Ciullo
WILKES-BARRE TOWNSHIP – Old Forge made it back to the site of its District 2 championship last season, but once there, the Lady Devils could not get back into the state tournament where they left some unfinished business a year ago.
The Lady Devils, one of eight state quarterfinalists still playing in Class 2A when the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association shut down the remainder of the state tournament, was once again impacted by issues related to the coronavirus pandemic.
Normally, the second-place district finish Old Forge produced would be good enough for a state tournament appearance, but this year’s tournament has been reduced to district champions only.
Olivia Ciullo led Old Forge back to Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza to try for another title, but Makayla Parker’s strong all-around performance at the arena was not enough to keep the team playing.
Holy Cross 59, Old Forge 38
Abbey Lentowski scored 21 points in Friday afternoon’s championship game and got plenty of help in leading the way as Holy Cross avenged a loss in last year’s district final.
Kaci Kranson added 17 points and Emily Ferguson had 15.
The final was a physical contest between teams that had split their Lackawanna League Division 3 meetings this season.
“It got a little chippy,” Holy Cross coach Barry Fitzgerald said. “There’s something about us and Old Forge.”
Although the team’s fought like bitter rivals during the game, Fitzgerald said he had a lot of respect for the Lady Devils.
“Like I said to (Olivia) Ciullo after the game, no disrespect intended, but I’m not going to miss her,” he said.
Ciullo had averaged 28.6 points over the past five games to lead the Lady Devils into the final.
With Holy Cross focusing its defensive attention on her, Parker stepped forward in many situations.
Parker finished with a team-high 17 points, along with seven rebounds, four steals and four blocked shots.
Ciullo, who went out for part of the third quarter with an injury and limped through the fourth quarter, had 13 points and eight rebounds.
Old Forge 51, Elk Lake 40
Olivia Ciullo had 16 of her 23 points in the middle two quarters when Old Forge went to Elk Lake and beat the second-seeded Lady Warriors in Monday’s semifinals.
Freshman Talia Piragas, a late-season addition to the starting lineup in place of injured Angelina Rios, added her season-high of 14 points.
Piragas had six points to help the team to a 13-10 lead after one quarter.
Ciullo helped build the advantage to 41-25 through three quarters.
