Hazleton Area’s Kayla Lagowy collides with Dallas’ Molly Walsh as she moves the ball down court in the second quarter.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Dallas’ Brianna Casey (left) and Hazleton Area’s Alexis Reimold go after a rebound in the second quarter.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Dallas’ Brianna Casey and Hazleton Area’s Alexis Reimold go after a loose ball under the Hazleton Area basket in the first quarter.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Dallas’ Caitlyn Mizzer (back) and Hazleton Area’s Alexis Reimold go for a loose ball in the second quarter.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Dallas’ Mia DelGaudio goes to the basket in the first quarter as Hazleton Area’s Kaitlyn Bindas (24) and Alexis Reimold (31) defend.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
NANTICOKE — Down 16 the other day against Hazleton Area, Dallas rallied for a win.
So that six-point deficit in the fourth quarter didn’t look so daunting to the Mountaineers in a rematch Friday night for the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 girls basketball championship.
“We were down 16 (Wednesday),” Dallas sophomore Molly Walsh said, “so we weren’t nervous. We were ready.”
Especially Walsh, who led another comeback as Dallas defeated Hazleton Area 52-47 at Nanticoke Area High School.
Hazleton Area coach Joe Gavio, always a man of many words, summed up what happened succinctly.
“Bottom line. Bottom line,” Gavio said. “Molly took over the game.”
Walsh, the WVC Division 1 scoring champion, went on a personal 9-0 run in the fourth quarter as Dallas turned a 47-41 deficit with 5:42 remaining into a 50-47 lead with 1:15 left.
First, Walsh went coast-to-coast with a rebound. Then she scored on a layup after a turnover. She added an inside basket after a Hazleton Area offensive foul before hitting a 3-pointer.
And to top off her game, Walsh grabbed a rebound after a Hazleton Area 3-point miss with 40 seconds left to finish with a double-double of 25 points and 10 boards.
“Molly is Molly,” Dallas coach Vince Bucciarelli said. “She’s getting better and better and stronger and stronger. She is so strong, a lot of teams back off on her when she takes the ball to the hole. She’s our bread and butter.”
The victory set up the field for Tuesday’s WVC Tournament semifinals at Pittston Area.
Dallas (13-2 Div. 1, 18-5 overall) will play Division 2 runner-up Lake-Lehman (9-3 Div. 2, 14-8) at 7:30 p.m. Hazleton Area (12-3 Div. 1, 19-4) will play Division 2 champion Holy Redeemer (14-0 Div. 2, 18-4) at 6 p.m. The championship game is 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 17, at Hazleton Area.
While Friday’s outcome had no effect on the District 2 power rankings, which are based solely on the regular season, it gave Dallas its first divisional title since the 2019-20 season.
“These kids are relentless,” Bucciarelli said. “They really busted their tails.”
The Mountaineers need to Friday night. Hazleton Area was controlling the boards and its press was disrupting Dallas on offense. Yet, whenever it looked like the Cougars seemed in position to open up some space the Mountaineers didn’t let them.
The first quarter, perhaps, was an omen of what was to come. Hazleton Area shot 23 times to just 10 by Dallas. The Cougars also forced nine turnovers, only to take a 10-9 lead into the second quarter.
“I was like, ‘There’s something wrong here,’ ” Gavio said. “I thought we were pretty good. We held them in check, we changed a couple things. They were having really issues. They looked tired and we look up and it’s a one-point game.”
Dallas took the lead three times in the second quarter, but Hazleton Area’s Alexis Reimold closed the half with a 3-pointer for a 26-26 tie.
Reimold and Kaitlyn Bindas opened the third quarter with baskets for a 30-26 advantage. Dallas tied the score 30-30, but Reimold scored again and the Cougars led until the Walsh-led rally in the fourth quarter.
Dallas’ Mia DelGaudio and Caitlyn Mizzer had key baskets in the third to prevent Hazleton Area from extending its lead in the third quarter. Elizabeth Viglone did the same in the fourth.
Dallas’ Division 1 championship in 2019-20 came at the expense of Hazleton Area. The two teams finished tied for first and Dallas won a special playoff game 55-47.
WVC Division 1 Championship
Dallas 52, Hazleton Area 47
DALLAS (52) — Caitlyn Mizzer 1 2-4 5, Mia DelGaudio 1 1-2 5, Elizabeth Viglone 4 0-0 10, Molly Walsh 10 2-3 25, Brianna Casey 1 2-4 5, Lyla Wydra 1 0-0 2. Totals 19 7-13 52.
HAZLETON AREA (47) — Sophia Benyo 5 0-2 10, Kaitlyn Bindas 2 0-0 5, Kayla Lagowy 2 0-0 4, Alexis Reimold 6 0-0 13, Sophia Schults 6 0-0 13, Olivia Williams 1 0-0 2, Evelyn Schults 0 0-0 0, Mariah Marolo 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 0-2 47.
Dallas`9`17`11`15 — 52
Hazleton Area`10`16`13`8 — 47
Three-point goals — DAL 7 (Mizzer, Casey, Viglone 2, Walsh 3). HA 2 (Bindas, Reimold, S.Schults).
