Dallas City News

DALLAS — A red-hot start from the field proved to be the recipe for success for Dallas, shooting its way right into the District 2 Class 5A girls basketball semifinals.

The Mountaineers made six 3-pointers in the first quarter on their way to a 64-43 victory over Wallenpaupack in the quarterfinals Wednesday, knocking the Buckhorns into a hole they couldn’t find their way out of.

“It was huge, we shot well in the first half, everybody did,” said Dallas coach Vince Bucciarelli. “The kids hung around, those were key shots.”

All five Dallas starters scored in the first quarter, and four of them made at least one 3-pointer as the Mountaineers offense roared to life.

Molly Walsh, Division 1’s leading scorer during the regular season, continued to showcase her offensive prowess with a game-high 21 points, 13 coming in the first half.

Walsh was also a critical part of a strong defensive showing from the Mountaineers, doing a lot of the work on the boards and locking down the paint, forcing Wallenpaupack’s offense to operate largely on the perimeter.

“I think that’s more important than the offense, actually, they always say defense wins games,” Walsh said.

It was far from a solo effort for Walsh on the offensive end. Freshman Brianna Casey added 13 points, and point guard Elizabeth Viglone chipped in 11 while also doing a lot of work on the glass.

All five of the Dallas starters scored at least seven points, and with those five playing so many minutes together on Wednesday night, there was no one scorer for the Buckhorns defense to clue in on, leading to good looks for everybody.

“It opens up a lot, they’re more relaxed and they feel confident in themselves,” Bucciarelli said. “Brianna Casey made some key 3-pointers out there … when we have three kids hitting double-figures, we have a good chance of winning.”

The Mountaineers led by 11 after the first quarter and never let it get back to a single-digit game from there, cruising to the finish with a 21-point win.

Wallenpaupack was led by Ella Smith, who scored 19 points. Lily Mancino added nine points.

Dallas, the second seed in the Class 5A field, will advance to the semifinals on Friday night to take on Abington Heights at home.

District 2 Class 5A quarterfinals

Dallas 64, Wallenpaupack 43

WALLENPAUPACK (43) — Kapschull 1 0-0 3, Smith 8 2-4 19, Murphy 0 0-0 0, Badner 2 0-0 6, Mancino 4 1-3 9, Williams 2 0-0 4, Cerciello 0 0-0 0, Cykosky 0 2-4 2. Totals 17 5-11 43.

DALLAS (64) — Mizzer 1 6-6 8, DelGaudio 3 0-0 7, Casey 4 2-2 13, Viglone 4 2-3 12, Walsh 9 1-1 21, Dove 0 0-0 0, Wydra 0 0-0 0, Comitz 0 2-2 2, Evans 0 0-0 0, Coyne 0 1-2 1. Totals 21 14-16 64.

Wallenpaupack`11`9`12`11 — 43

Dallas`22`13`15`14 — 64

Three-point goals — WAL 4 (Badner 2, Kapschull, Smith); DAL 8 (Casey 3, Viglone 2, Walsh 2, DelGaudio)