North Pocono’s Celia DeCesare defends Scranton Prep’s Chloe Mamera during the game at Scranton Prep on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep’s Chloe Mamera defends North Pocono’s Celia DeCesare during the basketball game at Scranton Prep on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep’s Chloe Mamera (32) and Eva Kaszuba (31) defend North Pocono’s Ella Clementoni during the basketball game at Scranton Prep on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
North Pocono’s Julia Biko defends Scranton Prep’s Ava Fenton during the basketball game at Scranton Prep on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
North Pocono’s Ella Clementoni takes a free throw during the basketball game at Scranton Prep on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
North Pocono’s Ella Clementoni moves the ball during the basketball game at Scranton Prep on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
North Pocono’s Ella Clementoni fights Scranton Prep’s Shannon Bestrycki for the ball during the basketball game at Scranton Prep on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep’s Kamyl Lynady (15) boxes out North Pocono’s Anna Clementoni as Scranton Prep’s Ava Fenton (4) reaches for a rebound during the basketball game at Scranton Prep on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
North Pocono’s Julia Biko moves the ball during the basketball game at Scranton Prep on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep’s Chloe Mamera takes a shot during the basketball game at Scranton Prep on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
North Pocono’s Trinity Litts shoots and scores over Scranton Prep’s Kamyl Lynady during the basketball game at Scranton Prep on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep’s Bob Beviglia high fives his players before the game against North Pocono at Scranton Prep on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep’s Bob Beviglia talks to his players during the game against North Pocono at Scranton Prep on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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North Pocono’s Celia DeCesare defends Scranton Prep’s Chloe Mamera during the game at Scranton Prep on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
SCRANTON — Defense set the tone for Scranton Prep and enabled it to build a lead in its showdown with North Pocono on Friday night.
Shannon Bestrycki’s shooting secured the victory for the Classics.
The sophomore hit six 3-pointers and scored a game-high 22 points to lead No. 2 Scranton Prep past the No. 1 Lady Trojans, 52-37, in a rough-and-tumble Lackawanna League Division I girls basketball game at the Xavier Center’s Keller Court.
Chloe Mamera added a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Classics (7-2 league, 12-5 overall), who avenged a one-point loss to North Pocono on Jan 5 and made the race in the division even tighter.
“This was huge,” Bestrycki said. “We lost the first one (to them). We’re fighting for the league championship so we have to win.”
North Pocono (8-2, 14-4) was within 13-12 following a putback by Alexis Silva with 6:29 left in the second quarter. However, the Lady Trojans went scoreless for the remainder of the first half, going 0 for 8 with two turnovers.
“They played great defense. Normally that’s our tag,” North Pocono coach Joe Ferguson said. “They did a nice job on Anna. Our kids hung in there, but we got a little bit rattled I thought.”
Scranton Prep did a great job of packing the paint, making it difficult for North Pocono to get the ball inside to Anna Clementoni. When it did get the ball to her, Mamera and Kamyl Lynady made it hard for her to shoot. Anna Clementoni, who averaged 13.5 points coming in, had just three points through three quarters and finished with seven.
Meanwhile, Eva Kaszuba shadowed Ella Clementoni and made her work for her team-leading 13 points.
“It all starts with Eva,” Scranton Prep coach Bob Beviglia said. “You can play a defense like that if you have a kid who’s tough enough to not get hung up on screens. Thirty-one (Kaszuba) doesn’t get tired. I’ve never seen anything like it. She didn’t come off the floor, she chased Ella, who’s an outstanding player, for 32 minutes and I thought frustrated her a little bit and frustrated them. And I thought Chloe and Kamyl did a really nice job on the baseline, for the most part, rebounding the ball.
“These kids, they’re really active, really aggressive. It’s nice to see them win a game with their defense.”
With the defense stopping North Pocono, the Scranton Prep offense closed the quarter on an 8-0 run. Kaszuba hit one free throw and Mamera two. Fenton blocked a shot, grabbed the rebound and took it coast-to-coast for a layup. Bestrycki hit a 3-pointer to cap the outburst and give the Classics a 21-12 halftime lead.
“Defense is a big part of our team. It’s our identity, it always has been,” said Fenton, who finished with four points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals. “But now, this year, we lost all our big scorers, so we have to rely on our defense more.”
Early in the third quarter, Aleah Quinn hit a 3-pointer with 6:28 left to snap North Pocono’s eight-minute scoring drought. Julia Biko followed with another 3-pointer and the Lady Trojans were within 21-18 with 5:04 left.
That’s when Bestrycki took over. She hit a foul shot and a 3-pointer to settle the Classics. Mamera sandwiched baskets around one by Lynady to offset a 3-pointer and three-point play by Ella Clementoni as Scranton Prep took a 31-24 lead to the fourth quarter.
There, Bestrycki hit 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions, then turned a Fenton steal into a layup that gave the Classics a 44-30 lead with 5:07 to play.
“They were falling, so my teammates got me the ball and I just kept shooting,” Bestrycki said. “It’s always good when the first one falls and you see one go in. I was expecting more coverage, but they left me open. So I’m going to shoot it when my teammates give it to me.”
Ferguson credited Bestrycki for capitalizing on his team’s defensive miscommunication and hitting those shots.
“We know she’s a shooter,” Ferguson said . “She hit some big shots. They had some kids make some plays.”
Beviglia was also glad to see Bestrycki’s shots fall.
“Shannon’s a really good set shooter and we needed every last one of them,” Beviglia said. “She did a great job, I’m thrilled for her because she works extremely hard.”
Hitting 8 of 10 free throws the rest of the way sealed the victory for Scranton Prep and pulled the Classics even with the Lady Trojans and Abington Heights with two losses each in the division. Valley View has three losses and Scranton has five.
“We’ve never seen it in the league where there are five teams who can beat anybody on a given night,” Beviglia said. “It just comes down to who executes. Tonight, we were able to do that on both ends.”