Wyoming Valley West`15`12`14`2 &#8212; 43Three-point goals &#8212; COU 1 (Brittingham); WVW 7 ( Amato 6, Boyd).Wyoming Seminary 46, MMI Prep 24MMI PREP (24) &#8212; Kim Amentler 4 4-6 12, Ireme Altmiller 2 2-6 7, Julie Amentler 2 1-4 5, Dominique Kline 0 0-0 0, Violet O&#8217;Connell 0 0-0 0, Lindsay Braunsteln 0 0-0 0,, Hannah Falatko 0 0-0 0. Totals 8 7-16 24.WYOMING SEMINARY (46) &#8212; Alex Wesneski 4 5-8 15, Ava Bufalino 2 0-0 6, Maaike Reitsma 2 0-0 5, Abby McDonald 2 0-0 4, Mia Raineri 2 0-0 4, Kelsey Reznick 1 2-4 4, Grace Aiello 1 0-0 2, Kate Getz 1 0-0 2, Rachel Swaback 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 7-12 46.MMI Prep`3`7`8`6 &#8212; 24Wyoming Seminary`17`7`10`12 &#8212; 42Three-point goals &#8212; MMI 1 (Altmiller); WS 3 (Wesneski 2, Reitsma).Dallas 39, Pittston Area 23PITTSTON AREA (23) &#8212; Emma Coles 5 0-0 11, Brooklyn Pedana 1 1-3 4, Nicole Zambetti 1 0-0 3, Hannah Getz 1 0-2 2, Emily O&#8217;Brien 1 0-2 1, Krista Maurizi 0 1-2 1, Kayleigh Walker 0 0-0 0, Jada Sharp 0 0-0 0, Lily Savoy 0 0-0 0, Megan Mihalka 0 0-0 0. Totals 9 2-9 23.DALLAS (39) &#8212; Lauren Charlton 6 9-11 22, Morgan MacNeely 2 2-2 7, Haley Habrack 1 2-4 4, Julia Kocher 0 3-3 3, Deanna Wallace 3 0-0 3, Claire Charlton 0 0-0 0, Samantha Kern 0 0-0 0, Angelina Allen 0 0-0 0, Bella Hill 0 0-0 0, Sophia Omando 0 0-0 0, Emily Weiland 0 0-0 0. Totals 10 16-20 39.Pittston Area`5`9`2`7 &#8212; 23Dallas`8`8`12`11 &#8212; 39Three-point goals &#8212; PIT 3 (Zambetti, Coles, Pedana); DAL 3 (Charlton, MacNeely, Wallace).Meyers 44, Hanover Area 35HANOVER AREA (35) &#8212; Madison Hooper 5 1-2 15, Sara Whitesell 4 0-2 11, Sarah Tuzinski 1 1-4 4, Tamisha Atherton 1 0-3 3, Emilee Bobos 1 0-0 2, Alley Sheridan 0 0-0 0, Ariana Silah 0 0-0 0. Totals 12 2-11 35.MEYERS (44) &#8212; Allycia Harris 5 2-5 12, Bella Skaff 5 2-5 12, Ashley Bruno 4 0-1 10, DaNayia Ballard 3 1-2 7, Bella Gray 1 0-2 2, Ashley Germano 0 1-2 1. Totals 18 6-17 44.Hanover Area`9`9`11`6 &#8212; 35Meyers`5`8`15`16 &#8212; 44Three-point goals &#8212; HAN 9 (Hooper 4, Whitesell 3, Atherton, Tuzinski); MEY 2 (Bruno 2).Lake-Lehman 68, Tunkhannock 28TUNKHANNOCK (28) &#8212; Annaliese Verbeek 2 1-5 6, Abby Ritz 3 0-0 6, Rebecca Avery 2 2-4 6, Hailey Long 1 2-2 4, Courtney Yuhas 1 0-0 2, Alaina Ritz 0 2-2 2, Adaka Flores 1 0-0 2, Liz Demarco 0 0-1 0, Rani Shrivastava 0 0-1 0. Totals 10 7-15 28.LAKE-LEHMAN (68) &#8212; Madison Borum 7 3-3 17, Sarah Salus 6 0-0 16, Savannah Purdy 6 2-3 15, Chase Purdy 2 1-2 5, Madison Brdaric 2 0-0 4, Corinna Scoblick 1 1-2 3, Jessica Salus 1 0-0 2, Hunter Kline 0 2-4 2, Claire Dougherty 1 0-0 2, Jodie Salansky 0 2-2 2. Totals 26 11-16 68.Tunkhannock`6`8`8`6 &#8212; 28Lake-Lehman`13`19`23`13 &#8212; 68Three-point goals &#8212; TUNK 1 (Verbeek); LL 5 (S. Salus 4, S. Purdy).Holy Redeemer 41, Nanticoke Area 39NANTICOKE AREA (39) &#8212; Jilann Baron 5 1-3 11, Lauren Casey 1 6-8 8, Amiah Lukowski 2 1-2 7, Bella Czeck 1 1-2 4, Alyssa Lewis 1 1-2 3, Jen Kurkowski 1 0-0 3, Riley Baird 1 0-0 3. Totals 12 10-17 39.HOLY REDEEMER (41) &#8212; Julia Andrejko 5 2-3 15, Cameron Marcinkowski 6 0-0 14, Sam Yencha 2 3-6 7, Jordan Cicon 1 0-0 3, Sarah Kuderka 1 0-0 2, Karissa Spade 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 5-9 41.Nanticoke Area`13`13`10`3 &#8212; 39Holy Redeemer`12`17`8`4 &#8212; 41Three-point goals &#8212; NAN 5 (Lukowski 2, Kurkowski, Czeck, Baird); HR 6 (Andrejko 3, Marcinkowski 2, Cicon).Northwest 57, GAR 41GAR (41) &#8212; Gloria Adjayi 6 3-6 15, Erin Leonard 3 0-0 8, Vanessa Luna 2 1-1 5, Olivia Prato 1 1-2 3, Lyann Penn 1 0-0 3, Hannah Cook 1 0-0 2, Emily Engle 0 2-2 2, Kiya Coleman 1 0-2 2, Madison Savage 0 1-2 1. Totals 15 8-15 41.NORTHWEST (57) &#8212; Brenna Babcock 8 4-5 20, Reagan Harrison 7 0-0 18, Tess Edwards 4 0-0 8, Maddie Mclendon 2 2-4 6, Trista Babcock 2 0-0 5, Kennedy Yaple 0 0-1 0, Lindsey Thomas 0 0-0 0, Kendra Saxton 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 6-10 57.GAR`4`11`16`10 &#8212; 41Northwest`20`7`17`13 &#8212; 57Three-point goals &#8212; GAR 3 (Leonard 2, Penn); NW 5 (Harrison 4, T. Babcock).Berwick 39, Wyoming Area 37BERWICK (39) &#8212; Renny Murphy 4 3-4 14, Katie Starr 7 0-1 14, Megan Dalo 4 1-2 9, Jackie Nevel 1 0-0 2, Emily Norvick 0 0-0 0, Abby Burt 0 0-0 0, Jady Michael 0 0-0 0, Emily Ouimet 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 4-7 39.WYOMING AREA (37) &#8212; Nicole Silinskie 6 1-4 16, Aleah Kranson 5 0-1 11, Kaitlyn Slusser 2 0-0 6, Nicole Donvito 1 0-0 2, Erika Holweg 0 2-3 2, Ashley Songaila 0 0-0 0, Jessica Davis 0 0-0 0, Rosalind Tart 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 3-8 37.Berwick`4`17`6`12 &#8212; 39Wyoming Area`13`5`6`13 &#8212; 37Three-point goals &#8212; BER 1 (Murphy); WA 6 (Silinski 3, Slusser 2, Kranson).<style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_cc_haz1_faa.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Hazleton Area guard Olivia Wolk (12) gets blocked by Crestwood guards Kristen Andrews (4) and Riley Magin as she tries to go the basket Monday in Wright Twp. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_cc_haz1_faa.jpg</photo0><caption0>Hazleton Area guard Olivia Wolk (12) gets blocked by Crestwood guards Kristen Andrews (4) and Riley Magin as she tries to go the basket Monday in Wright Twp. </caption0><photoCredit0>Fred Adams| For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_cc_haz2_faa.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Hazleton Area forward Marissa Trivelpiece gets denied by Crestwood center Bella Termini going to the basket Monday in Wright Twp. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_cc_haz2_faa.jpg</photo1><caption1>Hazleton Area forward Marissa Trivelpiece gets denied by Crestwood center Bella Termini going to the basket Monday in Wright Twp. </caption1><photoCredit1>Fred Adams| For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_cc_haz4_faa.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Crestwood guard Riley Magin tries to get around Hazleton Area&#8217;s defense Monday in Wright Twp. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_cc_haz4_faa.jpg</photo2><caption2>Crestwood guard Riley Magin tries to get around Hazleton Area&#8217;s defense Monday in Wright Twp. </caption2><photoCredit2>Fred Adams| For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_cc_haz3_faa.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Crestwood guard Jill Taleroski grabs a rebound away from Hazleton guard Diane Garnett (25) during the second quarter Monday in Wright Twp. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_cc_haz3_faa.jpg</photo3><caption3>Crestwood guard Jill Taleroski grabs a rebound away from Hazleton guard Diane Garnett (25) during the second quarter Monday in Wright Twp. </caption3><photoCredit3>Fred Adams| For Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_cc_haz5_faa.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Hazleton Area foward Marissa Trivelpiece passes the ball while Crestwood&#8217;s Krista Papura and Jaden Weiss apply pressure in a WVC Division 1 girls basketball game Monday in Wright Twp. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_cc_haz5_faa.jpg</photo4><caption4>Hazleton Area foward Marissa Trivelpiece passes the ball while Crestwood&#8217;s Krista Papura and Jaden Weiss apply pressure in a WVC Division 1 girls basketball game Monday in Wright Twp. </caption4><photoCredit4>Fred Adams| For Times Leader </photoCredit4></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Hazleton Area wins second WVC Division 1 crown in three years</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>

Boretski boosts Hazleton Area girls basketball to division-clinching victory