NEPA Sports Nation

GIRLS BASKETBALL ALL-STARS: Wyoming Valley Conf. Division 1

Pittston Area not only repeated as Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 girls basketball champion, but did so by a four-game margin over its biggest challengers, leading to sophomore point guard Daniella Ranieli and coach Jeff Gregory landing top honors on the all-star team released by NEPASportsNation.com Thursday night.

Ranieli was named Player of the Year while Gregory repeated as Coach of the Year.

Last season, Ranieli was a first-team, all-star as a freshman on the team selected by NEPABasketball.com. That website has since been merged into NEPASportsNation.com for coverage of all District 2 sports.

Ranieli averaged 16.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.5 steals. She shot 35.0 percent from 3-point range while hitting nearly two shots per game from beyond the arc. Ranieli also shot 49.2 percent on her two-point attempts and 75.6 percent from the foul line.

Pittston Area’s Kallie Booth was Player of the Year on the NEPABasketball.com team last season and is part of the first team this season. She also had been a second-team selection as a sophomore.

Wyoming Valley West’s Mackenzie Perluke, who moves up from the second team, and Hazleton Area’s Sophia Shults, who was an honorable mention selection last season, are also on the first team with Booth.

Freshmen Molly Walsh from Dallas and Keira Doughery from Crestwood join them on the first team.

Elizabeth Viglone from Dallas, a first-teamer a year ago, leads the second team.

Wilkes-Barre Area’s Shelby Ardo-Boyko and Berwick’s RaeAnna Andreas repeat on the second team.

An honorable mention was also named for the eight-team division. The all-star teams from the WVC Division 1 boys will also include an honorable mention while the other 10 divisional teams around District 2 will each consist of just a first and second team. Those divisions have between five and seven member schools in each.

Ava Callahan from Pittston Area, Cadence Hiller from Crestwood and Brianna Kennedy from Hazleton Area each made the honorable mention list for the second straight year.

Of the 20 total players recognized, 4 are freshman, 5 are sophomores and 5 are juniors.

The full team is:

WYOMING VALLEY CONFERENCE DIVISION 1

Coach of the Year

Jeff Gregory, Pittston Area

Player of the Year

Daniella Ranieli, Pittston Area sophomore

First Team

Kallie Booth, Pittston Area senior

Keira Dougherty, Crestwood freshman

Mackenzie Perluke, Wyoming Valley West junior

Sophia Shults, Hazleton Area sophomore

Molly Walsh, Dallas freshman

Second Team

RaeAnna Andreas, Berwick junior

Shelby Ardo-Boyko, Wilkes-Barre Area senior

Alexis Reimold, Hazleton Area freshmen

Victoria Spaciano, Dallas junior

Elizabeth Viglone, Dallas junior

Honorable Mention

Eternity Aiken, Wilkes-Barre senior

Ava Callahan, Pittston Area senior

Cadence Hiller, Crestwood senior

Brianna Kennedy, Hazleton Area senior

Emma Krawczeniuk, Wilkes-Barre Area junior

Diamond Thornton, Wilkes-Barre Area sophomore

Thalia Irizarry, Wyoming Valley West freshman

Sable Stephens, Tunkhannock senior

Rachel Whitenight, Berwick sophomore

Follow us on social media