Toomeys lead all-district girls team

Coaching one’s own child can be both challenging and rewarding.

The Toomeys – Carrie and daughter Ciera – got extra doses of each in the 2022-23 girls basketball season.

Carrie’s debut season added the complication of not just coaching her daughter, but making major decisions on how to proceed with one of the nation’s top women’s basketball prospects in her return from a major injury.

That injury, suffered on a play that silenced the crowd at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza during the 2022 District 2 Class 4A championship game, robbed Ciera Toomey of a potential state title run as a junior and took away nearly half of her senior season.

That second half of the season, however, was all that Ciera Toomey needed to lead Dunmore to the first Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association state girls basketball title by a District 2 team in 24 years.

Making the most of her chances on the court in the district and state playoffs, Ciera Toomey made up for lost time as the dominant force in the Class 3A bracket in Pennsylvania.

Ciera’s performance makes her a repeat selection as District 2 Player of the Year. She was selected last season by NEPABasketball.com, the website that became part of NEPASportsNation.com prior to the start of this season to combine coverage of all District 2 sports into one site.

Carrie’s delicate management of her daughter – and star player’s – gradual return to action is one of the biggest reasons her debut season as a high school head coach resulted in a state title and her choice as Coach of the Year of the team selected by NEPASportsNation.com and released late Saturday night.

Dunmore also is represented on the first team where Sophia Talutto is one of three sophomores selected for their roles in leading teams to division championships.

While Ciera Toomey was slowly working her way back into game shape, Talutto was the leader of Dunmore’s latest unbeaten season in Lackawanna League Division 3 – the team’s fourth straight unbeaten mark among its 10 straight division titles.

Wallenpaupack’s Ella Smith and Pittston Area’s Daniella Ranieli were the other sophomores selected.

Ranieli is one of two Lady Patriots on the first team, joining Kallie Booth, who moves up after being second-team, all-district last season.

Mackenzie Perluke from Wyoming Valley West rounds out the first team.

Four players who led their teams into the state semifinals and another who got her team to the state quarterfinals make up the second team.

Scranton Prep has two of the second-team selections – Rita Collins and Maya Jenkins.

Montrose’s Mia Snyder, Mountain View’s Addison Kilmer and Lake-Lehman’s Lia Keefe complete the team.

The all-district teams generally do not include honorable mention, but this season’s team includes special honorable mention for Montrose’s Aspen Smith, who was performing at an all-district level before suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament that prevented her from playing the final nine regular-season games and in the playoffs.

Ciera Toomey went through the same process beginning with the first half of the district championship game as a junior.

After averaging less than 10 minutes in 7 regular-season appearances, Ciera Toomey was close to full-time play from the district final on. She had a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds, along with 7 blocked shots, in a come-from-behind win over Holy Redeemer in the district final.

Ciera Toomey then averaged a double-double in the state tournament, culminating in 14 points, a career-high 21 rebounds and 5 steals in the championship game win over River Valley.

For the state tournament, Toomey averaged 14 points, 13 rebounds, 5 blocked shots, 3 assists and 2 steals.

Already a three-time, all-stater (this season’s all-state teams have not yet been selected), Toomey was a first-team, all-state selection last season when Dunmore was in Class 4A. The University of North Carolina commit also was the 2022 Lackawanna Division 3 Player of the Year.

Carrie (Bowen) Toomey, a former all-star at Dunmore, was in her first season as a high school head coach, but she has plenty of coaching experience. She has previously served as a high school assistant, an AAU coach and an instructor who has trained many local all-star players.

Talutto led the Lady Bucks with averages of 12.3 points and 3.2 steals per game along with ranking second in assists with 3.0.

Ranieli, this season’s selection, and Booth have been the last two Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 Players of the Year. They led the Lady Patriots to division titles both seasons.

Booth averaged 19 points during the postseason, as Pittston Area won District 2 Class 5A and posted the first state tournament victory in school history. She averaged more than 14 points on the season, along with team-highs of 6.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.0 steals while shooting 37 percent on 3-pointers and 69 percent from the line.

Ranieli averaged 16.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.5 steals. She shot 35.0 percent from 3-point range and 75.6 percent from the foul line.

Ella Smith helped Wallenpaupack pull out a Lackawanna Division 2 title by scoring 24 and 23 points in the last two regular-season games and 21 in the division championship playoff. She averaged 14.0 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.0 steals.

Perluke averaged more than 15 points per game for the District 2-4 Class 6A Subregional champion Lady Spartans.

Collins was the Lackawanna Division 1 Player of the Year while Jenkins was Scranton Prep’s leading scorer as the Classics won the division and District 2 Class 4A on the way to the state semifinals.

Collins led Scranton Prep in rebounds (8.4) and steals (4.0) while ranking second in points (9.8) and assists (3.2).

Jenkins led the team with two 3-pointers and 13.1 points per game while averaging 2.9 assists.

Snyder set the Montrose record of seven 3-pointers in a game and had two more games of six each. The Lackawanna Division 4 Player of the Year led the Lady Meteors through a stretch run that produced a third straight division title and a first District 2 championship since 2012 with a title in Class 2A. She averaged 14.9 points and 2.5 3-pointers per game and took over running team’s offense when the injury knocked Aspen Smith out of the lineup.

Kilmer led Mountain View to its first district title and first trip beyond the second round of the state tournament. The 6-foot-1 freshman, the youngest of a young group of all-district players, finished the season with 20 straight double-doubles. She averaged 17 points, 15 rebounds and 5 blocked shots. In the last two state playoff wins by the Lady Eagles, Kilmer had 47 points, 38 rebounds and 13 blocked shots and was 11-for-12 in overtime free throws.

Keefe was named WVC Division 2 Player of the Year after Lake-Lehman won the division and the WVC Tournament title on the way to the state quarterfinals in Class 3A. She averaged 8.6 points, 4.5 steals, 3.5 assists and 3.2 rebounds.

The full all-star team list:

ALL-DISTRICT 2

Coach of the Year

Carrie Toomey, Dunmore

Player of the Year

Ciera Toomey, Dunmore senior

First Team

Kallie Booth, Pittston Area senior

Mackenzie Perluke, Wyoming Valley West junior

Daniella Ranieli, Pittston Area sophomore

Ella Smith, Wallenpaupack sophomore

Sophia Talutto, Dunmore sophomore