Mt. View, Lady Sabers open league play with wins

The New Years holiday and the deep freeze that plagued the region Thursday and Friday limited high school basketball action as many Lackawanna League Division IV games were postponed to the upcoming weeks.
However, Mountain View girls opened league play with their third win of the season by defeating Elk Lake 37-22 as Erika Freely and Sydney Newhart led the way with 14 points each.
The Lady Warriors jumped out to 13-6 lead after the opening quarter but could only muster nine points the rest of the afternoon. Tamara Voda paced Elk Lake with nine points.
Newhart was making her season debut for the Lady Eagles after missing the first eight games with injury.
“She gives us an inside presence,” said Mountain View Coach Ashley Kilmer. “We certainly missed her early on.”
Monday’s warm up (Jan. 8) coincided with more action on the hardwood for the girls teams, and the heat was on in Montrose with a rematch of the Reddon-Hoffman Christmas Tournament final between the Lady Meteors and Susquehanna.
Taylor Huyck scored 13 points, snared 8 rebounds, and recorded 5 steals to lead Susquehanna to the 43-39 victory. Montrose jumped out to 8-4 lead after the first quarter, but Susquehanna outscored Montrose over the middle quarters 26-16 to regain the lead and withstood a Montrose rally in the back and forth fourth quarter.
Mackenzie Steele patrolled the lane with 10 rebounds and 7 blocked shots.
Montrose was paced by Harper Andre and Annalise Ely with nine points. Ely was making her season debut after a foot injury kept her out of preseason action.
“We’re struggling shooting the ball right now,” said Susquehanna Coach Errol Mannick. “But we made free throws when we needed to tonight.”
Mannick also praised the intensity of the game and stressed its importance to the division.
“It was a great, hard played game,” said Mannick. “It’s good to get a win against one of the best teams in the league.”
Montrose Coach Todd Smith saw it as another stepping stone for his team, but also acknowledged the heartbreak of the loss. Instead of being close in one quarter of the game, his Lady Meteors were there with a shot down the stretch.
“We had an opportunity,” said Smith. “Tie game with the ball, and we don’t execute coming out of a timeout. But we’re getting there.”
“But I like where we are going. Proud of our defense and they are starting to understand what we want on the offensive end of the floor,” added Smith. “Post players are screening well and we are getting them the ball when they need it.
Mountain View garnered its second win of the half defeating Lackawanna Trail 56-47. Freely scored 8 of her game-high 21 points in the fourth quarter when the Lady Eagles erased a two-point deficit going into the final stanza to earn the win. Newhart added nine points for the victors. Trail was paced by Lexie Kwiatkowski with 15 points and Allison Decker with 10.
Elk Lake got on the winning track defeating Blue Ridge 60-31. Voda and Abby Johns led the way with 17 points each. Eliza Bosscher chipped in with 10.
Danielle Goff paced Blue Ridge with 10 points.
In non-league action Saturday, Susquehanna ventured down to Nanticoke to face the highly regarded Lady Trojans. Amiah Lukowski scored 20 and Lis Radziak added 14 to lead Nanticoke past the Lady Sabers 59-23. Steele paced Susquehanna with eight points.
Boys Basketball
All of Friday’s opening games for Lackawanna League Division IV Boys were postponed to tonight or a later date. However, a couple non-league games were played.
Elk Lake’s trip to Mountain View was postponed as the Warriors had a previously scheduled game with Sayre High School on Saturday.
Rierdan Reyan led the Warriors to their fourth straight win heading into league play with 24 points as Elk Lake defeated Sayre 58-39.
Deadlocked at 12 after the first quarter, the Warriors outscored Sayre 33-11 over the middle quarters seize control of the game. Hunger Bomboy chipped in with 14 for Elk Lake.
In a game played before the New Year, Mountain View rode the confidence gained at the Forest City Rotary Holiday Tournament to crush Northeast Bradford 76-42.
Mikey Schermerhorn had a career high 27 points, including five three-pointers and Kyle Streich added 24 as the Eagles broke the game open with a 27-point second quarter. Alex Showalter added 14 points.