Old Forge’s Mikaela Lohman defends Riverside’s Caitie Beecham during the basketball game at Old Forge High School on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Riverside’s Kiley Williams and Caitie Beecham close in on Old Forge’s Mikaela Lohman during the basketball game at Old Forge High School on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Old Forge’s Ava Arnold takes a shot during the basketball game against Riverside at Old Forge High School on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Old Forge’s Mikaela Lohman shoots against Riverside during the basketball game at Old Forge High School on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Old Forge’s head coach Dante Lucarelli calls out to his players during the basketball game against Riverside at Old Forge High School on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Riverside’s Faith Pavalonis lines up with the hoop during the basketball game at Old Forge High School on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Riverside’s Faith Pavalonis attempts to evade Old Forge’s defense during the basketball game at Old Forge High School on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Old Forge’s Lana Clements is double-teamed by Riverside’s Mikayla Smith, left, and Kylie Williams during the basketball game at Old Forge High School on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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Old Forge’s Mikaela Lohman defends Riverside’s Caitie Beecham during the basketball game at Old Forge High School on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
OLD FORGE — Rivals Riverside and Old Forge battled hard throughout their Lackawanna League Division II girls basketball matchup Monday night.
The Lady Vikes did just enough in the fourth quarter, holding the Lady Devils scoreless for the final five minutes, to earn a 25-20 victory at Old Forge’s Elio Ghigiarelli Gymnasium.
“When it’s a rivalry game like this, records, statistics, abilities, everything goes out the window and sometimes these low-scoring events happen,” Riverside coach Jaime Armillay said. “I thought we played really well defensively and down the stretch I thought we were able to get to the free throw line and make them. At points in time that’s cost us basketball games early in the year. But anytime you can go on the road and beat your rival in their house, it’s a great win and you take it how it goes.”
Freshman Faith Pavalonis finished with nine points for Riverside (3-2 league, 7-6 overall), which is ranked No. 10 this week in the Times-Tribune girls basketball Top 10 poll. Senior Kylie Williams added eight points, six of which came in the second half. She also had two key steals in the fourth quarter.
“They definitely pushed us and we had to work together as a team defensively, communicate and pick each other up when we were down or things weren’t going our way,” Williams said. “They (defensively) took out Faith, who is one of our leading scorers. We all had to kind of step up, come together and help each other out.
“We were able to pull it out and we’re pretty happy.”
Offense definitely was at a premium in this one. Riverside shot 8 for 44 (18.2 percent) from the field, including just 1 of 19 from 3-point range, and committed nine turnovers. But the Lady Vikes defense limited Old Forge to 8-for-34 shooting (23.5 percent) and forced 16 turnovers. Also, Riverside outrebounded the Lady Devils, 37-28, with 13 offensive boards.
“The key for us today was we thought we could be physical with them,” Armillay said. “Between the offensive glass and our pressure defensively, we were kind of hoping those two areas could flip the script a little bit. I think at key points it did and gave us a little breathing room when we needed it the most because it was a cold night shooting. Sometimes it’s those little things that make the difference. Fortunately, tonight, we were able to do it.”
Riverside led after three quarters, 16-15, but Mikaela Lohman opened the fourth quarter with a basket to put Old Forge (1-4, 5-7) in front by one. A steal-and-layup by Williams and a shot from the baseline by Caitie Beecham reclaimed the lead for the Lady Vikes, 20-17.
“That’s been Kylie’s MO, even before I got hired here,” Armillay said. “Defensively, she just gives you everything she has. She defends 94 feet for 32 minutes. Not only big steals tonight, but big deflections. The one I’m thinking of in the fourth quarter was they were going in transition and she runs it down from behind. Even though we don’t get the possession because the ball goes out of bounds, it allows our defense to set up. It’s those plays that don’t show up on the stat sheet that Kylie’s been able to do for us all year.”
However, Lohman hit her third 3-pointer of the game to tie it at 20 with 5:06 remaining. The freshman led all scorers with 11 points.
“She got her confidence back up and tonight she showed she belongs,” Old Forge coach Dante Lucarelli said. “She’s been in and out of the lineup, doing whatever she could to stay in it. We’re not in this game without her.”
That, though, would be the Lady Devils’ final points. They missed their final four shots and committed two turnovers, one of which was a steal by Williams.
“We were hoping for a low-scoring, defensive battle and that’s what we got,” Lucarelli said. “Down the stretch, we have to execute our sets. Couple shots didn’t go our way, couple bad fouls. But overall, I’m proud of the girls tonight. They came in and battled.”
Pavalonis hit the second of two free throws with 4:24 left to break the tie and put Riverside ahead, 21-20. With their defense keeping Old Forge off the scoreboard, the Lady Vikes milked the clock. The Lady Devils were forced to foul and Pavalonis sank two free throws with 56 seconds left to extend the lead to 23-20. Following an Old Forge miss, Pavalonis was fouled again with 24.2 seconds to go and she buried two more free throws to seal the victory.
“I still found ways to score in the end,” Pavalonis said. “Free throws were a big thing for me tonight, they closed the game out. My teammates picked me up when I was down in the first half not being able to knock down shots. Old Forge is a good team. They fought to the end, but we still came out on top.”
It was a meaningful win for Williams. This was the final time she and fellow seniors Cassidy Merrifield and Gabriella Blasi played on their rival’s court.
“This was big,” she said. “It fired us up and we just had to keep pushing and pull it off.”