Members of the girls varsity basketball team at Our Lady of Peace School got a rousing send-off Thursday afternoon as they head to the Catholic Youth Organization state tournament this weekend in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The girls will represent the Diocese of Scranton in the CYO tournament, starting with their first game Friday at 4 p.m. against Holy Family University. A pep rally was held at the Clarks Green school beginning in the gym. The team members then went next door to St. Gregory’s Church for a blessing from the pastor, and walked back to the school, with all students outside cheering them on as they boarded the buses.
Students hold up signs in support of the Lady Falcons during the pep rally at Our Lady of Peace School in Clarks Green on Thursday, March 12, 2026. The girls basketball team will represent the Diocese of Scranton in the Catholic Youth Organization State Tournament in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia this weekend. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Father John Lapera blesses the varsity girls basketball team of Our Lady of Peace School at the Church of Saint Gregory in Clarks Green before they depart for the Catholic Youth Organization State Tournament in Philadelphia on Thursday, March 12, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
The Lady Falcons demonstrate their skills during the pep rally at Our Lady of Peace School in Clarks Green on Thursday, March 12, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Lady Falcon players and coaches pose for a photo before the pep rally at Our Lady of Peace School in Clarks Green on Thursday, March 12, 2026. The 2025-26 team includes Francesca Colarusso, Maeve Hazzouri, Lauren Terrinoni, Gabby Ives, Francesca Paulino, Wilhelmina Walsh, Sistina Mariotti, Chloe Coslett, Lyla Weidow, and Cassie Sheehan, head coach Phil Odom, and assistant coaches Frank Coslett and Justin Bedford. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Students wave as the bus carrying the girls basketball team departs from Our Lady of Peace School for the Catholic Youth Organization State Tournament on Thursday, March 12, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Our Lady of Peace School seventh grader Wilhelmina Walsh receives a blessing from Father John Lapera at Church of Saint Gregory in Clarks Green before heading to the bus with her basketball teammates on Thursday, March 12, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)