Lackawanna Trail’s Cloe Van Fleet (21), Gretchen Rejrat (4) and Samantha Duffy (13) celebrate at the final buzzer of a one-point win at Lakeland Opening Night.
Ben Magnotta | Abington Journal
Mackenzie Schirg scored late game-winning baskets Friday and Monday nights to lead Lackawanna Trail to non-league road wins over Lackawanna League Division 3 opponents in each of the Lady Lions’ first two games.
Lackawanna Trail 37, Lakeland 36
Schirg, Gretchen Rejrat and Ella Axtell gave Lackawanna Trail a strong inside game, allowing the Lady Lions to overcome six 3-pointers and 25 points by Alexia Bauer in the Nov. 2 opener at Lakeland.
Rejrat had 13 points, eight rebounds and six steals in the win.
Axtell grabbed 12 rebounds while Schirg had 10.
Schirg scored on a layup off an in-bounds play from the under the basket with 49 seconds left for the game’s final points.
Lackawanna Trail outscored Lakeland, 15-6, over the game’s final 10 minutes with the Lady Chiefs getting their only point on the last two Bauer 3-pointers.
Axtell and Rejrat scored baskets and Samantha Duffy added a free throw, giving the Lady Lions the last five points of the third quarter to get within, 30-27.
All six of Axtell’s points came in the 15-6 closing run. She scored again to open the fourth quarter before Bauer hit to put Lakeland back up by four.
Rejrat scored and Axtell converted a rebound to force a tie. Rejrat’s drive briefly put the Lady Lions in front.
Bauer then hit her last 3-pointer to gave Lakeland a 36-35 edge with 2:39 left.
The Lady Chiefs did not score again.
Schirg, who finished with eight points, then scored the game-winner.
Lackawanna Trail 38, Mid Valley 35
Schirg scored 24 points, including the basket that broke a tie and put the Lady Lions in front, 37-35, with 41 seconds left.
Lackawanna Trail then proceeded to miss seven straight free throws, but Schirg and Rejrat each rebounded misses, limiting Mid Valley’s late chances.
Duffy finally hit the second of two chances with 2.8 seconds left and Mid Valley’s last chance for a tie, from beyond midcourt, was well off the mark.
Nadia Toth scored all six of her points in the third quarter as the Lady Lions turned a seven-point deficit into an eight-point lead before the Spartanettes made their own late rally to force a tie.
The 2-0 mark against Division 3 teams already surpasses last season’s 1-3 effort.
Season outlook
Schirg, Rejrat and Toth all have starting experience from last season’s team, which had a .500 regular season.
The Lady Lions placed third in Lackawanna Division 4 at 7-5 and wound up 11-12 overall.
Duffy and Cloe Van Fleet also have significant experience.
Lackawanna Trail is among the top threats to prohibitive favorite Montrose, which went unbeaten in the division each of the past two seasons and returns much of its lineup.
