Scranton Prep’s Chloe Mamera shoots over Abington Heights’ Sydney Pallman during the basketball game at Abington Heights High School on Friday, Feb. 06, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Abington Heights’ Lily Scoblick shoots during the basketball game against Scranton Prep at Abington Heights High School on Friday, Feb. 06, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Abington Heights’ Emma Coleman goes up for a shot against Scranton Prep during the basketball game at Abington Heights High School on Friday, Feb. 06, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Abington Heights’ Sydney Pallman defends Scranton Prep’s Kamyl Lynady during the basketball game at Abington Heights High School on Friday, Feb. 06, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep’s McKenna Toolan catches a pass during the basketball game at Abington Heights High School on Friday, Feb. 06, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Abington Heights’ Sarah Cantner gies up for a basket during the basketball game against Scranton Prep at Abington Heights High School on Friday, Feb. 06, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep’s Chloe Mamera shoots a free throw during the basketball game at Abington Heights High School on Friday, Feb. 06, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Abington Heights’ Abby Schneider controls the ball during the basketball game against Scranton Prep at Abington Heights High School on Friday, Feb. 06, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep’s Kamyl Lynady takes a free throw during the basketball game at Abington Heights High School on Friday, Feb. 06, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep’s Eva Kaszuba defends Abington Heights’ Emma Coleman during the basketball game at Abington Heights High School on Friday, Feb. 06, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Abington Heights head coach Deanna Klingman talks to her players during the basketball game against Scranton Prep at Abington Heights High School on Friday, Feb. 06, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep’s Bob Beviglia talks to his players during the basketball game at Abington Heights High School on Friday, Feb. 06, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Abington Heights’ head coach Deanna Klingman watches the action during the basketball game against Scranton Prep at Abington Heights High School on Friday, Feb. 06, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Abington Heights student section cheers on their team during the basketball game against Scranton Prep at Abington Heights High School on Friday, Feb. 06, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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Scranton Prep’s Chloe Mamera shoots over Abington Heights’ Sydney Pallman during the basketball game at Abington Heights High School on Friday, Feb. 06, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
SOUTH ABINGTON TWP. — Within a seven-day span, the Scranton Prep girls basketball team had to play the other four contenders in Lackawanna Division I.
After winning the first three of those games, Ava Fenton made sure the Classics completed a perfect run through that gauntlet.
The junior guard totaled 19 points, six rebounds, two assists and five steals Friday night as top-ranked Scranton Prep downed host and No. 4 Abington Heights, 46-34.
“She played great. She really showed up for us,” sophomore Chloe Mamera said of her teammate. “Offensively, I wasn’t too effective in the first half and Ava came out with three big layups in the beginning. She was great. She was our anchor today.”
Mamera finished with 16 points — 10 of which came in the second half — and eight rebounds for the Classics (10-2 league, 15-5 overall), who won their ninth straight and remained tied for first place in the division with North Pocono with two games to play. The Lady Trojans beat West Scranton on Friday, 49-24.
Sarah Cantner led Abington Heights (8-4, 13-7) with nine points. Emma Coleman followed with eight points.
Scranton Prep beat North Pocono, 52-37 on Jan. 30; Scranton on Feb. 1, 46-38; and Valley View on Feb. 3, 66-52.
On Friday, the Classics took a 14-12 lead after one quarter with Fenton hitting her first five shots, all on drives to the basket, to account for 10 of the points. She also had two of her steals in the quarter.
“I knew going in I had to have a tough mentality because if we won this game we’d stay tied for the league championship. We want to keep that streak going,” Fenton said. “Playing tough is just something I’ve always done. Defense is something I always take pride in and I always want to make sure I get steals and tips. Offense it was clicking so I just kept shooting.”
Abington Heights coach Deanna Klingman said Fenton did a good job of attacking the basket.
“I thought she played well, especially in the first half,” Klingman said. “We had trouble keeping her in front of us.”
Coach Bob Beviglia said there is no question that Fenton is the team’s leader.
“She is very cerebral, great basketball IQ,” Beviglia said. “The thing that she did tonight was make plays for us offensively. I’ve been trying to coax her a little bit into doing that because everybody focuses on 32 (Mamera) and rightfully so. But Ava did a great job tonight taking some of the heat off when we really didn’t have a lot of other options offensively. And defensively, she gets seven, eight, nine deflections a night. Just a great kid and the unquestioned leader.”
It was still a two-point margin in Scranton Prep’s favor at halftime, 20-18. But in the third quarter, the offensive woes that plagued Abington Heights in its loss Tuesday to North Pocono, when it scored only five points in the second half, resurfaced Friday.
Between Judy Riff’s 3-pointer with 1:50 left in the second quarter and a rebound-and-basket by Sydney Pallman with 6:16 remaining in the fourth quarter — a span of 11:34 — the Lady Comets had just two points on a steal-and-layup by Abby Schneider with 3:21 to go in the third quarter.
That enabled Scranton Prep to pull away.
“We started off (the third quarter) turning them over (twice), got two layups and missed them both. They’re the things you’ve got to put in the basket early in the third quarter,” Klingman said. “We made some key turnovers in the third quarter, too.
“Scranton Prep games are always a battle. We expected a battle and that’s what we got. We just needed to be a little sharper taking care of the ball and offensively people being aggressive shooting the ball.”
Fenton sandwiched a 3-pointer and a basket around a drive by Eva Kaszuba. Mamera then rebounded a rare Fenton miss, scored, was fouled and completed the three-point play. She added another foul shot moments later to give the Classics a 31-20 lead after three quarters.
To open the fourth, Fenton converted a steal into a layup, then fed Mamera for a basket. After Mamera had a putback, Fenton set up Kaszuba for a score to extend the Scranton Prep lead to 39-22 with 5:35 to play.
“We’ve had four big wins in a row,” Mamera said. “It was a tough week, but we made it through. Definitely a lot of hard work this week, but we’re excited for what’s next.”
Heading into the final week of the season, Scranton Prep hosts West Scranton on Tuesday and visits Wallenpaupack on Thursday. North Pocono entertains Wallenpaupack on Tuesday, then heads to Delaware Valley on Thursday. If the teams wind up tied, they will meet in a playoff to determine the title. The Classics are seeking their ninth consecutive division crown.
“There wasn’t one person outside of our gym after we lost to Valley View who thought we were going to handle this,” Beviglia said. “To their credit, the kids really believed. They worked hard every day, trying to get better. They’ve created an identity for themselves, which is tremendously important in high school basketball. They believed. They don’t look at any challenge as being insurmountable. They know that if we hold hands and work together, we have a shot, especially if we play smart.”