WILKES-BARRE – The bulk of the participants in this season’s District 2 basketball championships arrived at Mohegan Sun Arena Feb. 28 for Media Day in advance of the three-day series of title games.
Both Abington Heights teams were there to take part in the festivities and get a sneak peek at the site of their next game.
Deanna Klingman could just as easily have served as tour guide.
Klingman is the only head coach and the Abington Heights girls have the only program to make it to the arena in all eight seasons that the championships have been conducted there.
Hazleton Area and coach Joe Gavio had shared in those distinctions before being upset by Williamsport in this season’s District 2-4 Class 6A Subregional semifinal.
The Lady Comets, who have won six titles in seven tries, are scheduled to take on Pittston Area for the District 2 Class 5A championship March 4 at 6 p.m. Abington Heights won in the same matchup last season.
To get back to face the Wyoming Valley Conference Division champions, the Lady Comets had to clear two interesting hurdles. They beat a team led by a familiar face and avenged a regular-season loss to a championship team.
Abington Heights 46, Dallas 38
CLARKS SUMMIT – When Vince Bucciarelli took his spot in front of the visiting bench at Abington Heights, he was closer to home than he was each day this winter when he ran practices in his first season as head coach at Dallas.
Bucciarelli returned to the place where he guided teams to 592 wins and 26 championships, but even with Klingman, his assistant for six years, coaching from down the sideline, he did his best to make the game about the task at hand.
“It wasn’t about me,” Bucciarelli said of the district quarterfinal game. “It was about the girls.”
Klingman offered sentiments.
“He’s got a whole new program,” she said. “I didn’t make it about us.”
As they often do, the Lady Comets made it about defense.
Abington Heights held Dallas scoreless in the second quarter. In all, the Lady Comets went 9:08 without allowing a point and 12:09 without giving up a field goal.
“Defensively, I was really happy,” Klingman said.
Peyton Houlihan led the way with 13 points and 14 rebounds. Caroline Murray also scored 13 points.
Abington Heights put together a 22-2 run to a 27-9 lead early in the third quarter. That lead grew to 33-13.
“You can’t play a team like Abington and score nothing in the second quarter,” said Bucciarelli, who had coached at Abington Heights last season, but that was while serving as an assistant coach at Scranton Prep.
Abington Heights 35, Wallenpaupack 27
Maggie Coleman scored 14 points when third-seeded Abington Heights went to second-seeded Wallenpaupack and beat the Lackawanna League Division 2 champions.
The Lady Comets held the Lady Comets to one second-half field goal to protect a 24-19 lead.
Each team hit just one field goal in the third quarter.
Madison Zalewski made a 3-pointer and Houlihan also had three points in the fourth quarter when Wallenpaupack’s only four points came from the foul line.
Regular season
Abington Heights went 9-4 in the Lackawanna League to finish second out of five teams in Division 1.
The Lady Comets went 3-1 in February regular-season games, holding the three teams they defeated to an average of 27 points, but lost 45-29 in their trip to Wallenpaupack.
Award winners
The Lady Comets won the Don Klee Sportsmanship Award from the league’s chapter of officials for the third time in eight years.
