H.S. Girls Basketball: Kallie Booth leads Pittston Area to D2-5A championship

WILKES-BARRE TWP. — Abington Heights looked like it might need to start counting on another hand. Each finger representing the Wyoming Valley Conference opponents the Comets defeated for its District 2 Class 5A girls basketball championships.

Then Pittston Area senior guard Kallie Booth took over and Abington’s streak against WVC on the Mohegan Sun Arena hardwood ended Saturday night.

Booth scored all 12 of Pittston Area’s points in the fourth quarter as the Patriots rallied for a 36-32 victory to win their second District 2 championship in the program’s history. The other came in 2015.

Booth finished with a game-high 21 points and completed her double-double with her 10th rebound in the final seconds.

“Oh my goodness,” Booth said. “I felt like I had an out-of-body experience in the fourth quarter. I was just here last year and been playing my butt off this whole entire game. I’m not letting this slip away from me again. I don’t know.

“I just turned my mind off and played, and I’m so happy I did because we probably wouldn’t have the outcome that we did.”

Pittston Area coach Jeff Gregory said he hadn’t had a player singlehandedly take over a game like Booth did in the final eight minutes.

“Maybe at Prep,” said Gregory, who was an assistant at Scranton Prep for five years before becoming Pittston Area’s coach in 2020, “but not at Pittston Area. That’s a senior that didn’t have the greatest night here last year and came back and had something to prove to herself and her team.

“She took the game over and won the game.”

Pittston Area (24-2) will play the District 12 fourth seed in the state playoffs. Abington (17-8) will play the D12 third seed. Both games will be on Saturday.

Abington had won five of the last six D2-5A championships, including a win over Pittston Area in last year’s championship game. Booth and the Patriots as a whole didn’t play well in that game. All five titles came against WVC opponents.

For three quarters, both teams struggled to produce any consistent offense. Still, Abington managed to take a 27-22 late in the third period despite shooting 11 of 43 entering the fourth.

Daniella Ranieli’s baseline drive to end the third moved Pittston Area within 27-24. Abington bumped its lead to 29-24 when Kate Scoblick banked in a jumper to start the fourth. The Comets’ shooting woes, though, came back thanks to Pittston Area’s strong defense.

Then Booth struck. She nailed a pair of 3-pointers, the first after Pittston Area battled to get three shots off in the sequence. Then came a drive and a free throw to make it 33-29 with 1:53 to play. Abington’s Maggie Coleman canned a 3-pointer with 1:08 to move the Comets within one.

Two factors were then critical. Booth hit three free throws in the final 44.3 seconds. Pittston Area also had fouls to give before putting Abington on the line. So the Patriots could work clock while on defense and foul before an Abington shot with no consequences.

Abington’s Madison Zalewski opened the game with a 3-pointer and the Comets then proceeded to miss their next 11 shots. Pittston Area was able to grab a 7-5 lead on two free throws by Ranieli at the 1:09 mark.

District 2 Class 5A Championship

Pittston Area 36, Abington Heights 32

ABINGTON HEIGHTS (32) — Zalewski 5 0-0 13, Murray 0 0-0 0, Walsh 0 0-0 0, Scoblick 1 0-0 2, Coleman 3 0-0 8, Notari 1 0-0 2, Houlihan 3 1-3 7. Totals 13 1-3 32.

PITTSTON AREA (36) — Ranieli 3 2-2 8, Booth 6 5-9 21, Karp 1 1-2 3, A.Callahan 1 0-0 3, Baiera 0 1-2 1, Lazevnick 0 0-0 0, G.Callahan 0 0-0 0. Totals 11 9-15 36.

Abington Heights`10`13`4`5 — 32

Pittston Area`9`8`7`12 — 36

Three-point goals — AH 5 (Zalewski 3, Coleman 2). PA 5 (Booth 4, A.Callahan 1).