Basketball’s ‘second season’ tips off this week

by Steve Stallone Sports Editor

Following a grueling three-month regular season that whittled the field, the District 2 and District 11 basketball tournaments began this week as playoff qualifiers take aim at a district championship, and perhaps more.

Locally, the Crestwood High School boys’ and girls’ basketball teams begin their “second season” this week, having qualified for their respective Class 5A tournaments in District 2. In addition, the Weatherly Area High School girls have qualified for the District 2-11

Class A Subregional that begins next week.

The Crestwood boys took a 12-10 record and the fourth seed into the District 2 5A tournament, and were scheduled to host #5 North Pocono (13-9) in a quarterfinal-round game Tuesday night. The winner moves on to Friday’s semifinal against top-seeded Abington Heights (19-4).

The Comets are led by Drew Sechleer (15.3 ppg), Brandon Burbank (9.5), Chaz Wright, Mason Czapla and Matt Sklarosky, while North Pocono’s leading scorers are AJ Nemitz (15.7) and Chris Walsh (11.9).

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The top two teams in the district move on to the state tournament.

Meanwhile, the Crestwood girls landed the eighth and final spot in their District 2 5A tourney and have drawn top-seeded Pittston Area (21-2) for Wednesday’s quarterfinal game in Yatesville. The two WVC Division 1 rivals met twice during the regular season, with Pittston coming out on top both times.

The Lady Comets (8-13) have been led by freshman point guard Keira Dougherty (13.0 ppg), as well as seniors Cadence Hiller and Julia Glowacki, soph Kate Gallagher and frosh Jordan Andrews.

Pittston Area boasts one of the WVC’s top guard tandems in division MVP Daniella Ranieli (16.7 ppg) and Kalie Booth (13.0). Pittston, which was upset by Holy Redeemer in last week’s WVC semifinals, is looking for its first district title since 2015.

The winner moves on to the semifinal round on Saturday, with the finals set for March 4 at Mohegan Sun Arena. The top three teams in the tournament advance to states.

The Weatherly Area girls will have to wait until next Tuesday to begin their postseason. The Lady Wreckers (7-15) qualified as the fourth and final seed in the District 2-11 Class A Subregional, and will take on top-seeded Mountain View (16-6) from District 2 in a semifinal game at a site and time to be announced. The Lady Wreckers are led by sophomore point guard Bethany Houser (11.4 ppg), senior Emma Kane (7.4) and freshman Kelly Reiner. Mountain View goes through freshman Addison Kilmer (16.2 ppg), who led the entire Lackawanna League in scoring this season.

The remaining two teams in the field are from District 11, No. 2 seed Nativity (6-16) and No. 3 Salem Christian (10-11). Weatherly and Nativity split their two head-to-head meetings in Schuylkill League Division III play this season.

The finals are set for March 2 at Mohegan Sun Arena, and the third-place game will be announced. The top three teams advance to the PIAA Tournament.