As they head for the second half of the season, Back Mountain girls basketball teams appear to be on a collision course for the District 2 Class 4A playoffs.
Lake-Lehman is in title contention, tied for second place just one game behind defending champion Holy Redeemer in Division 2 of the Wyoming Valley Conference.
The Lady Knights are also second in the qualifying and seeding race for the Class 4A playoffs, which they are just about assured of being part of and currently appear most likely to face either Tunkhannock or Dallas in the first round.
Lake-Lehman is 7-1 in the WVC with the only loss coming to Hazleton Area, one of the conference’s hottest teams and a squad that the Lady Knights had beaten in a season-opening tournament. The Lady Knights (10-3) have nine games remaining, all in the conference, and still face the three teams they are battling with for the division title.
Division 2 teams play every other team in the conference and do not play each other until the last third of the WVC schedule.
Holy Redeemer is 8-0, Berwick matches Lake-Lehman at 7-1 and Nanticoke is a dangerous team at 6-2.
Lake-Lehman plays at Nanticoke Jan. 28. It hosts Berwick and Holy Redeemer Feb. 6 and 8 in the last two games of the regular season.
Being in the middle of the Division 2 race also puts Lake-Lehman in position to battle for a sport in the first year of WVC playoffs. If the four-team playoffs started today, Lake-Lehman would be the wild-card team, joining division champions Hazleton Area, Holy Redeemer and Wyoming Seminary.
Lake-Lehman has developed into a similar team to a year ago, with balanced scoring, but relying on its starting lineup for almost all of its production.
Madison Borum and Savannah Purdy are again scoring in double figures. Freshman Claire Dougherty has fit in well with a lineup of three senior starters, including Corinna Scoblick, and junior Sarah Salus.
Lake-Lehman has won three straight by an average of 23 points and has wins in eight of its last nine games.
The streak includes a 53-41 victory at rival Dallas Jan. 4.
Lake-Lehman pulled away from a 22-20 game at halftime.
Dougherty finished with 12 points and Scoblick 10 in the win.
Lauren Charlton led Dallas with nine points.
Dallas is also tied for second in its division race, but is three games back and would need Hazleton Area to falter to seriously contend in Division 1.
The Mountaineers do have two shots at the first-place Lady Cougars. They host Hazleton Area Jan. 24 and, if they can get within a game, can also make their season finale significant with a Feb. 8 game at Hazleton Area.
Dallas is 5-7 overall and eighth out of 12 teams in the Class 4A ratings race. They need to finish in the top eight to make the playoffs.
Charlton, who missed the second half of last season for shoulder surgery, is back leading the team in scoring.
Tunkhannock is 4-4, but fifth of six teams in Division 2 and still has to face the teams ranked higher in the standings. The Lady Tigers are 9-4 overall and seventh in the Class 4A playoff race.
That winning percentage is likely to be difficult to maintain. Tunkhannock is 0-2 against teams that are .500 or better and will play such teams in seven of its remaining nine games.
Abby Ritz and Rebecca Avery are leading the offense for the second straight season. Fellow senior, Annalise Verbeek has emerged as a third scoring option.
