Abington Heights got off to an 0-2 start when it went to Hazleton Area and faced two of the Wyoming Valley Conference’s top teams during the opening weekend of the girls basketball season.
The defending District 2 Class 5A Lady Comets opened the Lady Cougar Tip-Off Tournament with host Hazleton Area, a perennial contender in Division 1 of the WVC. They then faced defending Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 and overall tournament champion Lake-Lehman and dropped another game to finish last in the four-team field.
Hazleton Area 43, Abington Heights 31
Hazleton Area built a big early lead in the Dec. 2 opener, giving it room to withstand four second-half 3-pointers by Abington Heights’ Maggie Coleman.
Coleman finished with five 3-pointers and a game-high 17 points.
Abington Heights, however, was only able to manage five baskets inside the arc by the entire team.
Hazleton Area used that defensive effort to build leads of 18-8 after one quarter, 27-14 at halftime and 37-20 after three quarters.
Sophia Shults scored six of her team-high 12 points in the first quarter.
Lacie Kringe, who went on to earn tournament Most Valuable Player honors when the Lady Cougars took the title, had seven points in the first quarter and all nine of her points in the first half.
Madison Zalewski added nine points for Abington Heights.
Lake-Lehman 48, Abington Heights 27
Abington Heights led after one quarter of the Dec. 3 third-place game at Hazleton and was within one at halftime.
The Lady Comets, however, fell into a big hole when Lake-Lehman shut out an opponent in a quarter for the second time in the tournament.
The Lady Knights used the 16-0 quarter to open a 39-22 lead.
Caroline Murray led Abington Heights with eight points, all of which came while building a 16-13 lead after one quarter.
The Lady Comets managed just 11 points the rest of the way and hit just one field goal in the second half.
Season outlook
The Lady Comets graduated just two players – team leaders Anna Scoblick and Allison Dammer – from a 20-win team, but suffered a big setback in the offseason when returning starter Emily McDonald suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her knee.
Murray and Coleman are the returning starters.
Zalewski and post player Lauryn Notari were the top reserves a year ago and Abington Heights returns other players who gained some varsity experience on last season’s team which finished second to five-time Lackawanna League Division 1 champion Scranton Prep.
