By Steve Svetovich
The Lady Bucks finally did it, and the borough is buzzing!
First year coach Carrie Bowen Toomey led the Dunmore Lady Bucks to its first ever state championship with a win over the River Valley Panthers, 42-30, Thursday, March 23, at the Giant Center in Hershey.
Her daughter, senior stalwart 6-4 center Ciera Toomey, led the Lady Bucks with 14 points, five steals and a career-high 21 rebounds.
In winning the PIAA Class 3A girls championship game, Dunmore became the third team from the Lackawanna League to win a state girls basketball title. The other two were Riverside (Class 2A, 1987) and Carbondale Area (Class 2A, 1977).
Sophia Talutto, a junior floor leader, made key plays for Dunmore, including a 15-foot shot that contributed to an early lead, and scored 10 points and totaled four assists in the state title win. Tristan Canavan played tight aggressive defense and hustled all over the court adding 10 more points and grabbing four rebounds.
Toomey, Talluto and Canavan combined for 34 of Dunmore’s 42 points.
It was Dunmore’s second state title game in the past five years. It was the Lady Bucks fourth trip ever to the state finals.
“It was an amazing feeling watching the joy in all the players’ faces as well as the coaches and incredible fans,” said Coach Toomey who replaced Ben O’Brien this year. “I really tried to make it all about our team during pre game to be able to stay focused. But once the buzzer went off and we knew we won…we knew it was much more. Giving that to our community and the Lady Bucks before us is such an honor.”
Her daughter, who will play basketball next season at the University of North Carolina, was elated with the state title after working hard to come back from a right knee ACL and meniscus tear suffered last season. “I was in disbelief,” she said. “It was a long time coming. The Lady Bucks made it there three times before, It was surreal. We worked so hard for this. We were all so excited.”
Ciera rejected Emilee Staats’ 3-pointer with less than four minutes left in the game, and freshman Jackie Brown turned it into a huge bucket in a late run as the Lady Bucks pulled away from the Panthers to earn the state crown.
“I went up with my left hand and blocked it,” said Ciera. “Jackie came out of nowhere, scooped it up, got it to me. A couple passes, hit her with a reverse layup and that was the hammer.”
Dunmore was leading, 38-28, but the key defensive play by Toomey and Brown’s effort to track it down and then finish, highlighted an 8-0 Dunmore run that allowed the Lady Bucks to bring the trophy home.
Brown, a talented freshman, was equally elated when the final buzzer went off. “It felt unreal, a great feeling,” she said. “We finally did it.”
A huge Dunmore crowd, loudly cheering throughout, attended the state title win.
The Lady Bucks led from the onset with Tristan Canavan’s layup coming off a Sophia Talutto assist just 22 seconds in.
The scrappy Talutto picked up much of the scoring and became a team leader with Toomey out with her injury in the beginning of the season.
“Winning the state title was so surreal when it happened,” she said. “I couldn’t have been happier for us. We put in so much hard work and to be rewarded with such an accomplishment is just amazing.”
Toomey’s underrated passing ability helped Dunmore to a 27-16 lead in the third quarter when she found Canavan across the paint for a layup.
Senior Cadie Lewis played great defense the entire game and drilled a clutch 23-foot 3-pointer in the third quarter for the Lady Bucks. It was Dunmore’s only 3-pointer in the game. The 3-pointer came after a Toomey basket and two free throws made by Talutto after the Dunmore lead was sliced to 27-23 with 4:48 left in the third quarter.
“The whole experience felt so surreal,” Lewis said after the win. “I was just so proud of the entire team for accomplishing the goal that so many great Lady Bucks teams before us fell short of.”
With Toomey out in the beginning of the season, the Lady Bucks relied on a strong group of role players making big contributions throughout the season. Freshman Amanda Dempsey often started and also played a key role on the team. Junior Sophia Summa had some big games filling in for players. Senior Ana Pacewicz was a contributor. Lewis and Brown were unsung heroes and defensive stalwarts. Talutto became a star player and leader. Canavan was steady, tough, tenacious.
The Lady Bucks defeated Lancaster Catholic, 43-37, in the PIAA semifinal contest at Martz Hall, Pottsville.
Dunmore scored 12 of the first 14 points in the semifinal win.
Toomey led the Lady Bucks with 13 points and 15 rebounds. Canavan added 11 points. Talutto scored eight points and had five assists. Freshmen Dempsey and Brown scored four points each.
Other Dunmore Lady Bucks state playoff wins came at the hands of Lake Lehman, 58-19, Imhotop Charter, 52-34, and Bloomsburg, 64-32.
Toomey scored 16 points against Lake Lehman and 14 against Imhotop Charter.
The Lady Bucks captured its fifth district title in the past six seasons with a 50-30 win over Holy Redeemer Saturday, March 4, at Mohegan Sun Arena. A game ending 25-1 run was sparked by Brown’s seven points off the bench, Talutto led Dunmore with 21 points. Toomey added 11.