H.S. Girls Basketball: Dallas escapes with close win against Pittston Area

Feb. 2—DALLAS TWP. — Four times Pittston Area had the score at a one-possession game in the final four minutes.

And all four times Dallas managed to hang on despite an incredible effort from Pittston Area standout Daniella Ranieli.

Ranieli scored a season-high 31 points, but Dallas came up big when needed for a 46-43 Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 girls basketball victory.

"There is no secret with Daniella," Pittston Area coach Jeff Gregory said of the Times Leader Player of the Year last season. "When she gets it going, she can score in bunches. Obviously, as Daniella goes, we go."

The victory was huge for Dallas (10-2 Div. 1, 15-5 overall) as it remained tied with Crestwood for second place and a game behind first-place Hazleton Area. The top-two teams advance to the WVC Championships scheduled for Feb. 13-17. The Mountaineers are also trying to secure at least fourth place in the District 2 Class 5A standings, which would mean a home game. They were fourth coming in.

"They hung in there," Dallas coach Vince Bucciarelli said. "He does a good job with those girls in Pittston. If you don't do your homework against Gregory, you're in trouble. I was just happy how my girls hung in there and we came out with a win."

Dallas led 39-28 early in the fourth quarter when Ranieli hit a 3-pointer followed by a drive. Pittston Area (4-8 Div. 1, 11-9) moved within three points three times and two points once, only for Dallas to handle the situations.

Blocks of 3-pointers by Molly Walsh and Elizabeth Viglone, the latter coming with 31 seconds left, prevented Pittston Area from tying. An offensive rebound by Brianna Casey led to her making two free throws to bump Dallas' lead to 43-38 with 2:11 left.

Pittston Area had one more crack at tying it after a Casey sank a free throw with 13 seconds left, but Ranieli's hurried 3-pointer from NBA length just missed the mark.

"There were a couple times in the game they could have packed it in," said Gregory, whose team lost to Dallas 51-47 in overtime on Jan. 11. "Right down to the end, we got it down to one possession and we just couldn't catch them. But I thought it was a great effort."

Pittston Area led once after the game's opening basket. Dallas looked like it was about to pull away with a 9-3 run to start the third to increase its lead to 32-20 midway through the period. The Mountaineers had to settle for a 37-28 lead entering the fourth as Viglone answered a 3-pointer by Ranieli with one of her own.

Dallas 46, Pittston Area 43

PITTSTON AREA (43) — Daniella Ranieli 10 6-7 31, Maddie Karp 2 0-0 4, Rowan Lazevnick 0 0-0 0, Lili Hintze 0 0-0 0, Ella O'Brien 0 0-0 0, Grace Callahan 2 0-0 4, Kate Chernouskas 2 0-0 4, Giuliana Latona 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 6-7 43.

DALLAS (46) — Caitlyn Mizzer 0 2-2 2, Mia DelGaudio 4 0-0 10, Brianna Casey 4 5-6 13, Elizabeth Viglone 3 4-4 10, Molly Walsh 4 2-2 11, Lyla Wydra 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 13-14 46.

Pittston Area'10'7'11'15 — 43

Dallas'14'9'14'9 — 46

Three-point goals — PA 5 (Ranieli 5). DAL 3 (DelGaudio 2, Walsh).