Dunmore’s Michelle Nidoh (32) shoots a layup during the 74th annual Lynett Memorial Tournament semifinal round on Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Dunmore’s Janessa Martin (4) dribbles the ball during the 74th annual Lynett Memorial Tournament semifinal round on Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton’s Rhylee Bell (33) takes the ball down the court during the 74th annual Lynett Memorial Tournament semifinal round on Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Holy Cross’ Malice Blackwell (20) shoots a layup during the 74th annual Lynett Memorial Tournament semifinal round on Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Holy Cross’ Aniya Osgood (23) handles the ball during the 74th annual Lynett Memorial Tournament semifinal round on Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Dunmore’s Amanda Dempsey (10) drives toward the basket during the 74th annual Lynett Memorial Tournament semifinal round on Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton’s Chrissy Jacklinski (2) takes a three-point shot during the 74th annual Lynett Memorial Tournament semifinal round on Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Dunmore’s Janaya Martin (2) takes the ball down the court during the 74th annual Lynett Memorial Tournament semifinal round on Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Holy Cross’ Malice Blackwell (20) drives toward the basket during the 74th annual Lynett Memorial Tournament semifinal round on Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Holy Cross’ Mollie Urban (33) takes a shot during the 74th annual Lynett Memorial Tournament semifinal round on Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Holy Cross’ Lila Kolcharno (22) takes a three-point shot during the 74th annual Lynett Memorial Tournament semifinal round on Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Holy Cross’ Ava Schmidt (30) drives toward the basket during the 74th annual Lynett Memorial Tournament semifinal round on Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton’s Chrissy Jacklinski (2) drives through defenders during the 74th annual Lynett Memorial Tournament semifinal round on Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton’s Rhylee Bell (33) takes a three-point shot during the 74th annual Lynett Memorial Tournament semifinal round on Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Dunmore’s Jackie Brown (50) shoots a layup during the 74th annual Lynett Memorial Tournament semifinal round on Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton’s Bianca Perez (4) reaches for a rebound during the 74th annual Lynett Memorial Tournament semifinal round on Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep’s Chloe Mamera (32) takes a shot during the 74th annual Lynett Memorial Tournament semifinal round on Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep’s Eva Kaszuba drives through a defender during the 74th annual Lynett Memorial Tournament semifinal round on Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep’s Ava Fenton (4) drives past a defender during the 74th annual Lynett Memorial Tournament semifinal round on Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep’s Chloe Mamera (32) drives past a defender during the 74th annual Lynett Memorial Tournament semifinal round on Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep’s Kamyl Lynady (15) drives past a defender during the 74th annual Lynett Memorial Tournament semifinal round on Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep’s Ava Fenton (4) drives down the court during the 74th annual Lynett Memorial Tournament semifinal round on Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep’s McKenna Toolan (23) takes a shot during the 74th annual Lynett Memorial Tournament semifinal round on Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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Dunmore’s Michelle Nidoh (32) shoots a layup during the 74th annual Lynett Memorial Tournament semifinal round on Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
SCRANTON — Dunmore and Scranton advanced to the championship game of the 22nd Lynett Memorial Girls Basketball Tournament with semifinal victories Saturday afternoon at the Lackawanna College Student Union.
After the Lady Bucks downed Holy Cross in the opener, 50-36, the Lady Knights knocked off defending champion Scranton Prep in the second game, 57-51. It is the first time since 2018 that the Classics failed to reach the final.
On Monday, Holy Cross and Scranton Prep will play in the consolation game at 1 p.m. Dunmore and Scranton will play for the title at 6 p.m.
Chrissy Jacklinski and Rhylee Bell each had 18 points for Scranton (2-6) in its victory. Jaelyn Alers followed with 13 points.
Chloe Mamera led Scranton Prep (4-3) with 16 points — all of which came in the second half. Ava Fenton added 15 points.
“Our defense really buckled down tonight,” Scranton coach P.J. Hughes said. “We’ve been switching all month long, trying to come up with an identity. Tonight, they just played tough. They fought for every rebound. That’s the thing that’s really changed mid-month. We’ve really have rebounded much better as a team than we started off as.”
Scranton’s defense helped spark a 14-3 run to end the second quarter and give the Lady Knights a 24-14 halftime lead. They forced six turnovers over the final five minutes of the half and held the Classics to 1-for-4 shooting in that stretch.
“We were just trying to be in deny and get hands on every single ball that was passed,” Bell said. “Just play hard defense.”
Trailing, 11-10, Jacklinski had a 3-pointer, two foul shots and a putback to account for the first seven points of the run. Bell then hit a 3-pointer before two Jacklinski free throws capped the run. In between, Fenton had a 3-pointer for Scranton Prep.
“Bottom line is we made too many mistakes to win a basketball game, especially in the first half,” Scranton Prep coach Bob Beviglia said. “I thought we were loose with the ball and they took advantage of that. Even in the second half when we made a run, we made mistakes defensively and to their credit they made us pay for the mistakes.”
To open the third quarter, however, Scranton Prep scored the first seven points — five by Mamera — to rally within 24-21 with 6:31 left.
Later, Mamera hit a turnaround in the lane to tie it at 29. Kamyl Lynady then hit a shot from the baseline to give the Classics a 31-29 lead with 2:11 left in the third.
But Bell sandwiched baskets around one by Abigail Stalica to reclaim the lead for Scranton, 35-31. A 3-pointer by Fenton made it 35-34 heading to the fourth quarter.
Bell and Jacklinski began the fourth with consecutive 3-pointers to put the Lady Knights ahead, 41-34. Scranton Prep responded with a 7-2 burst on two baskets by Mamera and a Fenton 3-pointer to get the Classics within 43-41 with 5:58 remaining.
Again, Scranton had an answer. Bell scored before Alers hit a 3-pointer and a basket to give the Lady Knights a 50-42 lead with 2:57 left.
Mamera and Shannon Bestrycki scored to bring Scranton Prep within 50-46 with 1:34 to go. But Alers found Bell open in the corner and she buried a 3-pointer with 1:11 left to all but seal it for Scranton.
“I thought Rhylee Bell made big shot after big shot,” Beviglia said. “We lost her a couple times and a good player is going to make you pay and she did.”
Bell said she hesitate to shoot rather than pass the ball back out and perhaps milking the clock more.
“I was just thinking that I was going to make it and I shot it,” Bell said. “I was really happy when I made it.”
Dunmore 50, Holy Cross 36: In the first semifinal, Dunmore used its defense to grab the early lead, then fended off a scrappy Holy Cross squad the rest of the way to advance to the final.
Michelle Nidoh had 12 points to lead the Lady Bucks (6-1) and also grabbed six rebounds. Amanda Dempsey totaled 11 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and five steals. Jackie Brown contributed six points, nine rebounds and seven steals.
Ava Schmidt had 16 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks for the Lady Crusaders (3-5).
Dunmore scored the first nine points and led, 14-5, after one quarter. The Lady Bucks forced 10 turnovers in the opening eight minutes, scoring nine points off them.
“We started off slow with our offense,” Nidoh said. “But as the game progressed, we became more aggressive and our offense comes from our defense. We had really, really good defense today. We were very aggressive and that just rolls into our offense.”
A basket by Janessa Martin with 4:27 left in the second quarter gave Dunmore its largest lead, 21-7. However, Holy Cross held the Lady Bucks scoreless for the remainder of the half and crept back into the contest.
Schmidt put back her own missed shot and Lila Kolcharno hit a basket moments later. Aniya Osgood then hit a 3-pointer and Mollie Urban sank one of two free throws to bring the Lady Crusaders within 21-15 at halftime.
Every time Holy Cross made a push to come back further in the second half, however, Dunmore came up with a defensive stop or basket to repel the rally.
“Holy Cross did a great job,” Dunmore coach Carrie Toomey said. “They challenged us, which was great. That’s all we really want. We want to be challenged. I just think our maturity showed.”
A 3-pointer by Osgood with 6:55 left in the third quarter got Holy Cross within 24-20. But Brown hit a layup and Janaya Martin completed a three-point play off a Dempsey steal to make it 29-20 with 5:46 left in the third.
Later in the quarter, a 3-pointer by Schmidt trimmed Holy Cross’ deficit to 36-30 with 1:13 to go. But Nidoh scored off an assist from Janessa Martin and Brown hit two free throws to send Dunmore into the fourth quarter with a 40-31 lead.
Schmidt scored inside with 4:18 left in the fourth made it a 44-36 Dunmore lead. But the Lady Crusaders did not score the rest of the way. Four points by Janessa Martin and a layup by Dempsey sealed the win for the Lady Bucks.
Elk Lake 44, Blue Ridge 33: At Montrose, Madisyn Casselbury had 18 points to lead the Lady Warriors to a win over the Lady Raiders in the semifinals of the Susquehanna County Reddon-Hoffman Christmas Tournament.
Kylie Shingler added 11 points for Elk Lake (2-4).
Abigail Gelinger had 27 points for the Raiders (2-5).
Montrose 50, Susquehanna 18: At Montrose, Sadie Jones had 19 points to lead the Lady Meteors to a victory in the semifinals of the Susquehanna County Reddon-Hoffman Christmas Tournament.
McKenna Kublo added 10 points for Montrose (3-5), which will play Elk Lake in the final Sunday.
Esther Davis had six points for Susquehanna (1-4).
Berwick 58, Mountain View 50: At Mountain View, Berwick outscored the Eagles by six in the fourth quarter to hold on for the nonleague victory Saturday afternoon.
The Bulldogs hit 10 3-pointers in the win.
Abby Calarco almost recorded a triple-double, scoring nine of her 28 points in the fourth quarter. She added 11 rebounds and seven assists. Teammate Ashlyn Zakrewski added 20 in the win.
For Mountain View, Addison Kilmer had a game-high 28 points, while Aubrey Sanders netted 12.