EDITOR’S NOTE: As a step in getting ready for the 2021-22 winter sports season, NEPASportsNation.com is taking a look back at the 2021 season in District 2.
Team champions
Scranton Prep was the only team to win both a divisional title and a District 2 championship. The Classics won Lackawanna League Division 1 and District 2 Class 4A.
The other District 2 champions were: Class 6A, Wilkes-Barre Area; 5A, Abington Heights; 3A, Riverside; 2A, Holy Cross; and A, Susquehanna.
Western Wayne, Dunmore and Montrose won the Lackawanna Division 2 through 4 titles.
Berwick, in Division 1, and Lake-Lehman, in Division 2, won Wyoming Valley Conference titles.
Standings
Lackawanna League Division 1: Scranton Prep 13-0, Abington Heights 11-2, Valley View 8-5, Scranton 4-9, West Scranton 0-13.
Lackawanna League Division 2: Western Wayne 11-2, North Pocono 8-5, Honesdale 4-9, Wallenpaupack 4-9, Delaware Valley 2-11.
Lackawanna League Division 3: Dunmore 11-0, Riverside 9-2, Holy Cross 7-4, Old Forge 6-5, Lakeland 3-9, Mid Valley 2-9, Carbondale 1-10.
Lackawanna League Division 4: Montrose 12-0, Elk Lake 10-2, Lackawanna Trail 8-4, Susquehanna 6-6, Mountain View 3-9, Blue Ridge 2-10, Forest City 1-11.
Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1: Berwick 10-2, Hazleton Area 8-4, Dallas 7-5, Wilkes-Barre Area 7-5, Wyoming Valley West 5-7, Crestwood 4-8, Pittston Area 1-11.
Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2: Lake-Lehman 10-2, Holy Redeemer 10-2, Nanticoke 7-5, Tunkhannock 6-6, Wyoming Area 6-6, Wyoming Seminary 2-10, Hanover Area 0-12.
State impact
Scranton Prep also had the only on-court victory by a District 2 girls team in the champions-only Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association state tournament.
The Classics reached the semifinals where they lost to eventual state champion Archbishop Wood, 56-39, in the Class 4A semifinal.
The Lackawanna League had seven first-team, all-state players, including four in Class 4A where Scranton Prep seniors Rachael Rose and Cecelia Collins were joined by Dunmore junior Moriah Murray and sophomore Ciera Toomey.
Riverside junior Kylie Lavelle was selected in Class 3A while Old Forge senior Olivia Ciullo and Holy Cross junior Kaci Kranson made it in Class 2A.
All seven all-staters were also part of the NEPA Elite AAU program out of Riverfront Sports in Scranton.
COVID Impact
There were alterations to the beginning, middle and end of the season.
The 2020-21 season simply became the 2021 season with no competition until January.
Non-league games were reduced, but five of the six divisions managed to complete their schedules. Only Lackawanna Division 3, where six of the seven teams each had one game canceled, did not finish the conference schedule.
The most anticipated playoff game never materialized when Dunmore was sidelined by a COVID outbreak and was unable to challenge Scranton Prep – and attempt to avenge its only loss – in a possible Class 4A final at Mohegan Sun Arena.
The state tournaments were limited from the usual fields of 32 to between 7 and 12 entries in each tournament with only district champions allowed in.
Holy Cross wound up getting a walk into the state quarterfinals when Linden Hall was unable to participate because of COVID protocols.
Noteworthy
The only division that required a playoff to decide the championship was WVC Division 2 where Lake-Lehman beat Holy Redeemer. … Murray is a three-time, first-team, all-state selection, making Class 4A as a junior after making it in Class 3A as a sophomore and freshman. … The only state win featured a career-high scoring performance by Rose, who went 13-for-15 from the floor, including 5-for-6 on 3-pointers, while scoring 31 points in 22 minutes of a 74-35 quarterfinal rout of Central Columbia. … Lavelle became the first player to score 30 points in a district championship game at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza. … Holy Cross pushed eventual champion Mount Carmel to the limit on its home court before falling, 50-47, in the Class 2A state quarterfinals.
