Pictured at top: Lake-Lehman’s Ella Wilson drives against Holy Redeemer’s Jillian DelBalso.
Brenna Hunt and Hailey Kline fueled a near flawless Lake-Lehman start.
Ella Wilson took it from there, making sure Holy Redeemer’s improved play over the course of the remainder of the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 girls basketball championship game was not enough to undo the early work by Lake-Lehman.
The Lady Knights scored the game’s first 20 points and Wilson scored a game-high 20 points Friday night in a 60-46 victory in the championship game at Nanticoke.
The playoff was needed after each team won on the road during their regular-season meetings and swept the rest of the division for matching 11-1 records.
Lake-Lehman threatened to make a laugher out of the championship game with its early scoring blitz.
Hunt and Kline each had seven points in the 20-0 start.
The Lady Knights started 8-for-14 from the floor, including 4-for-6 from 3-point range in the first 5:17. They grabbed 8 of the game’s first 10 rebounds during that time and forced 5 Lady Royals turnovers while not committing any.
Wilson, Lia Keefe, Hunt and Kline all hit 3-pointers.
Kline, who finished with 15 points and 15 rebounds, had three rebounds, two on the offensive end, during the first 5½ minutes. Wilson had two steals during the quick start.
Hunt and Kline converted rebounds while Wilson’s two steals led to scores and Hunt took a steal in for a breakaway layup.
Lake-Lehman held Holy Redeemer scoreless for 5:30 and without a field goal for 7:46.
Hunt turned another steal into a breakaway for a 24-2 lead. She had all nine of her points in the first quarter.
Mia Ashton then scored the first Holy Redeemer basket to make it 24-4 at the quarter.
Ashton led Holy Redeemer with 12 points while Jillian DelBalso, whose two free throws broke the shutout, had 11.
Holy Redeemer cut into the deficit, but eventually had its top three scorers foul out while Lake-Lehman was making 25 of 36 foul shots.
Wilson went 12-for-12 and Kline was 8-for-11 from the line.
The Lady Knights led 34-16 at halftime and 45-28 going to the fourth quarter.
DelBalso and Meghan Albrecht had five points each for the Lady Royals during the third quarter.
McKenzie Chimock hit a pair of 3-pointers for Holy Redeemer in the fourth quarter, but Wilson followed up a 3-pointer with eight straight free throws for 11 points in the quarter.
Lake-Lehman (19-4) repeated as division champion and will now take aim at its third straight Wyoming Valley Conference Tournament title.
The Lady Knights won in 2020 and 2022. The tournament was not held in 2021 because of COVID.
Holy Redeemer will host Wednesday’s semifinals with the final scheduled for Feb. 18 as part of a doubleheader at Dallas with the boys final.
Lake-Lehman meets Hazleton Area Wednesday at 6, then Holy Redeemer faces Division 1 champion Pittston Area.
The Lady Knights and Lady Royals could meet again. They will be two of the top three seeds in the District 2 Class 3A playoffs and current playoff ratings put them on target to meet in the semifinals.
