The first conference play in District 2 gets underway tonight.
OPENING NIGHT
The first divisional basketball play within District 2 takes place tonight with a single game, Berwick at defending champion Pittston Area in Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 girls.
SCHEDULE AND FORMAT
The remainder of the division’s teams open their schedules Wednesday with Hazleton Area at Tunkhannock, Wilkes-Barre Area at Dallas and Wyoming Valley West at Crestwood.
The remaining 13 games in the 14-game schedule are after the holidays.
The full division schedule can be found at: Girls basketball schedules – Wyoming Valley Division 1 – NEPA Sports Nation.
The division title will be determined by the 14 games. The WVC also conducts an overall championship in the form of a four-team tournament with the top two teams each from Division 1 and Division 2.
2021-22 STANDINGS
Pittston Area 12-2, Wilkes-Barre Area 12-2, Hazleton Area 9-5, Wyoming Valley West 7-7, Dallas 6-8, Berwick 4-10, Crestwood 3-11, Tunkhannock 3-11.
The division title was decided in a playoff that Pittston Area won, 36-33, over Wilkes-Barre Area.
Both teams lost to Lake-Lehman in the WVC Tournament.
Pittston Area beat Holy Redeemer, 40-29, to reach the final where it lost to Lake-Lehman, 45-19.
Lake-Lehman made the final by downing Wilkes-Barre Area, 42-34.
RANKINGS
Pittston Area, Hazleton Area and Wyoming Valley West are ranked second, third and fourth among Big School girls teams in the Riverfront Sports Super Six Basketball Power Rankings of District 2 teams.
ON THE BENCH
Vince Bucciarelli, one of the winningest coaches in District 2 history, replaces Kelly Johnson at Dallas in the division’s only head coaching change.
This is Bucciarelli’s first WVC season after coaching Abington Heights for 32 years and Mid Valley for 6. He was an assistant at Lackawanna League Division 1 champion Scranton Prep last season.
Dallas lost its season opener in Bucciarelli’s 1,000th career game. It has won twice since, giving him a 652-350 career record.
“I’m looking forward to getting back into big schools,” Bucciarelli said prior to the season. “I wanted to get back into the big schools after I left Abington.”
Bucciarelli coached the Lady Comets to 14 District 2 and 12 Lackawanna League divisional championships.
CLASSIFICATIONS
Hazleton Area, Wilkes-Barre Area and Wyoming Valley West compete in Class 6A, the largest of six enrollment classifications of the PIAA.
Pittston Area, Crestwood and Dallas are Class 5A teams.
Berwick and Tunkhannock are in Class 4A.
Wyoming Valley West moved up from Class 5A as part of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association’s enrollment review every two years.
RETURNING STARS
Pittston Area’s Kallie Booth is back after being named division Player of the Year and second-team, all-District 2 last season by NEPABasketball.com, which has since been merged into NEPASportsNation.com.
Four of the division’s top 6 players are back, along with 8 of the top 11 and 13 of the top 18.
Lacie Kringe from Hazleton Area, Elizabeth Viglone from Dallas and Daniella Raniela from Pittston Area are back after being first-team, all-stars
The returning second-teamers are: Shelby Ardo-Boyko from Wilkes-Barre Area, Victoria Spaciano from Dallas, RaeAnna Andreas from Berwick and Mackenzie Perluke from Wyoming Valley West.
Crestwood’s Julia Glowacki and Cadence Hiller; Hazleton Area’s Brianna Kennedy and Sophia Shults; Pittston Area’s Ava Callahan; and Berwick’s Gabby Starr all received honorable mention last season as underclassmen.
Starr, however, is expected to miss the season with a knee injury.
Gregory was named District 2 Coach of the Year by NEPABasketball.com and state Class 5A Coach of the Year by Pennsylvania Sports Writers after the Lady Patriots improved from 4-13 to 24-5 in his second season.
WINNING COMBINATION
With league play ready to start, three of the division’s eight teams are unbeaten, six have winning records and only one has a losing record.
The teams have a combined 25-6 record through Dec. 18.
The overall records are: Hazleton Area 6-0, Pittston Area 5-0, Wilkes-Barre Area 4-0, Tunkhannock 3-1, Wyoming Valley West 3-1, Dallas 2-1, Crestwood 1-1 and Berwick 1-2.
ANALYZING THE RACE
NEPASportsNation.com editor Tom Robinson breaks down the race as follows:
Hazleton Area is not big, but it is bigger than Pittston Area at the same time as being one of the teams more capable of keeping up with the Lady Patriots backcourt.
Rate Hazleton Area as a slight favorite over the defending champions in a race that potentially could go deeper than those two teams.
Wyoming Valley West seemed likely to be right with the two co-favorites until it got roughed up in an early-season showdown with Scranton Prep that raised some questions about whether the Lady Spartans are ready to be a title contender.
Wilkes-Barre Area has unleashed some of its team speed to compensate for going with a largely revamped lineup while Crestwood and Tunkhannock have the division’s two most-experienced starting lineups, giving them a chance to make a climb.
When a Berwick team that battled Lackawanna League Division 1 power Scranton Prep on even terms for a half is potentially the weak link, it is clear the division is in one of its strongest overall positions ever.
Projected order of finish: 1, Hazleton Area; 2, Pittston Area; 3, Wyoming Valley West; 4, Crestwood; 5, Dallas; 6, Wilkes-Barre Area; 7, Tunkhannock; 8, Berwick.
LOOKING AHEAD
If Wyoming Valley West can work its way into contention, the Lady Spartans play the two favorites back-to-back twice.
Wyoming Valley West hosts Hazleton Area Jan. 16 and Pittston Area Jan. 18 to end the first trip through the schedule. The Lady Spartans then close out the regular season with road games at Hazleton Area Feb. 6 and Pittston Area Feb. 8.
TEAM OVERVIEWS
Berwick: Berwick girls adjusting to absences – NEPA Sports Nation.
Crestwood: Crestwood has veteran girls lineup – NEPA Sports Nation.
Pittston Area: Lady Patriots try to remain at top – NEPA Sports Nation.
COMING SOON
Additional team overviews on the way. Check back at: Basketball – NEPA Sports Nation in the days ahead.
