Montrose carried a lead into the fourth quarter before having its season come to an end with a 43-33 loss to Mount Carmel in the first round of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class AA girls’ basketball tournament Friday night in Shamokin.

Alli Varano had 13 points and eight rebounds in the second half to lead the comeback by the District 4 champions (24-4). Varano finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds and four steals.

After scoring Mount Carmel’s only four points of the third quarter, Varano scored nine more in the fourth when the Red Tornadoes outscored the Lady Meteors, 17-3, to overcome a 30-26 deficit.

Varano scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to put Mount Carmel ahead to stay, 31-30.

Mount Carmel took as many shots (27) in the first half as Montrose had in the entire game because the Lady Meteors were hurt by more than 30 turnovers.

Morgan Groover scored five early points and Montrose took a 13-8 lead after one quarter.

The Lady Meteors shot 62.5 percent (5-for-8) in the first quarter, but committed 10 turnovers. They reached the half at 57.1 percent (8-for-14) but committed 17 turnovers and were locked in a 22-22 tie.

Myra Lattimore led Montrose with 11 points, including seven in the first half. Meghan Gilhool and Groover, who grabbed seven rebounds, had eight points each.

The Lady Meteors, who won the Lackawanna League Division 4 title and finished third in District 2 Class AA, finished the season 20-6. They represented the last Susquehanna County team or individual competing in the winter high school sports season.

WEEK IN REVIEW

DUNMORE – Rivals Abington Heights and Scranton Prep swept a Class AAA girls’ doubleheader at Marywood University Saturday as part of a rare perfect day for District 2 teams in the PIAA basketball tournament.

District 2 teams were 8-0 Saturday, including 3-0 in both Class AAA girls and Class AA boys.

Abington Heights held seven-time state champion Allentown Central Catholic to one field goal in the fourth quarter while rallying for a 29-27 victory.

Breanna Toro had 11 points in the game and Nicole Getz had six in the fourth quarter for Abington Heights.

Holy Cross recruit Tricia Byrne scored 24 points and made eight steals when Scranton Prep defeated Danville, 60-40.

The Classics took an 8-0 lead on three steals in the first 1:20.

Sophomore Amber Renz scored 25 points, including the 1,000th of her career, for Danville.

Holy Cross defeated Hanover, 59-45, in Class AA boys and Old Forge handled Harrisburg Christian, 52-27, in Class A girls in a doubleheader at Scranton High.

Saturday’s other District 2 winners were the Hazleton Area boys in Class AAAA, the Mid Valley and Meyers boys in AA, and the Holy Redeemer girls in Class AAA.

SCRANTON – Division I recruits Evan Maxwell and J.C. Show scored 20 points each Friday night when Abington Heights rolled over Central Columbia, 70-42, in a PIAA Class AAA boys’ basketball first-round game at Lackawanna College.

Maxwell, a 6-foot-10 center who has committed to Liberty, had four emphatic dunks, including two off of offensive rebounds and one on an alley-oop. Show, a guard who is headed to Bucknell, helped the Comets break open in the game by scoring the first five points and seven total in a 20-point streak to end the first half and take a 37-15 lead.

The Dunmore girls (Class AA) and Wilkes-Barre GAR boys (AAA) were the other Friday winners.

Lackawanna League teams accounted for seven of the 11 District 2 wins, including all three doubleheader sweeps.

Dunmore opened the doubleheader at Lackawanna College by defeating Warrior Run, 56-42, behind 18 points and three steals by Kayleigh Semion.

Mariah Maciejewski, who was 6-for-6 from the floor, and Maddie Martin, who made six straight free throws late, each added 15 points.

In high school wrestling, six District 2 wrestlers earned state medals, led by a third-place finish from Lake-Lehman’s Austin Harry in Class AA at 132 pounds.

Mat Carr of Abington Heights was the top Lackawanna League finisher in fourth at 160 in Class AAA.

The other medalists were: Ryan Monk, Dallas, AAA, 285, sixth; Jalen Palmer, Delaware Valley, AAA, 132, seventh; Nate Cheek, Wyoming Valley West, AAA, 145, eighth; and Connor Martinez, Dallas, AAA, 170, eighth.

In professional hockey, the Binghamton Senators added former Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins defenseman Alex Grant, but lost one of their top scorers at the National Hockey League trading deadline.

The Ottawa Senators, parent club of Binghamton, made a deal with the Anaheim Ducks, parent club of the Norfolk Admirals.

Andre Petersson, who was third on Binghamton’s AHL East Division co-leader in scoring, before being sent to Anaheim’s AHL team.

The interests of the parent NHL teams meant Binghamton and the Norfolk Admirals swapped key players while tied for the division lead.

Grant was Norfolk’s top-scoring defenseman with seven goals and 20 assists in 52 games. He also scored two goals in his first two games in the NHL with Anaheim earlier this season.

COLLEGE CORNER

Dallas Ely was named to the all-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference East Division first-team in women’s basketball.

The sophomore guard from Montrose remained strong during the stretch run.

Ely led big finishes by the Golden Rams in the regular-season finale and the playoff opener.

The PSAC’s leading scorer at 19.5 points per game, Ely was scoreless at halftime of the regular-season finale at East Stroudsburg University. She wound up with 21 points as West Chester rallied for a 75-69 victory.

East Stroudsburg led by as many as 15 points in the second half, but Ely went 11-for-15 from the line and hit two 3-pointers during a 32-19 finish by West Chester.

The quarterfinals of the PSAC playoffs followed a similar path.

West Chester defeated Kutztown Wednesday, 86-74, after trailing, 42-36, at halftime.

Ely had six points and a steal in a 13-0 run to erase the final deficit and put West Chester ahead, 72-61.

Ely finished with 21 points and a career- and game-high 11 rebounds for her second double-double of the season.

The 543 points scored by Ely this season is the second-highest in school history.

In addition to leading the conference and ranking 30th in the nation in scoring, Ely is also in the top 10 in the PSAC in three other categories. She is fourth in 3-pointers with 70, eighth in free throw percentage at 78.2 and ninth in 3-point percentage at 34.1.

Ely also shoots 41.9 percent from the floor and averages 2.7 assists.

West Division champion and PSAC Final Four host Edinboro, the nation’s 25-ranked Division II team, ended West Chester’s season with a 104-82 win in Saturday’s PSAC semifinals.

Ely scored 16 points in the loss.

West Chester finished 19-9.

THE WEEK AHEAD

The spring high school sports season gets underway Monday, March 17 when Montrose travels to Tunkhannock for a non-league boys’ tennis match.

In high school basketball, the state tournament continues through the quarterfinal round Friday and Saturday. Second-round games were scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday.

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.

CLEAN SWEEP FOR KESELOWSKI

Brad Keselowski swept both NASCAR races at Vegas. Furnished by NASCAR.

LAS VEGAS, Nev.—Brad Keselowski and Dale Earnhardt Jr. had the fans on their feet as Sunday’s Sprint Cup race wound down at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

For several laps Keselowski had stalked Earnhardt, who was leading the race, but couldn’t get by him.

On the white flag lap as the pair headed for the finish line, the engine in Earnhardt’s car sputtered for lack of fuel, and he pulled down to the low side of the track.

Keselowski zipped by for his first win of the season, and also the first for Ford.

 “At the end this car was really fast,” said Keselowski. “We didn’t have the speed or handling at the beginning of the race, but the team did a great job during pit stops.

 “There at the end Carl Edwards (another Ford driver) gave me a little break so I could run down Dale.”

Earnhardt did not pit on the last round of pit stops, and on the last restart with 52 laps remaining in the 267-lap race, Earnhardt was the leader, and pulled away to a sizable lead.

Keselowski kept digging, and very slowly gained on Earnhardt. With four-to-go, he tried twice to pass Earnhardt, but each time, he came up short.

“We knew we were about a lap short on gas,” said Earnhardt, who finished as runner-up. “We took a gamble and that’s about it. We can’t let this be a negative. It’s tough, but we’ve got to look positive.”

Earnhardt is off to his best career start in Sprint Cup racing.

Paul Menard, who left immediately after the race to fly home to be with his expecting wife, was third.

“Daytona was great for us, but we struggled at Phoenix,” said Menard. “This isn’t a win, but it’s certainly something we can build on.”

Polesitter, Joey Logano finished fourth.

 “It was a frustrating race,” he said. “We were fast at the beginning, but we had problems passing. We changed everything we could, but just didn’t have enough near the end.”

Carl Edwards was fifth, followed by Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne, Jeff Gordon, and Matt Kenseth.

Kyle Busch, who finished 11th had pit road problems early in the race, dropped back to 41st, but eventually worked his way back to the front.

Austin Dillon, who finished 16th was the highest finishing rookie.

Danica Patrick finished 21st, while her other three teammates Kurt Busch, finished 26th, Tony Stewart-33rd, and Kevin Harvick was 41st.

Harvick, the winner at Phoenix apparently ran over some debris on the track that caused him to lose his brakes. His team was unable to make repairs and he parked his car on lap 237.

Top-10 points leaders after 3 of 36: 1. Earnhardt-133, 2. Keselowski-132, 3. Johnson-117, 4. Logano-116, 5. Gordon-115, 6. Edwards-105, 7. Kenseth-105, 8. Hamlin-101, 9. Newman-97, 10. K. Busch-95.

There were no wrecks and only three cautions, each for fluid or debris on the track.

KESELOWSKI HOLDS OFF “ROWDY” AT VEGAS

Brad Keselowski had to keep the gas pedal pressed to the floor during the closing laps of Saturday’s Nationwide race in order to beat “Rowdy” Kyle Busch to the finish line.

But Busch wasn’t his only worry. A defective battery caused his engine to sputter a couple of times, and his team worried he might not be able to finish the race.

“Man, I was concerned for sure,” said Keselowski. “I knew he (Kyle) was coming, and I wasn’t sure what was happening with the electrical system. All I could do was keep my foot on the gas and hope I could get to the checkered flag before something happened.”

Busch, a Las Vegas native, closed the gap, but finished .352-seconds back.

Kyle Larson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chase Elliott, Matt Kenseth, Brian Scott, Trevor Bayne, Chris Buescher, and Regan Smith rounded out the remaining top-10 drivers.

Top-10 leaders after 3 of 33: 1. Smith-117, 2. Bayne-114, 3. Sadler-108, 4. T. Dillon-105, 5. Elliott-103, 6. Scott-97, 7. Gaughan-94, 8. Kwasniewski-87, 9. Buescher-86, 10. Bliss-81.

KURT BUSCH TO PULL DOUBLE DUTY

Kurt Busch plans to take on an enormous racing task, the week of May 17-25.

He will attempt to become only the fourth driver in history to compete in both the Indianapolis 500 and the NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 races in the same day.

Busch will make his first career Indianapolis 500 qualifying attempt behind the wheel of a Michael Andretti Autosport Indy car. In 2013 Busch completed a test day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and passed the mandated Rookie Orientation program.

Busch will have to log some serious travel time between Indianapolis and Charlotte, in order to practice for both races. He will likely make more than ten trips between the two cities.

On May 25, Busch will start the Indianapolis 500 at 12 noon. After the race ends, he will fly to Charlotte for the 6 pm start of the Coca-Cola 600. Indianapolis is on Central Time, while Charlotte is in the Eastern Time Zone, so Busch will lose an hour on the way to Charlotte for the 600-mile race.

TELEVISION RATINGS: After a record-low at Daytona, overnight ratings did not bounce back for the second race of the season. The Sprint Cup race from Phoenix earned a 4.8 overnight rating on FOX, down nine per cent from a 5.3 last year, and down 4 per cent from a 5.0 in 2011. The 4.8 is the lowest overnight for the second Sprint Cup race of the season since FOX began airing coverage in 2001.

Weekend Racing: It’s the first short track race of the year this weekend as the Cup and Nationwide teams tackle the challenging high banks of Bristol Motor Speedway. The trucks do not race again until March 29.

Sat., Mar. 15, Nationwide race 4 of 33; Starting time: 1:30 pm ET; TV: ESPN2.

Sun., Mar. 16 Sprint Cup race 4 of 36; Starting time: 12:30 pm ET; TV: Fox.

Racing Trivia Question: What is Mark Martin’s racing plans this year?

Last Week’s Question: Jeff Gordon has said he would retire if he won this year’s Cup championship. How many Cup championships has he won? Answer. Four; 1995, ’97, ’98, ‘01.

   You may contact the Racing Reporter at hodges@race500.com.

Zach Edwards

Zach Edwards was a winner the last 19 times he stepped on the mat as a high school wrestler.

The Blue Ridge senior had his high school career come to a surprisingly quick ending as the result of an untimely injury.

Even in the haze created by the fall on his head and neck that kept him from competing in the rest of the postseason, Edwards held on for the final six seconds to defeat Delaware Valley’s William Pearn, 11-3, and reach the 145-pound final of the Lackawanna League Wrestling Tournament.

For his efforts prior to facing the disappointment of not being able to pursue a third straight trip to the district finals or a shot at getting to the state tournament after falling one win short a year ago, Edwards has again been selected as Susquehanna County Transcript Athlete of the Month, taking the award for February.

Edwards was the leader of the most successful team Blue Ridge had during his four-way career. The Raiders finished second in Division 2 of the Lackawanna League and compiled a 15-9 overall record.

“I was really happy with the team we had this year,” Edwards said. “It was a great group of guys and we had a good season.”

While leading the way on that team, which combines students from Blue Ridge and Susquehanna, Edwards put himself in strong position heading into the postseason. The record he compiled had Edwards set up to be the top seed in his weight class on the district level, where he would have tried to add to the title he won as a sophomore and the silver medal he picked up last year.

When concussion symptoms set in immediately after his league semifinal win, Edwards had to forfeit the final. The effects of Post-Concussion Syndrome ended his wrestling season and have kept him out of the start of practice for track and field.

Edwards finished 27-3 – the championship match forfeit counts against his record when a wrestler does not finish in a tournament – and 107-23 for his career.

“He was very determined,” said Zach Edwards Sr., who coached his son through junior club teams and four years as Blue Ridge’s head coach in high school. “He worked at it a lot. After practice, he’d go out and lift weights and do chin-ups, pull-ups sit-ups.

"He did a lot on his own.”

Before starting his high school career, Zach Jr. had a second-place, age-group finish in the state freestyle wrestling championships.

In track season, he has also earned three district medals a pole vaulter. He played soccer at Blue Ridge as a senior.

Zach Jr. is the son of Zach Sr. and Donna Edwards from New Milford.