Olivia Ciullo scored 26 points and Old Forge shut out visiting Holy Cross for the final 9:14 Thursday night to open the Lackawanna League Division 3 girls basketball season with a 47-41 victory.
Holy Cross was ahead by eight in the third quarter until Old Forge scored the last 14 points in the rematch of last season’s District 2 Class 2A championship game.
Old Forge used that district championship game win to advance to the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association state tournament where it reached the quarterfinal round before the tournament was shut down for the coronavirus.
Ciullo picked up where she left off. The third-team, all-state selection scored 35 points in a second-round state tournament win over Steelton-Highspire in what became the final game of the 2019-20 season.
The win over an experienced Holy Cross team gets Old Forge started in the right direction in a season that could again result in the Lady Devils being a district and state contender in Class 2A.
Ciullo had half of Old Forge’s 12 points in the fourth quarter.
Makayla Parker hit the go-ahead free throws, making both ends of a one-and-one with 1:06 remaining.
Parker, Ciullo, Angelina Rios and Brooke Arnold were all 2-for-2 in the fourth quarter when Old Forge made all eight of its free throws to complete its comeback.
The game marked the return of retired coach Tom Gatto, who is leading the team on an interim basis while coach Ron Stacchiotti undergoes cancer treatments.
Kaci Kranson led Holy Cross with 21 points.
