Abington Heights’ Lily Scoblick guards Scranton’s Jaelyn Alers during the basketball game at Scranton High School on Monday, Jan. 05, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Abington Heights’ Emma Coleman and Scranton’s Emma Sweeney fight for the rebound during the basketball game at Scranton High School on Monday, Jan. 05, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton’s Bianca Perez tries to get the ball away from Abington Heights’ Sydney Pallman during the basketball game at Scranton High School on Monday, Jan. 05, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton’s Abigail Stalica defends Abington Heights’ Sarah Cantner during the basketball game at Scranton High School on Monday, Jan. 05, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton’s Kori Ortiz tries to block Abington Heights’ Emma Coleman during the basketball game at Scranton High School on Monday, Jan. 05, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton’s Chrissy Jacklinski takes a foul shot during the basketball game at Scranton High School on Monday, Jan. 05, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton’s Bianca Perez goes up for a basket during the game against Abington Heights at Scranton High School on Monday, Jan. 05, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Abington Heights’ Sarah Cantner holds the ball during the basketball game at Scranton High School on Monday, Jan. 05, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton’s Bianca Perez guards Abington Heights’ Emma Coleman during the basketball game at Scranton High School on Monday, Jan. 05, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
The Abington Heights bench celebrates after their team scored during the basketball game at Scranton High School on Monday, Jan. 05, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Abington Heights players celebrate after defeating Scranton in the basketball game at Scranton High School on Monday, Jan. 05, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton’s head coach PJ Hughes talks to his players during the basketball game against Abington Heights at Scranton High School on Monday, Jan. 05, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Abington Heights’ head coach Deanna Klingman talks to her players during the basketball game at Scranton High School on Monday, Jan. 05, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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Abington Heights’ Lily Scoblick guards Scranton’s Jaelyn Alers during the basketball game at Scranton High School on Monday, Jan. 05, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
SCRANTON — With its defense forcing Scranton into a tough shooting start, Abington Heights built a big halftime lead and went on to a 39-28 victory Monday night in a Lackawanna League Division I girls basketball matchup at Scranton High School.
Emma Coleman scored 21 points for the second-ranked Lady Comets (3-0 league, 8-3 overall). Sarah Cantner added eight points and eight rebounds, while Sydney Pallman contributed six points and 10 rebounds.
Chrissy Jacklinski led No. 5 Scranton (0-3, 3-8) with 12 points, nine rebounds, three assists and five steals. Rhylee Bell followed with nine points.
“We tried a new defense because we knew we had to shade their shooters. They’re a really good shooting team,” Pallman said. “We just focused on staying with their shooters and I think it worked.”
That’s a bit of an understatement. Scranton missed 21 of its first 22 field-goal attempts and had just six points at halftime.
“Jacklinski, Alers and Bell are terrific shooters, all of them. They can knock down the three from like 23 feet,” Abington Heights coach Deanna Klingman said. “We know they shoot the ball well, so we had to make sure we had pressure on the ball at that distance.
“We always say that all five kids, everybody on the court, have to play. The post did a great job getting out in the corners and we scored some buckets inside late.”
Klingman credited Lily Scoblick with spearheading the defense.
“Lily was our bell ringer defensively,” Klingman said. “She really locked in at the top and prevented people from driving.”
After missing their first four shots and committing four turnovers, Jacklinski finally put the Lady Knights on the scoreboard with a foul-line jumper with 4:03 left in the first quarter. However, they did not score again until 1:39 remained in the second quarter on a basket by Jaelyn Alers. A layup by Bell with 2.4 seconds left before halftime accounted for Scranton’s other basket.
Scranton was 3 for 25 from the field in the first half, including 0 for 9 from 3-point range.
“Their length was a big issue in the first half,” Scranton coach P.J. Hughes said. “We were trying to get some easy shots to go early and they just didn’t go and that made things more difficult for us to play the game we wanted to play. Credit to them. They rebounded well and got out when they could.”
Coleman had nine of her points in the first quarter to give Abington Heights an 11-2 lead after one. Cantner then opened the second quarter with back-to-back baskets before Coleman scored her team’s final five points of the half to give the Lady Comets a 20-6 advantage at the break.
Pallman scored all six of her points in the second half to help Abington Heights maintain the lead.
“In the second half, we were looking for each other more and we were in a set offense,” Pallman said. “Sarah Cantner is always looking for us. I just think we were just finding each other at the right times.”
Still, Scranton tried to rally behind its pressure defense, which disrupted the Lady Comets somewhat and forced them into committing 19 turnovers.
“Their traps were very aggressive and we kept getting stuck in the corners,” Pallman said. “But once we fixed it and started getting the ball in the middle, we broke the press.”
Trailing, 31-19, after three quarters, the Lady Knights closed to within 36-26 with 3:20 left in the fourth on a driving layup by Bianca Perez. They had a chance to cut the deficit to single digits on the next two possessions, but couldn’t. One foul shot by Coleman and two by Abby Schneider in the final 96 seconds sealed the victory for Abington Heights.
“The girls gave a great effort tonight defensively, did their jobs,” Hughes said. “I felt we rebounded better in the second half. But you’ve still got to make shots. You can’t score 28 points and win in this league.”
For the most part, Klingman is pleased with where her team is at this point of the season
“There’s things we have to clean up with taking care of the ball,” she said. “But we’re happy to be going home with the W. Every game is a fight in the division.”