Wyoming Area guard Halle Kranson (10) drives past Scranton Prep’s Claire McGrath during Thursday’s District 2 Class 4A title game at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
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Wyoming Area head coach Mark Casper congratuates senior and 1,000-point career scorer Morgan Janeski at the conclusion of the District 2 Class 4A finals on Thursday.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Wyoming Area’s Anna Wisnewski (44) moves in for a layup behind Scranton Prep’s Jayna McIntyre (23).
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Wyoming Area’s Olivia Allen scored seven first-half points against Scranton Prep in Thursday’s district title game.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Morgan Janeski (25) drives the lane against Scranton Prep in first half action at Mohegan Sun Arena on Thursday.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Wyoming Area’s girls basketball team brought home a district silver medal for the first time in program history. The Warriors will advance to next week’s state tournament.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
WILKES-BARRE TWP. — Once that tenacious full-court, high-pressure they were facing really kicked in, the Wyoming Area Warriors were in big trouble.
They turned the ball over, again and again. They had trouble even traveling to midcourt. And they had so little time to breathe, they barely made a single shot.
Until it was too late.
Perennial District 2 power Scranton Prep used a dominating defense Thursday and a few key shots by Maya Jenkins to put away Wyoming Area 58-31 and win the District 2 Class 4A girls basketball championship at Mohegan Sun Arena.
“Scranton Prep was just better than us tonight,” Wyoming Area coach Mark Casper said.
Certainly not what the Warriors were looking for in the school’s first-ever trip to the District 2 finals.
“Obviously, this wasn’t the outcome we wanted,” Wyoming Area senior standout Morgan Janeski said. “It’s so hard to prepare for a team like this that’s so talented. We just weren’t able to get through it.”
Wyoming Area, though, will get at least another game.
The 15-10 Warriors will enter next week’s PIAA Class 3A playoffs as the District 2 No. 2 seed and face the loser of Friday’s 6 p.m. District 4 title game between Central Columbia and Jersey Shore.
Meanwhile, Scranton Prep will open state play against the third-place finisher from either District 11 or District 4.
That fate was decided pretty early in the District 2 title showdown, when Prep reeled off the game’s first nine points and built a 21-2 cushion early in the second quarter.
Jenkins popped a 3-pointer for the game’s first points nearly three minutes into a sloppy start for both teams, Claire McGrath had six of the first 19 points for the Classics and Jayna McIntyre and Jenna Hillebrand both swished 3-pointers in Prep’s early surge.
But most of that lead was built on the back of a defense that continually created steals under Wyoming Area’s basket and forced errant passes that quickly turned into Prep points.
“We worked on a little bit of different pressure,” Prep coach Bob Beviglia said. “Watching them (the Warriors) on film, they’re very deliberate in everything they do. We didn’t want them to be deliberate.
“We tried to create chaos tonight in the half court.”
It worked.
But Wyoming Area’s hopes of a title didn’t wilt without a fight.
Olivia Allen came off the bench with a 3-pointer and four more points for a team-high seven, triggering a nine-point run that pulled the Warriors within 21-11 with 3:04 to play in the opening half.
“We got it down to 10, we were back in the game a little bit,” said Janeski, who finished with six points.
Not for long, though.
Jenkins ended Wyoming Area’s scoring spree with another 3-pointer and Prep took a 15-point lead into halftime, then boosted it to 40-21 by the end of the third quarter — backed by a three-point play by Jenkins that left the Classics cruising.
Wyoming Area wasn’t exactly crushed by the defeat, though.
“This is the best thing we’ll experience,” Janeski said. “I don’t think there’s a game that can better prepare us for the state tournament.”
NORTHWEST TO STATES
The Northwest girls basketball team is joining the boys squad in the state tournament. And the Rangers pulled it off in dramatic fashion.
Northwest erased a nine-point deficit after three quarters to force overtime, beating Northeast Bradford 41-38 in the District 4 Class 2A third-place game at Sullivan County High School.
Down 27-18 heading into the fourth, the Rangers pulled even at 34-34 by the end of regulation. Charleigh Miner went 5-for-6 from the foul line in overtime on her way to a game-high 18 points to secure the win.
Ashlyn Hermanofski hit two 3-pointers during the fourth quarter rally and finished with 13 points.
Northwest will open the state tournament on March 10 against the District 2 champion, either Montrose or Old Forge.
The Rangers boys won their own third-place game in District 4 on Wednesday to reach states. They open PIAA play on March 11 against the District 11 champ.
District 2 Class 4A finals
Scranton Prep 58, Wyoming Area 31
WYOMING AREA (31) — Halle Kranson 2 0-1 5, Olivia Rome 1 0-0 2, Jocelyn Williams 1 1-2 3, Morgan Janeski 3 0-0 6, Anna Wisnewski 3 0-1 6, Oliva Allen 2 2-2 7, Krea Bonita 0 0-0 0, Alexa Gacek 0 0-0 0, Marissa Gacek 0 0-0 0, Kendall Day 0 0-0 0, Morgan Slusser 1 0-0 2, Ashley Thomas 0 0-0 0, Erica Gilligan 0 0-0 0, Gionna Deyarmin 0 0-0 0, Suditi Dhanecha 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 3-6 31.
SCRANTON PREP (58) — Rita Collins 3 3-6 9, Maya Jenkins 4 2-3 12, Claire McGrath 4 2-2 10, Gianna Cafarella 1 0-0 2, Bella Dennebaum 4 2-2 10, Jayna McIntyre 1 0-0 3, Ashlyn Moore 0 0-0 0, Jenna Hillebrand 3 1-1 8, Riley Ritterbusch 1 0-0 2, Cecelia Haggerty 0 0-0 0, Addison Ahern 0 0-0 0, Kori Ortiz 0 0-0 0, Maeve Haggerty 0 2-2 2. Totals 21 12-16 51.
Wyoming Area`2`9`10`10 — 31
Scranton Prep`14`12`14`18 — 58
3-point goals — WA 2 (Allen, Kranson); SP 4 (Jenkins 2, McIntyre, Hillebrand)