CARBONDALE – Montrose was fresh off a trip to the 2012 state Class AA girls’ basketball semifinals when it opened the 2013 playoffs as the top seed in the District 2 tournament only to be upset by eighth-seeded Lakeland.
The memory of that loss stuck with Montrose coach Al Smith since.
The Lady Meteors returned to the postseason Friday night with the same matchup.
This time, Montrose made sure there was no upset, taking control early in the second quarter on the way to a 49-27 victory over Lakeland.
“I remembered it on a regular basis throughout the summer, fall and winter,” Smith said of the season-ending loss. “We wanted this bad.
“I’m excited. Our girls played well. In the second quarter, we started locking them down and we played really good defense.
All the Susquehanna County boys’ basketball teams had their seasons come to an end while the Montrose and Forest city girls’ basketball teams and four county wrestlers came up with the wins needed to extend their seasons.
Jacob O’Brien and Chad Swift of Montrose, Dalton Hogle of Blue Ridge and Blaise Cleveland of Elk Lake finished in the top three in their weight classes at the District 2 Class AA Wrestling Tournament to advance to Northeast Regionals.
A recap of a busy week in district competition:
MONTROSE GIRLS
CARBONDALE – Meghan Gilhool, Fallon Gurn and Myra Lattimore combined to make sure Montrose avoided an upset and reached the District 2 Class AA semifinals.
Gilhool hit four 3-pointers in the first half on the way to game-high totals of 16 points and four assists.
“She shot the ball extremely well tonight,” Smith said. “She stepped up big, taking care of the basketball and just making good passes.”
The Lady Meteors had one obstacle early in the game, foul trouble.
Starting center Morgan Groover played just the first 2:54 in the first half before sitting with two fouls. By halftime Nicki Lewis and sub Kourtney Snigar each picked up three fouls.
Smith was able to save Groover for the second half when she scored all nine of her points before fouling out. The inside play of Gurn and Lattimore kept Montrose in control while Groover sat.
Gurn did not miss a shot in the first half while scoring nine points. She finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
“Fallon did a tremendous job tonight,” Smith said. “We had the lead, Fallon was playing well and I wanted to get as many minutes as I could with (Groover) on the bench.”
Lattimore dominated on the interior defensively, grabbing 11 of her 12 rebounds and blocking three shots. She joined Gurn in leading Montrose to a 42-28 rebounding advantage.
Gilhool hit a 23-footer with two seconds left to give the Lady Meteors a 15-10 lead after one quarter. She made her fourth bomb in less than eight minutes with 4:38 left in the half for a 25-14 lead.
The Lady Meteors held the Lady Chiefs scoreless for 6:49 to end the first half and start the second half, opening a 37-17 advantage at the midway point in the third quarter.
Lewis finished with four steals.
Breann Clauss-Walton led Lakeland with 10 points and eight rebounds.
FOREST CITY GIRLS
CARBONDALE – Cassandra Bendyk turned in a strong all-around performance and Carly Erdmann’s 3-point shooting keyed a run that allowed Forest City to pull away in the third quarter of Saturday’s 50-26 victory over Susquehanna in the District 2 Class A girls’ basketball semifinals.
Bendyk led all players in the game with 24 points, 12 rebounds, five blocked shots and three steals. She had more than half of the team’s points in the first, second and fourth quarters.
Erdmann took care of much of the third-quarter offense. She led a streak of 13 straight points between Nicole Barnes and Mikayla Hargett hitting Susquehanna’s only 3-pointers of the game.
“They played a diamond-and-one this time on Carly,” Bendyk said. “That’s how I got those open shots at the top of the key.
“Then, when they went to a 1-3-1, she was open in the corner.”
After Barnes made it 16-16 for the second and final tie in a game the Lady Sabers never led, Bendyk hit one of two free throws and scored on a drive.
Erdmann, who sat out the first 8:56 and was scoreless at halftime before scoring on a steal 20 seconds into the second half, added one of two free throws for a 20-16 lead with 5:20 left in the third.
The senior forward then traded sides, hitting from the left corner, the right corner and back to the left corner for three 3-pointers, all in a span of 54 seconds, for a 29-16 lead with 3:06 left in the third.
The lead was never in single digits the rest of the way.
Erdmann finished with 14 points. Madison McGraw had five assists.
Susquehanna, which finished 7-16, got nine points from Mikayla Hargett.
Forest City scored the game’s first seven points before Gaby Cina came off the bench to make four straight free throws in the final 1:13 of the first quarter to bring Susquehanna within 7-4.
Susquehanna missed its first 13 shots before Sarah Serfilippi’s baseline post move accounted for the first field goal with 3:15 left in the half. Serfilippi had two baskets and Mikayla Hargett scored one while assisting a Serfilippi score during a seven-point streak to a 12-12 tie.
“Our coach (Natalie Winters) really woke us up in the locker room at halftime,” Bendyk said.
DISTRICT 2 WRESTLING
With Blue Ridge’s Zach Edwards unable to pursue another title because of an injury suffered at the Lackawanna League Tournament a week earlier, Montrose freshman O’Brien earned Susquehanna County’s only berth in the District 2 Class AA final at the Kingston Armory Saturday.
O’Brien pinned Shaun Vasquez of Wyoming Area in 1:04 of the 106-pound quarterfinals Friday and posted a 16-1 technical fall over Jeffrey Bennett of Hanover Area in 4:42 of the semifinals early Saturday. He fell short of the title in a 17-5 loss to Colin Pasone of Meyers in the final.
Swift, Hogle and Cleveland each extended their seasons by finishing third.
Swift decisioned Western Wayne’s Dakota Swoyer, 6-2, in the consolation final at 220.
Hogle pinned Montrose’s Brandon Swift in 2:45 at 138.
Cleveland pinned Western Wayne’s Tanner Gillette in 2:47 at 182.
Blue Ridge’s David Austin (113), Patrick Cramer (120) and Addison Parsons (170) joined Montrose’s John Shaffer (285) and Brandon Swift in coming up one sport short of regionals by advancing to the consolation final but placing fourth.
Justin Carpenter (160), Jon Haines (195) and Evan Aldrich (220) all added fifth-place finishes for Blue Ridge.
Elk Lake’s Francisco Lopez (120) and Montrose’s David Gardner (152) were sixth.
Blue Ridge placed eighth out of 12 in the team race.
Lake-Lehman won the title with 161 points, edging Wilkes-Barre Meyers by two and Western Wayne by three.
Blue Ridge had 79 ½ points. Montrose was ninth with 75. Elk Lake was last with 32.
BOYS’ SEASON ENDS
CARBONDALE – Elk Lake and Montrose each won one district game to reach Saturday’s quarterfinals where they had their seasons come to an end.
Top-seeded Elk Lake started the postseason by pounding visiting Lakeland, 71-50, Thursday, before being upset in the quarterfinals, 63-50, by Riverside at Carbondale’s Peter Turonis Memorial Gymnasium.
The Meteors opened the District 2 Class AA tournament by defeating Mountain View, 49-35, Thursday at home, then was eliminated by Mid Valley Saturday with a 58-54 loss to Mid Valley at Scranton High School.
Tanner Reyan had 18 of his 28 points in the second half when Elk Lake broke open an eight-point game against Lakeland. He had 12 to lead a 24-12, third-quarter advantage.
Matt Woolcock added 19 points with the help of three 3-pointers.
Elk Lake played the playoffs without defensive standout Tyler Arnold, who suffered a knee injury Feb. 11 in a win against Susquehanna.
The Warriors recovered from a game-opening, 3-point barrage by the Vikings to take the lead for parts of the second and third quarters of Saturday’s quarterfinal.
When Riverside finished the third quarter and started the fourth with another run, Elk Lake ran out of answers.
The Warriors suffered through a rough shooting day throughout. The finished 18-for-53 (34.0 percent) from the floor and 3-for-17 (17.6 percent) from 3-point range. Leading scorer Reyan was scoreless in an 0-for-6 first half. Second-leading scorer Woolcock had just one field goal in four second-half attempts.
The biggest problem for Elk Lake’s offense, however, may have been a sloppy stretch when it appeared to be taking control in the third quarter. Several wild passes in transition led to seven of the team’s 13 turnovers coming in the quarter.
Reyan hit his only 3-pointer, on a shot that bounced high off the rim and straight up before falling throughout, for a 41-40 lead with 2:40 left in the third.
Riverside went ahead to stay after a Connor Mailen steal lead to a Darrell Cintron basket. Randy Kincel closed the third with a 3-pointer for a 45-41 lead.
Elk Lake wound up being scoreless for 4:17.
Mailen scored on one drive and Nico Munley turned another into a three-point play for a 50-41 lead.
The Warriors got as close as 50-46, but after missing the front end of two straight one-and-one, the Vikings went 13-for-16 from the line in the final 1:35 to pull away.
Mailen, a 6-foot-5 senior forward, led Riverside with 24 points, 12 rebounds and five steals. He hit three 3-pointers while Kincel and Munley added one each in the first 7:11 minutes to help Riverside to a 19-8 start.
Pete McGee hit all six of his shots and scored all 15 of his points in the first half to lead Elk Lake back. A tip-in by Hunter Watkins with 2:25 left in the half gave Elk Lake its first lead, 26-25.
The Warriors went up by four points three different times before Riverside regained control on the way to its upset.
Munley finished with 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
McGee and Woolcock, who had 14 points and four assists, each fouled out for Elk Lake. Reyan finished with 11 points, eight rebounds and four assists while Nick Dudock had eight points and 11 rebounds.
Elk Lake finished with the second-best boys’ record in all of District 2 with at 21-2.
Montrose shut out Mountain View in the first quarter when it got a pair of 3-pointers from Brenton Warner while opening a 10-0 lead.
Warner finished with 15 points and Cameron Dean added 12, all in the second half.
Montrose took a 34-26 lead into the fourth quarter and broke it open with the help of 7-for-12 foul shooting. Warner, Austin Smith and Jack Fruehan all went 2-for-2 at the line in the quarter.
Derek Bradley had 11 of his 12 points in the second half to finish as Mountain View’s top scorer. Nick Schermerhorn added 11 points.
The Eagles finished 9-14 overall.
Lackawanna League Division 3 champion Mid Valley held off Montrose in the quarterfinals.
Alex Prislupsky led Mid Valley with 32 points, including five 3-pointers. Prislupsky had two of the 3-pointers in the first quarter for a 9-7 lead.
Prislupsky added 10 more in the second quarter when the Spartans stretched their lead to 30-17.
Dean had 10 of his team-high 18 points in the fourth quarter when Montrose cut into a 13-point deficit. Erik Burgh finished with 12 points, all of which came on 3-pointers.
A.J. Gangemi added 12 points for Mid Valley.
Montrose finished 13-10.
WEEK IN REVIEW
Susquehanna, Forest City and Blue Ridge joined Mountain View in falling in their playoff openers.
Top-seeded MMI Prep eliminated Susquehanna, 44-35, in Friday’s Class A semifinals at Berwick.
The Sabers cut a 13-point, fourth-quarter deficit to three in the fourth quarter before falling short.
Cory Rogers scored seven of his game-high 19 points in the first quarter to help MMI to a 12-4 lead after one quarter.
The Preppers had a 22-13 halftime lead. Susquehanna opened the half by closing within 24-19 before MMI closed the third quarter on a 10-2 run to a 34-21 lead.
Luke Falletta, who finished with six points, five rebounds and a team-high six assists, opened the fourth quarter with three straight baskets and the Sabers closed to within, 38-35, with 32 seconds left.
The Preppers scored the game’s final six points, with the help of a technical foul.
Mark Zappe had 12 points and six rebounds and Josh Wheeler added 11 points in their final game with the team.
The Sabers finished 6-17.
Old Forge eliminated Forest City, 62-40, in the other semifinal Friday night at Scranton High School.
Matt Nevins led the Foresters, who finished 4-19, with 14 points.
Blue Ridge stayed within three of Holy Cross for a quarter in a Class AA first-round road game Thursday before falling, 69-33.
The Raiders finished 8-17.
Lackawanna League Division 4 basketball concluded earlier in the week.
The final second-half Division 4 standings were: Elk Lake 6-0, Montrose 5-1, Lackawanna Trail 4-2, Mountain View 2-4, Forest City 2-4, Blue Ridge 1-5, and Susquehanna 1-5.
The final all-season records were: Elk Lake 12-0, Montrose 10-2, Lackawanna Trail 8-4, Mountain View 4-8, Forest City 3-9, Susquehanna 3-9, and Blue Ridge 2-10.
In girls’ basketball, Mountain View won a first-round game in District 2 Class AA before being eliminated in the quarterfinals.
The Lady Eagles topped Northwest, 51-48, in Wednesday’s opener at home, then lost to Holy Cross, 64-43, in a quarterfinal game at Scranton High School.
Mountain View used a balanced effort to get past Northwest.
Makenna Whitaker (14), Ariana Gabriel (13) and Tori Wilder (11) each scored in double figures for the Lady Eagles, who opened an 11-point lead after one quarter then fought off a Northwest comeback.
Whitaker and Olivia Kosin of Holy Cross each had 23 points in Friday’s game.
The Lady Eagles finished 9-14.
In high school swimming and diving, the diving portion of the District 2 championships was held Saturday in Wilkes-Barre.
Julia Amorina of Elk Lake finished 12th among 15 competitors in Class AA girls.
In professional hockey, the Binghamton Senators opened overtime on the power play in Wednesday’s game in Wilkes-Barre.
Defenseman Chris Wideman scored a power-play goal 30 seconds into overtime to lift the Senators to a 4-3 victory over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Mark Stone scored a third-period, power-play goal to force overtime and assisted on the game-winner.
Andrew Hammond made 29 saves in the win.
COLLEGE CORNER
Dallas Ely produced West Chester’s highest-scoring women’s basketball effort since 2004, but the Golden Rams lost two tough games in a row to miss a chance at their first outright Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Eastern Division title since 2003.
The sophomore guard from Montrose scored a career-high 32 points February 15 when Shippensburg University used a school record 13 3-pointers to knock off host West Chester, 95-80.
Bloomsburg University, the 16th-ranked NCAA Division II team in the country, defeated visiting West Chester, 66-58, to take over first place in the division.
Bloomsburg improved to 12-2 in the East and 21-3 overall. West Chester fell to 12-3 and 17-8.
Ely had 15 points in the loss at Bloomsburg when West Chester was hurt by a 9:23 scoreless stretch in the first half. Ely ended that drought with two free throws.
In her 32-point game, Ely went 11-for-20 from the floor, including 6-for-11 on 3-pointers.
West Chester heads into the PSAC playoffs this weekend.
Ely is averaging 19.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.6 steals per game. She ranks 18th in the nation with 2.8 3-pointers made per game, while ranking 28th in scoring and 31st in steals.
THE WEEK AHEAD
Forest City will face Old Forge in Saturday’s District 2 Class A girls’ basketball championship game.
Montrose will have a game Friday for either the District 2 Class AA title or the district’s third and final spot in the state tournament.
The Lady Meteors were set to face Holy Cross in Tuesday’s semifinal. A win would have put Montrose in the final against the Hanover Area-Dunmore winner. A loss Tuesday would have meant a game against the Hanover Area-Dunmore loser.
In high school wrestling, the Northeast Regional Class AA Tournament is scheduled for Friday and Saturday in Williamsport.
The top three in each weight class advance to next week’s Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Individual Championships in Hershey.
Montrose’s O’Brien and Chad Swift, Blue Ridge’s Hogle and Elk Lake’s Cleveland are part of the field.
In high school swimming, Elk Lake will compete in the District 2 Class AA Swimming and Diving Championships Friday and Saturday at the Wilkes-Barre CYC.
The diving portion of the event has already been completed.
District 2 will qualify the top two in each event in Class AA girls and the top one in each event in Class AA boys, plus others who make it based on their times.
Competition begins Friday at noon and will complete the 200-yard medley relay, 200 freestyle, 200 individual medley, 50 freestyle, 100 butterfly and 200 freestyle relay.
Action should be completed during the afternoon and will pick up Saturday at noon when the 100 freestyle, 500 freestyle, 100 backstroke, 100 breaststroke, and 400 freestyle relay will be contested.
TOM ROBINSON writes a weekly local sports column for the Susquehanna County Transcript. He can be reached online at RobbyTR@aol.com or followed on Twitter at @tomjrobinson.
