WILKES-BARRE TWP. – The Old Forge girls basketball team had already beaten Holy Cross twice in Lackawanna League Division 3 games this season.
But those games did not carry the same significance as Friday’s rematch for the District 2 Class 2A championship.
“It was circled on the calendar since last year,” Old Forge coach Ron Stachiotti said after his Lady Devils pounded Holy Cross, 55-33, at the Mohegan Sun Arena in the same game and same setting as a loss a year ago. “Believe me, these girls wanted it.”
It showed.
Maria Garcia came out firing on offense to get Old Forge in front, then Olivia Ciullo and Lindsey Welsh took over on both ends of the floor in the second half as the Lady Devils ran away from the Lady Crusaders.
The Old Forge defense clamped down and held Holy Cross to 1-for-17 shooting for a stretch of 14:21 that took up most of the second half.
Holy Cross was within 26-22 just 28 seconds into the third quarter when Kaci Kranson drove for a basket in transition, giving her 15 points.
Kranson managed just three more the rest of the way and, with her contained, Holy Cross went without a basket for 10:07 while Old Forge went on a 19-4 run.
Emily Ferguson paused the onslaught with a 3-pointer, but Old Forge added eight more points before allowing Holy Cross to score again with 1:21 remaining.
Ciullo led Old Forge in points with 15 and rebounds with eight, but that was just part of the story. She also took three charges in the second half.
“Coach really emphasized that he wanted me to help on defense,” Ciullo said. “So, I knew I had to step over and take a charge.
“ … We played a great game on defense.”
Welsh was masterful running an offense that committed just four turnovers in the first three quarters while building a 41-26 lead. She also played a key role defensively, harassing Kranson and leading all players with four steals.
“From last year, I was not under control at all and that was a big lesson for me,” Welsh said of the 2019 district championship game loss. “Just coming in here calm, cool and collected was the biggest thing for me.”
The senior point guard scored 10 of her 12 points in the second half. Her game-high assist total was just four, but another potential one was lost to a teammate’s blown layup and three other passes set up teammates so well that they wound up getting fouled on their shots and heading to the line.
“That’s what she does,” Stachiotti said. “She controls the whole floor for us.
“She’s smart. She knows the game.”
Before the two 1,000-point scorers took over, it was Garcia, who got Old Forge through the early stages of the game.
“She gave us the boost that we needed in the first half,” Ciullo said.
Garcia had 12 of her 13 points in the first half when she was 5-for-6, including a pair of 3-pointers from the corner.
“I was mostly looking to drive at first, but then they gave me a lot of room to shoot, so I took it and I started making them,” Garcia said.
Old Forge, which drew a quarterfinal bye as the top seed in the seven-team tournament, improved to 18-6. Four of their losses came to division champions and the other two came to rival Riverside, which won 21 games. All are larger schools.
The Lady Devils continue into the state tournament, beginning Friday.
Old Forge’s Lindsey Welsh defends Holy Cross scoring leader Kaci Kranson during Friday’s District 2 Class 2A championship game.
