Valley View’s Cora Castellani controls the ball during the basketball game against Scranton Prep at Valley View High School in Archbald on Thursday, Jan. 08, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep’s Eva Kaszuba moves the ball during the basketball game at Valley View High School in Archbald on Thursday, Jan. 08, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Valley View’s Cora Castellani takes a shot at the hoop during the basketball game against Scranton Prep at Valley View High School in Archbald on Thursday, Jan. 08, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Valley View’s Cora Castellani defends Scranton Prep’s Chloe Mamera during the basketball game at Valley View High School in Archbald on Thursday, Jan. 08, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep’s Kamyl Lynady defends Valley View’s Ava Gazoo during the basketball game at Valley View High School in Archbald on Thursday, Jan. 08, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep’s Shannon Bestrycki shoots during the basketball game at Valley View High School in Archbald on Thursday, Jan. 08, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep’s Kamyl Lynady defends Valley View’s Ashlan Palickar during the basketball game at Valley View High School in Archbald on Thursday, Jan. 08, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Valley View’s Mady Minelli tries to pass the ball to her teammate Sadie Cardoni during the basketball game against Scranton Prep at Valley View High School in Archbald on Thursday, Jan. 08, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep’s Chloe Mamera attempts to block Valley View’s Ava Gazoo during the basketball game at Valley View High School in Archbald on Thursday, Jan. 08, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Valley View’s Sadie Cardoni shoots the ball during the basketball game against Scranton Prep at Valley View High School in Archbald on Thursday, Jan. 08, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep’s Eva Kaszuba dribbles the ball during the basketball game at Valley View High School in Archbald on Thursday, Jan. 08, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Valley View’s Cora Castellani attempts to block Scranton Prep’s Ava Fenton during the basketball game at Valley View High School in Archbald on Thursday, Jan. 08, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Valley View’s Sadie Cardoni embraces teammate Ava Gazoo after their team defeated Scranton Prep at Valley View High School in Archbald on Thursday, Jan. 08, 2026. Cardoni’s foul shot helped bring the Cougars’ to their 45-43 victory. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Valley View’s head coach Robbie Martin talks to his players during the basketball game against Scranton Prep at Valley View High School in Archbald on Thursday, Jan. 08, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep’s head coach Bob Beviglia calls out to his players during the basketball game at Valley View High School in Archbald on Thursday, Jan. 08, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Valley View fans cheer on their team during the basketball game against Scranton Prep at Valley View High School in Archbald on Thursday, Jan. 08, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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Valley View’s Cora Castellani controls the ball during the basketball game against Scranton Prep at Valley View High School in Archbald on Thursday, Jan. 08, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
BLAKELY — In a game full of defensive stops, Valley View had the one at the end that mattered most.
The Cougars held Scranton Prep scoreless for the final 2:41 to rally for a 45-40 victory over the Classics in a Lackawanna League Division I girls basketball thriller Thursday night at Valley View High School.
Cora Castellani collected 23 points, four rebounds, three assists, five steals and two blocks for Valley View (3-0 league, 10-1 overall), which is ranked No. 1 this week in the Times-Tribune Top 10 poll. Ava Gazoo added 10 points.
Chloe Mamera led No. 4 Scranton Prep (6-5, 2-2) with 16 points. Eva Kaszuba followed with 13 points.
“We know defense is our identity,” Valley View coach Rob Martin said. “We tell the kids as long as you play hard and give 110 percent, anything can happen. You can stay in any game, hold any lead. We had some kids panic at the end and had some turnovers. But I told them that as long as we play defense, we’re going to be in a good spot to win the game. Luckily, our defense held true and we won the game.”
Indeed, Valley View committed two turnovers in the final 20 seconds that gave Scranton Prep a chance to win it. Each time, the Cougars came up with a stop.
“We had six or seven opportunities to win the game at the end. They handed them to us, we didn’t take them. We lost, end of story. That’s all there is to say,” Scranton Prep coach Bob Beviglia said. “We were not good with the ball. We made silly mistakes with the ball. Castellani played a great game, she’s a great player. But sometimes you lose a game and we lost.”
Trailing, 38-31, after three quarters, Scranton Prep opened the fourth by scoring the first nine points. Kaszuba hit a 3-pointer, Mamera had back-to-back baskets before Kamyl Lynady scored to give the Classics a 40-38 lead with 4:18 remaining. Gazoo tied it off a feed from Ashlan Palickar, but Lynady hit a 3-pointer to put Scranton Prep back in front, 43-40, with 2:41 left.
That would be the Classics’ final points, however.
A layup by Castellani with 1:42 to go cut the deficit to one. Mady Minelli then had a steal and ultimately set up Sadie Cardoni for the go-ahead basket, 44-43, with 53.2 seconds left.
“Us, coach Martin, we pretty much said to each other that we need to settle down and play our game,” Castellani said. “No team controls how we play, we play our game, no matter what type of game is going on. So we just kept our tone.
“Chloe Mamera is real tough and kept going up hard the whole game. So we knew out of all the defenses we played, we needed to double down on her and just play good defense overall on everybody. It worked in our favor and we pulled out the win.”
Gazoo had a steal on the ensuing possession, but Valley View committed a turnover to give the ball back to Scranton Prep with 19.8 seconds remaining. The Cougars, though, forced a five-second violation on the inbounds play.
Again, Valley View committed a turnover with an errant inbounds pass and Scranton Prep missed a 3-pointer with 7.2 seconds left. Following a timeout, Cardoni was fouled with 3.1 seconds to go. She made the first free throw and missed the second. The Classics rebounded, but a desperation heave from just past midcourt was off the mark and the Cougars hung on for the victory.
“I’m not the best foul shooter and knowing that could win us the game was a lot of pressure,” Cardoni said. “But I took my time and having the big crowd behind you and yelling for you helped a lot. I just shot my shot.”
Both teams’ defenses were strong. Valley View forced Scranton Prep to commit 26 turnovers, while the Classics forced the Cougars into 24.
Valley View jumped out to an 11-2 lead, but Scranton Prep’s pressure sparked a 12-2 run to end the first quarter and give the Classics a 14-13 lead. They had a 26-24 advantage following a foul shot by Mamera with 1:27 left in the second. However, they did not score for the remainder of the half, nor the first 3:18 of the third quarter.
Castellani scored off a Cardoni steal with 10.2 seconds left to give Valley View a 27-26 halftime lead. Gazoo opened the third quarter with a three-point play, and Castellani took a rebound coast-to-coast for a layup that extended the margin to 32-26. Scranton Prep crept back to within 32-31, but Cardoni scored before Castellani made two amazing plays.
First, she inbounded the ball off the back of a Scranton Prep player, caught it and scored. Then, with time winding down in the quarter, she drove the lane and while falling off balance, threw up a scoop shot that went in and sent Valley View into the fourth quarter with a 38-31 lead.
“Cora is just a special player,” Martin said. “She never wants to be beat and has a mindset that you just don’t see anymore with kids in sports. She’s wired differently, built differently and just refuses to let up and get beat. We’re just lucky to have her on our team.”
Coupled with North Pocono’s win over Abington Heights on Thursday, Valley View is now the lone unbeaten in Division I. But Martin knows there is still a lot of season left. The Cougars’ next game is Saturday at Wallenpaupack.
“This is a stepping stone for us. A big win, but we know the work’s not done,” Martin said. “Division I is brutal. Three losses might win this division. It’s going to be back and forth, you can’t take a day off, can’t turn your back on somebody, not prepare for somebody. Division I is that good. It’s going to be a battle every night. You’ve got to be prepared to come out every day.”
Beviglia said his team needs to find a way to shake off this loss. The Classics next face Abington Heights on Monday.
“We have to go in the gym and get better,” Beviglia said. “I don’t think the league is over by any stretch. It’s going to be anybody’s game in any given night. But when you have chances to win, you’ve got to win. And we didn’t tonight.”