The Wyoming Valley Conference had seven teams play last weekend in the PIAA state basketball playoffs. Only three made it out of the first round.
And in the case of the Holy Redeemer boys, they barely escaped with a win. The Lake-Lehman and Pittston Area girls had an easier time. Rest assured, that probably won’t be the case in the second round as all three face tough opponents.
Lehman plays Tuesday, weather permitting. Redeemer and Pittston Area hit the court on Wednesday. Any weather-related postponements will be posted on timesleader.com as soon as possible.
Tickets are $8 — plus, of course, a processing fee — and are only available at the link at the top of the piaa.org homepage.
Three Lackawanna League teams will be playing locally.
On Tuesday, Montrose and Marian Catholic play in a Class 2A girls game at 7 p.m. at Holy Redeemer. Also Tuesday, Abington Heights and Pocono Mountain West play in a Class 5A boys game at 7 p.m. at Hazleton Area.
On Wednesday, Holy Cross and Muncy play in a Class 2A boys game at 7 p.m. at Hazleton Area.
Here is a look at the three games involving WVC teams.
Lake-Lehman (24-5) vs. Columbia (24-4)
PIAA 3A Girls Second Round
7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Martz Hall, Pottsville
What’s At Stake: The winner plays the District 2 champion Dunmore (23-3) vs. District 12 champion Imhotep Charter (16-10) winner in the quarterfinals on Friday.
About The Game: District 2 third seed Lake-Lehman and District 3 runner-up Columbia are similar in that the five starters play just about every minute. They are also similar in another way. Neither had issues getting out of the first round.
Columbia loves to press on defense and it pressed District 2 runner-up Loyalsock into numerous turnovers in a 55-33 first-round victory. Guard Kailee Soto is the catalyst of the relentless defense. She also a force on the other end of the court as a 3-point shooter.
The Crimson Tide also has a pair of 1,000-point scorers in the lineup — sisters Brie and Brook Droege.
Lehman’s season ended in the second round last year. The Black Knights return their entire starting lineup intact from that game. Lia Keefe, Hailey Kline, Brenna Hunt and Ella Wilson are all capable ballhandlers who can beat the pressure. Molly Jenkins, the other starter, is more of a traditional inside player.
Hunt scored 23 points in a 63-35 rout of District 11 champ Pen Argyl in the first round. Wilson had 12 and Kline added 11. The offense has been balanced and makes it difficult to key on one player.
Pittston Area (25-2) vs. Bishop Shanahan (23-5)
PIAA 5A Girls Second Round
7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Martz Hall, Pottsville
What’s At Stake: The winner plays the District 1 runner-up Villa Maria Academy (24-4) vs. District 12 champion Archbishop Wood (21-5) winner in the quarterfinals on Saturday.
About The Game: Neither team had trouble getting out of the first round.
District 1 third seed Bishop Shanahan routed District 11 runner-up Bangor 68-36. Bangor knocked Pittston Area out of states last year. The Eagles used a 26-point second quarter to take control.
Senior Alyssa Brown and junior Sami Blumenthal were selected to the Ches-Mont League first-team all-stars. Faith Ambrose and Alexa Bojko were second-team picks. Brown is 5-foot-7 and Blumenthal is 5-10. Both do a lot of work inside. Ambrose is a perimeter shooter and a strong defender.
Two of Shanahan’s losses were to Villa Maria Academy.
District 2 champion Pittston Area rolled District 12 fourth seed Samuel Fels 51-18. Kallie Booth had 18 points and Daniella Ranieli had 15. Obviously, things will be tougher than against Fels, which is from the Philadelphia Public League. PPL girls teams rarely perform well in states.
The other three starters — Taylor Baiera, Ava Callahan and Maddie Karp — will need to play tough inside defense against Brown and Blumenthal.
Holy Redeemer (26-2) vs. West Catholic (16-10)
PIAA 3A Boys Second Round
7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Bethlehem Liberty H.S.
What’s At Stake: The winner plays the District 4 runner-up North Penn-Mansfield (25-3) vs. District 11 champion Executive Education (21-4) winner in the quarterfinals on Saturday.
About The Game: Both teams saw their seasons end last year at the hands of eventual state champion Devon Prep. District 12 champion West Catholic lost in the quarterfinals and District 2 champion Holy Redeemer in the semifinals.
Ignore West Catholic’s record. The Burrs play an extremely tough schedule which included two losses to perennial state power Neumann-Goretti.
West Catholic has more size than any team Redeemer has played this season. Temple commit Zion Stanford is a 6-foot-5 senior and averages 17.6 points. MJ Banker, another 6-5 senior, averages 11.8 points. The Burrs also have a pair of 6-6 sophomores who come off the bench. Senior Budd Clark, a 5-10 Coppin State commit, leads the team with a 20-point average. The Burrs don’t shoot many 3-pointers.
While West Catholic steamrolled D3 third seed Columbia 79-43 in the first round, Redeemer was locked in a battle with D12 fourth seed SLA Beeber before prevailing 74-71.
The Royals had issues keeping the smaller but extremely quick Beeber team off the boards, something that could be more difficult with the taller Burrs. They really didn’t click on offense until midway through the third quarter behind the guard trio of Jacob Hunter, Zach Perta and Darryl Wright. That group will also be at a height disadvantage.