Dunmore’s Michelle Nidoh (32) takes a shot as Holy Redeemer’s Gillian Parsons (34) attempts to block her during the District 2 Class 3A girls basketball championships in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton’s Jaelyn Alers, right, controls the ball against the defense of Hazleton Area’s Molly Temchatin during the PIAA District 2 Class 6A championship game at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre Twp. Friday, February 27, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Valley View’s Mady Minelli defends Scranton Prep’s Shannon Bestrycki during the Class 4A D2 girls championship basketball game at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep’s Ava Fenton defends Valley View’s Cora Castellani during the Class 4A D2 girls championship basketball game at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Crestwood’s Charlie Hiller defends North Pocono’s Anna Clementoni during the D2 Class 5A girls basketball championship game at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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Dunmore’s Michelle Nidoh (32) takes a shot as Holy Redeemer’s Gillian Parsons (34) attempts to block her during the District 2 Class 3A girls basketball championships in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Mountain View trailed Holy Cross by nine points with six minutes left in the third quarter of its District 2 Class 2A semifinal and rallied for a victory.
In the final at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza, it was down 10 points to Wyoming Seminary, yet came back in the fourth quarter to win and claim its second straight Class 2A title and fourth consecutive district crown.
Now, the Lady Eagles look to capitalize on that resiliency and momentum and make what they hope will be another deep state tournament run.
They are one of six Lackawanna League girls teams who begin the quest in the PIAA playoffs in the first round this weekend. Mountain View (19-6) opens in Class 2A by playing District 4 No. 3 seed Northwest Area (20-6) on Friday at 7 p.m. at Lakeland High School. Dunmore (22-3), which is also looking to ride the wave of momentum after capturing the Class 3A district title in comeback fashion, hosts District 4 No. 4 seed Mount Carmel (16-9) on Friday at 7 p.m. Scranton (11-13), the district runnerup in Class 6A, welcomes District 3 No. 4 seed Red Lion (23-4) at 7 p.m.
On Saturday, Scranton Prep and Valley View start play in the Class 4A tournament. The Classics (20-3) entertain District 3 No. 4 seed Lancaster Catholic (15-8) at the Xavier Center at 1 p.m., while the Cougars (19-6) head to Blue Mountain to face the District 11 runnerup Lady Eagles (16-9) at 1 p.m. North Pocono (21-5), the district runnerup in Class 5A, also takes to the road to face District 1 No. 3 seed Gwynedd Mercy (16-9) at noon at Wissahickon High School.
Three years ago, Mountain View advanced to the PIAA Class 1A semifinals before losing to Lourdes Regional. Two years ago, the Lady Eagles made it to the Class 1A final, but lost to Bishop Guilfoyle. Last season, they moved up to Class 2A and reached the semifinals before losing to eventual champion Berlin Brothersvalley.
With its defense and senior Addison Kilmer showing the way, Mountain View hopes to take it a step further this time.
Against Holy Cross, Mountain View’s defense held the Lady Crusaders to eight points over the final 14 minutes. Against Wyoming Seminary, it limited the Lady Blue Knights to six fourth-quarter points.
Kilmer, meanwhile, carried her team in the fourth quarter against Wyoming Seminary, scoring 16 of its 20 points to help fuel the rally.
“I think our experience plays a big part,” Mountain View coach Corey Gesford said. “We know the preparation it takes, we know the mindset you have to have. We want to be there at the end.”
Dunmore trailed Holy Redeemer by five with 51 seconds left in the Class 3A district final at the Arena, but rallied to score the game’s final seven points, capped by Janaya Martin’s game-winning 3-pointer with 6.6 seconds remaining for a 37-35 victory.
The Lady Bucks face a Mount Carmel team they beat in the first round last season.
Despite graduating all five of its starters, Scranton Prep was able to capture its fourth consecutive Class 4A district title and eighth in nine years with a new, younger lineup. It draws a tough first-round opponent in Lancaster Catholic, which has six of its losses come by six points or less.
“District 3 is loaded. They’re going to be a really tough out,” Classics coach Bob Beviglia said. “The benefit is we have a home game and they’re going to have to get on a bus and come to us.
“But this group right now, the fact that they were able to finish the hard work with a district championship, to be honest with you is beyond my wildest dreams. They’re a group of overachievers and I love saying that about them.”
Valley View has notched a first-round state playoff win each of the last two seasons after finishing as district runnerup to Scranton Prep. It looks to make that happen a third time in a row.
“Some of our kids, this is their third straight year going to the state playoffs, which is very important,” Cougars coach Robbie Martin said. “They know what it takes, they know the effort it takes to prepare and they know the effort it’s going to take on game day. That helps us a ton. We’re looking forward to it and trying to make a little run. You never know what can happen. We play good, we defend, we shoot the ball well. Who knows what can happen.”
North Pocono is back in the state playoffs for the first time since 2015.