Pittston Area’s Amanda Fath (33) fights off several Hazleton Area defenders to score in the second half Friday night.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
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Hazleton Area’s Sophia Shults pulls up for a 10-foot basket against Pittston Area on Friday night. Shults scored eight points in the first half.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Hazleton Area’s Lacie Kringe (4) hits one of her two 3-point shots in the first half against Pittston Area on Friday night.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Pittston Area junior Kallie Booth drives the lane for two of her eight first-half points versus Hazleton Area Friday night at Pittston Area.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Pittston Area freshman Daniella Ranieli gets past Hazleton Area’s Lacie Kringe for two points Friday night.
YATESVILLE — The task was going to be difficult enough. A long layoff created another situation.
Yet, the Pittston Area girls basketball team nearly overcame all that Friday night.
Pittston Area stayed within striking distance of perennial Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 power Hazleton Area throughout the second half, but the Cougars refused to surrender the lead and held on for a 39-34 victory.
The Patriots (0-1 Div. 1, 8-1) were supposed to be playing their fifth divisional game of the season Friday night. Instead, it was their first as COVID-related situations throughout the conference forced four postponements.
“It certainly wasn’t ideal,” said Pittston Area coach Jeff Gregory, whose team last played Dec. 29. “The layoff certainly wasn’t beneficial to our team. It’s a tough situation, but you know what, nobody is going to feel bad for us. That’s something we can’t control. We can just control what we can, and we gotta play.”
An 8-0 non-conference start doubled Pittston Area’s entire victory total from last season. The Patriots came close to adding to it.
They trailed 35-33 with 1:45 left when Ava Callahan hit a corner 3-pointer. They were down 37-34 with 17.3 seconds remaining when Hazleton Area missed a free throw.
That last chance ended when Hazleton Area’s Sophia Shults grabbed the rebound, leading to a game-ending basket by Lacie Kringe.
“Give (Pittston Area) credit. They did a good job,” long-time Hazleton Area coach Joe Gavio said. “They threw a lot of stuff at us. They were going box-and-one and kept switching, and we weren’t ready for that. It was catching us off guard throwing everything at us.”
The Pittston Area defense led to a sequence where it made four consecutive stops just past the midway point of the third quarter. The effort yielded just one point on the offensive end to make it 25-24 Hazleton Area.
The Cougars (4-0 Div. 1, 9-3) went on a 6-0 run to end the third and opened the fourth with a basket by Kringe to bump their lead to 33-24. But despite not having a field goal since the 5:25 mark of the third, Pittston Area battled back.
Amanda Fath scored twice on rebounds and Daniella Ranieli’s drive cut the deficit to 33-30 at 5:12 of the fourth. Pittston Area then got a steal, but failed to capitalize. The Patriots’ last lead ended up being 17-16 midway through the second quarter. Kringe’s 3-pointer flipped the lead back to the Cougars for good.
“I thought our kids hung in to give themselves a chance to win at the end,” Gregory said, “but there were big moments in the game where we didn’t make the plays we needed to make.”
Hazleton Area 39, Pittston Area 34
HAZLETON AREA (39) — Kyli Kilker 0 0-0 0, Lacie Kringe 7 2-5 18, Kaci Kilker 2 0-2 4, Olivia Williams 0 0-0 0, Taylor Kilker 0 0-0 0, Sophia Shults 7 0-0 14, Brianna Kennedy 1 1-2 3. Totals 17 3-9 39.
PITTSTON AREA (34) — Daniella Ranieli 3 0-1 7, Kallie Booth 3 2-5 10, Ava Callahan 3 0-0 8, Leah Zambetti 0 0-0 0, Taylor Baiera 0 1-2 1, Amanda Fath 3 0-0 6, Ava Butcher 0 2-4 2. Totals 12 5-12 34.
Hazleton Area`9`12`10`8 — 39
Pittston Area`12`7`5`10 — 34
Three-point goals — HAZ 2 (Kringe 2); PA 5 (Booth 2, Callahan 2, Ranieli)
