COVINGTON TWP. – Everything Dunmore freshman center Ciera Toomey did Saturday afternoon, sophomore guard and teammate Moriah Murray did just a little better.
Considering that Toomey made six of her first eight shots and finished up a 21-point effort with six points in the last 1:05 of the third quarter before sitting down for the rest of the day, that was bad news for Wyoming Seminary.
Murray made seven of her first eight shots, scored 22 points and was done even before the third quarter ended as the Lady Bucks hammered the Blue Knights, 60-27, in a District 2 Class 3A girls basketball semifinal.
“She’s a special player,” Dunmore coach Ben O’Brien said of Murray. “She scores, she rebounds, she plays defense, she makes assists.
“She does it all. Whatever we need at this point, she can do it. She’s just terrific.”
Murray, a first-team, all-stater in Dunmore’s 29-1 and state runner-up finish last season, scored 10 points in each of the first two quarters while also contributing five rebounds and five assists.
The Lady Bucks are much younger than the veteran 2018-19 team that beat Holy Redeemer in a championship game for the second straight season, but they have been nearly as impressive in making it back for the fourth straight meeting between the two teams. They have lost just once this season, to unbeaten Scranton Prep.
Holy Redeemer, which won the district Class 3A title in 2017, the first year of six classifications in PIAA basketball, set up the latest rematch by taking the same court and beating Riverside, 78-65, in the second game of the doubleheader at North Pocono High School.
A patient first offensive set for Wyoming Seminary worked Ava Bufalino free for a layup and 2-2 tie 58 seconds into the game.
The Blue Knights did not score for the rest of the first quarter while Murray provided all but one of the points in an 11-point streak to a 13-2 lead after one quarter.
When it became clear that Wyoming Seminary would like to take its time offensively, Dunmore extended its defense, leading to a faster pace, and eight forced turnovers in the second quarter.
The one area Wyoming Seminary was able to match Dunmore was on the boards, where the teams came out even.
Ally Vezendy scored twice off rebounds and Alex Wesneski once during the second quarter, but Murray and Toomey did all the scoring in a 16-2 run to end the half with Dunmore up 34-10.
“Wyoming Seminary’s a tough, athletic, aggressive team,” O’Brien said. “ … Our players responded and played really well.”
Vezendy and Wesneski finished with nine points each for the Blue Knights, who closed their season at 15-8. Wesneski led the team with five rebounds and two steals.
District 2 Class 3A Semifinals
Dunmore 60, Wyoming Seminary 27
WYOMING SEMINARY (27) — Ava Bufalino 2 2-2 6, Alex Wesneski 2 1-2 5, Margaret Mihalick 1 0-0 3, Ally Vezendy 2 5-6 9, Kate Getz 0 0-0 0, Maddie Olshemski 1 2-2 4, Abby McDonald 0 0-0 0, Rita Duelt 0 0-0 0, Grace Bello 0 0-0 0, Jenny Yao 0-0 0, Tiang Yao 0 0-0 0, Cat Ziegler 0 0-0 0, Bekah Kornfeld 0 0-0 0. Totals 8 10-12 27.
DUNMORE (60) — Moriah Murray 7 5-5 22, Elisa Delfino 3 0-0 8, Mia Blume 2 0-0 5, Ciera Toomey 8 4-6 21, Alexis Chapman 1 0-0 2, Anna Talutto 1 0-0 2, Cadence Lewis 0 0-0 0, Nora Haggerty 0 0-0 0, Sophia Mandarano 0 0-0 0, Adriana Pacewicz 0 0-0 0, Molly Zimmer 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 9-11 60.
Wyoming Seminary`2`8`12`5 —27
Dunmore`13`21`18`8 — 60
3-point field goals — SEM 1 (Mihalick); DUN 7 (Murray 3, Delfino 2, Blume, Toomey).
