YATESVILLE — Kallie Booth scored 20 points and Daniella Ranieli added 16 Saturday night as Pittston Area won a battle of 3-point shooting against visiting Scranton, 49-42, in a Class 5A girls basketball playoff game.
The victory clinched spots in the District 2 championship game and the PIAA state tournament for the Patriots.
Each team made seven 3-pointers with the Patriots hitting half their 14 attempts and the Knights needing just two more tries.
Pittston Area’s advantage at the foul line, however, made the difference on a night when Scranton scored more points from the floor.
Once in front — 42-33 through three quarters — Pittston Area slowed the pace and had just four more field goal attempts – all misses. The Patriots secured the win by going 7-for-10 from the line in the fourth, including 5-for-6 by Booth.
Pittston Area was 14-for-18 on free throws while Scranton was just 3-for-6.
Finley Bittenbender went 4-for-5 from long distance while leading Scranton with 16 points.
“We were definitely concerned with their shooting,” Pittston Area coach Jeff Gregory said. “We did the best we could to get hands up on them, but they came out hot. So, we were trying to guard the perimeter the best we could and after that hot start, we slowed them down a little bit.”
Bittenbender hit a 3-pointer with one second left in the first quarter for a 13-13 tie.
The game remained tight in the second quarter before Pittston Area barely beat the halftime buzzer with a 14-footer from the left side for a 23-22 lead.
Pittston Area never let that lead get away.
Ranieli opened the second half with a 3-pointer at the end of a 38-second possession, then penetrated off the press-break to hit Taylor Baiera for a layup and 28-22 lead.
Booth’s 3-pointer with four seconds left in the third, then 1-for-2 foul shooting once each from Ranieli and Karp made it 44-33 before Scranton closed the gap in the last five minutes.
Kennedy Bittenbender’s steal and layup pulled the Knights within 44-39 with 1:08 left, but Booth went 5-for-6 in the final 52.1 seconds.
Pittston Area, the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 champion, improved to 23-2 going into the March 4 final against defending champion Abington Heights at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza at 6 p.m.
District 2 Class 5A semifinals
Pittston Area 49, Scranton 42
SCRANTON (42) – Lanee Olson 2 1-1 6, Finley Bittenbender 6 0-0 16, Kamryn Alers 3 2-3 9, Maggie O’Shea 2 0-0 5, Canyah Randle 1 0-0 2, Zaliyah Small 1 0-2 2, Madelyn O’Shea 0 0-0 0, Kennedy Bittenbender 1 0-0 2, Aniyah Hebron 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 3-4 42.
PITTSTON AREA (49) – Daniella Ranieli 4 6-8 16, Kallie Booth 5 7-8 20, Maddie Karp 1 1-2 3, Ava Callahan 1 0-0 3, Taylor Baiera 2 0-0 4, Rowan Lazevnick 1 0-0 3, Grace Callahan 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 14-18 49.
Scranton`13`9`11`9 — 42
Pittston Area`13`10`19`7 — 49
Three-point goals – SCR 7 (F.Bittenbender 4, Olson, Alers, Mag.O’Shea), PIT 7 (Booth 3, Ranieli 2, A.Callahan, Lazevnick).
