Hazleton Area Wins 6A Girls District 2 Title
By: John Kotsko | Sportzwire | March 1, 2025 | Photo courtesy Justin Focus Photography
Late in the fourth quarter, Scranton pushed Hazleton Area’s lead down to six. The Lady Cougars ended up pulling away to win the District 2 6A Girls Basketball Championship 62-47 over Scranton. Kaitlyn Bindas had a team high 18 points and Sophia Benyo added 14. “We took the press off with 5 minutes to go and we did very good.” Said Hazleton Area head coach Joe Gavio of the change he made on defense.
It was a back and forth first quarter until the Lady Cougars went on a 7-0 run after a Rhylee Bell three gave the Lady Knights the 9-8 lead and Hazleton Area led 14-9 after one. Sophia Shults got a basket to start the second quarter then Kaitlyn Bindas hit back to back baskets to make it 20-9. Hazleton Area built up a 35-21 lead at halftime.
The Lady Cougars got the lead up as high as 17 when Bindas hit a three pointer. However Chrissy Jacklinski hit back to back threes to cut the lead down to 9. A 6-0 run by Hazleton Area made it a 15 point game. A Madelyn O’Shea three pointer cut the lead down to 48-36 at the end of the third quarter.
After both teams traded 2 baskets each. The Lady Knights got a three point play by Catherine Hill then a three pointer by Eyinah Smith to cut the lead down to six. The Lady Cougars pulled away on a 10-1 run to end the game as Hazleton Area stayed undefeated with a 62-47 victory over Scranton to win the District 2 6A Girls Title. For Scranton, Chrissy Jacklinski scored a game high 22 points and Maggie O’Shea added six points.
Hazleton Area 62 Scranton 47
Scranton
Chrissy Jacklinski 22
Maggie O’Shea 6
Jaelyn Alers 3
Rhylee Bell 5
Madelyn O’Shea 5
Catherine Hill 3
Eyinah Smith 3
Hazleton Area
Sophia Benyo 14
Kaitlyn Bindas 18
Sophia Shults 12
Mariah Marolo 3
Olivia Williams 5
Alexis Reimold 6
Kayla Lagowy 4
