Honesdale’s Lily Murrary shoots during the basketball game at Dunmore High School on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Honesdale’s Ruby Martin takes a shot during the basketball game at Dunmore High School on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Dunmore’s Janessa Martin pushes past Honesdale’s Karsyn Kromko during the basketball game at Dunmore High School on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Dunmore’s Jackie Brown moves the ball during the basketball game against Honesdale at Dunmore High School on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Dunmore’s Michelle Nidoh tries to block Honesdale’s Abby Beatty during the basketball game at Dunmore High School on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Dunmore’s Janessa Martin defends Karsyn Kromko during the basketball game at Dunmore High School on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Honesdale’s Lily Murray defends Dunmore’s Amanda Dempsey during the basketball game at Dunmore High School on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Dunmore’s Amanda Dempsey defends Honesdale’s Ruby Martin during the basketball game at Dunmore High School on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Dunmore’s Janessa Martin looks to pass to a teammate during the basketball game against Honesdale at Dunmore High School on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Dunmore’s Michelle Nidoh high fives teammates as she runs onto the court prior to the basketball game against Honesdale at Dunmore High School on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Dunmore’s head coach Carrie Toomey calls out to her players during the basketball game against Honesdale at Dunmore High School on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Dunmore’s student section cheers on their team during the basketball game against Honesdale at Dunmore High School on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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Honesdale’s Lily Murrary shoots during the basketball game at Dunmore High School on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
DUNMORE — Ali Steeves was seven years old the last time the Dunmore girls basketball team lost a Lackawanna League game.
The freshman provided a much-needed spark off the bench Thursday night to have the Lady Bucks’ impressive winning streak reach a milestone.
Steeves had nine points and eight rebounds to help No. 5 Dunmore overcome a sluggish start and defeat No. 7 Honesdale, 47-32, in a Division II first-place showdown at Dunmore High School.
“I knew from the first quarter that we were going to need more energy,” said Steeves, who turned 15 on Jan. 7. “We had to start making layups and completing passes for the layups. I went out there and just did my best to put the ball in the basket. I just tried my best to box out and get the rebounds.”
Amanda Dempsey scored 12 points, while Leena Conte and Jackie Brown also finished with nine points each for the Lady Bucks (6-0 league, 11-2 overall), who won their 100th straight division game. Holy Cross was the last team to beat Dunmore in league play, 56-48, on Jan. 15, 2018 — exactly eight years to the day Wednesday. The Lady Bucks proceeded to win their last nine games that season, then went 12-0 in 2018-19 and 2019-20; 11-0 in 2020-21; 12-0 from 2021-22 to 2023-24; 14-0 last season; and 6-0 so far this season.
“It’s just so much tradition and you see it here with the all the younger kids, all the biddy girls cheering for us,” Dempsey said. “You remember when you were in biddy and watching the older kids play. It’s really sentimental and we were saying in the locker room you don’t find that anywhere else. Dunmore’s a special town. All that history and legacy is what motivates us all the time.”
Coach Carrie Toomey said it’s crazy to think the streak has hit the century mark.
“It’s not something we think about or worry about each game because streaks are meant to be broken,” Toomey said. “It’s a pretty awesome streak to be a part of. All these kids who are playing now and who played before and are part of the streak all started in Dunmore biddy. That shows how good of a feeder program and how much pride is put into playing basketball as a Lady Buck. To be a part of that with all of those amazing players, I’m in awe of that. Coach (Ben) O’Brien has more of those wins than I have. But coaching with him and being able to carry that on for the program makes me really proud.”
Honesdale coach Joe Reno said the streak is very impressive.
“I didn’t make it a point of emphasis with our girls. I just wanted them to come out and play comfortable and play aggressive,” Reno said. “It’s a heck of a run for Dunmore. Hats off, they have a great program and it starts from the youth level. That’s something we have to strive for and we’re working on. Hopefully we can get there.”
Things didn’t begin well, though, for Dunmore. It shot 0 for 10 in the first quarter with six turnovers to fall behind, 12-5. All its points came on free throws — one each by Conte and Brown, three by Steeves.
“We really pride ourselves on our defense and sometimes our offense gets lost. Finding a way to put the ball in the basket without having a main scorer on our team is difficult sometimes,” Dempsey said. “Teams like Honesdale are very physical and they were able to get back on us and we weren’t able to transition as much as we usually like to. They stopped our transition game and we couldn’t shoot too well. But our defense is what kept us in the game in the first half.”
Indeed, Dunmore picked up its defensive intensity in the second quarter and that finally got the offense going.
“We didn’t give up and we continued to play good defense,” Toomey said. “The high point of our game is our defense. People dug deep and didn’t give up. They kept shooting and shot through it.”
After two free throws by Dempsey to open the quarter, Conte finally gave Dunmore its first field goal. She then scored off a steal-and-assist by Dempsey before Steeves scored to give the Lady Bucks their first lead, 13-12, with 5:10 left in the second.
It was a 21-17 lead late in the second when back-to-back baskets by Lily Murray sent the teams to halftime tied at 21. Murray finished with seven points and 10 rebounds. Ruby Martin led Honesdale (5-1, 11-3) with 10 points.
Dunmore turned up its defense another notch in the third quarter to take control of the contest.
A 3-pointer by Karsyn Kromko gave Honesdale a 24-23 lead with 6:13 left in the third. But the Lady Hornets went scoreless for the next 9:04. They missed 10 shots and four free throws with eight turnovers during that span.
“That’s been the story of our season. Just not being able to put four quarters together,” Reno said. “The shooting comes and goes. Our gameplan coming in was to take care of the ball and limit the turnovers and be patient on offense. At times we got away from that. I think that was the difference, as well as the rebounding. Dunmore did a great job on the boards.”
The Lady Bucks outrebounded the Lady Hornets, 42-25.
Consecutive baskets by Steeves put Dunmore back in front, 27-24. Conte and Brown had scores to give the Lady Bucks a 31-24 lead heading to the fourth quarter, where they scored the first 10 points. Michelle Nidoh hit two free throws, Conte converted a steal into a layup, Brown scored on a layup, Nidoh had a rebound-and-basket before Ava Walsh completed a 2-on-1 with Brown to make it 41-24 with 5:21 remaining.
A foul shot by Murray with 5:09 left finally ended Honesdale’s scoring drought.
“We definitely had more active hands (in the second half),” Toomey said. “They really wanted it in the second half. They were more physical than us in the first half and I said that could not happen. We weren’t in foul trouble, we need to be more physical in the second half. I’m really proud of them.”