Senior Cadie Lewis picking up Dunmore Lady Bucks

By Steve Svetovich

With teammates Ciera Toomey and Sophia Talutto out with injuries, Dunmore senior point guard Cadie Lewis is picking up the number two ranked Lady Bucks.

And the team just keeps rolling along and winning.

After Talutto was injured at the end of the first quarter in a recent game against Riverside, Cadie picked her team up and scored 26 points in leading her team to a 65-36 win over the Lady Vikings.

Daughter of Tom and Michelle Lewis, Cadie is among the league’s leading scorers averaging 10 points per contest. She also leads the league in 3-pointers averaging over two per game. An unselfish player, Cadie averages 4.5 assists per game from her point guard position.

A four-year member of the basketball team, the well-spoken senior has a highly impressive 99 academic average. She is a four-year member and co-captain of the Dunmore football cheerleaders. She is a two year member and captain of the Lady Bucks softball team.

Cadie is also a member of the National Honor Society, TACT, SADD, and the Service Club.

She talked about what it takes to excel at the point guard position in high school basketball. “You need to be both confident and humble in your game,” she said. “You need to know your teammates well, make the right shots, and take care of the ball.”

With two starters injured, Cadie knew she had to pick her game up. “With Ciera out a good part of the season, and then with Sophia out, I knew it was time to step it up. I had to make the right plays and right shots. I’m used to being a defensive player, so I had to step it up a bit on the offensive end.”

Articulate and hard-working, Cadie said she has applied to Marywood University, Kings College, and Neumann University to study in the physician’s assistant program. All are five-year programs.

“I want to study to become a physician’s assistant,” she said. “I definitely would love to play college basketball if given the opportunity.”

Cadie has other goals in her future. “I want to become financially independent and travel the world,” she said. “I would love to travel to Italy and Greece.”

The senior scholar-athlete said she loves the musical artist Adele. “I would absolutely love to see her in concert. No matter where, I would try to get there. If I had the time to get there, I would. I love her.”

Cadie, who always seems to look at the bottle as half-full, praised new Dunmore basketball coach Carrie Bowen Toomey. “She showed me how to read my teammates out on the floor. She gave me more confidence to get to the basket and look for my shot.”

Cool and confident, Cadie has learned a lot from her parents. “They taught me the importance of hard work,” she said. “They tell me to work to the best of my ability and put my best foot forward.”

Cadie said she has enjoyed her experience at Dunmore. “I love Dunmore,” she said. “It is a close knit community. It’s a great place to grow up. Dunmore is a great school. You see all familiar faces in the crowd at the games. Everyone supports us. We see the teachers the day after a game at school and they are all congratulating us. Everyone is just so supportive both in and out of school.”

Athlete of the Month: Emma Conte

By Steve Svetovich

Dunmore Lady Bucks senior shortstop Emma Conte is once again among the Lackawanna League Division III leaders in homers and batting average.

Emma, 18, at press time was leading Lackawanna League Division III hitters with six home runs. She was also among the league’s leading hitters with a .522 batting average.

And last season she hit a robust .550 with seven homers.

Daughter of Rich and Kim Conte, Emma is a three-year member of the Dunmore softball team. She is a two-year member of the Dunmore Lady Bucks volleyball team and is a member of the Spanish Club, French Club, SADD and TACT. Emma has a 91 grade point average at Dunmore.

A transfer from Riverside, where she played softball as a freshman, she was first team all-state, All Regional and a first-team Lackawanna League all-star last season.

Emma has not selected a college yet, but knows she wants to continue her softball career and study to become a physician’s assistant.

The slick fielding senior shortstop said her parents taught her a lot about the game. “They both played and were pretty good at it, so I learned a lot from them. They tell me to always be at my best and to be a leader. They tell me to get my teammates going. Keep them up.”

She talked about her future goals. “I want to continue playing softball in college and study to become a physician’s assistant. I want to work hard and get a good job.”

Emma, personable and hard working, said she enjoys listening to music in her spare time and would like to see Post Malone in concert.

The senior standout talked about what it takes to excel at the shortstop position in high school softball. “You need to be loud and call out the plays. You need to be a leader and keep your team up and positive. You need to be able to pick your team up when things aren’t going right.”

She has learned a lot from Dunmore Lady Bucks softball coach Ryan Ferguson. “He is a great coach,” Emma said. “I can’t begin to tell you how much I have learned from him. He teaches us we have to work as a team. He is very big on that. He tells me I have to be a leader. He is not just a coach, but a friend to all of us. We are a team under him.”

Well-spoken and always positive, Emma said she has thoroughly enjoyed her experience at Dunmore.

“We have great success here at Dunmore because of my teammates. We all get along so well. You are playing with your best friends.

“My teammates are my best friends on and off the field. We work as a close knit team.

“And that is one of the big reasons I love it here at Dunmore. I have the best friends and teammates all in one.”

Dunmore Freshman Steps Up Her Game

By Steve Svetovich

As a freshman in the Dunmore Lady Bucks starting five, Sophia Talutto made her mark as the season progressed.

But she really stepped up her game when all-state junior center Ciera Toomey went down with a torn ACL in the Lady Bucks district title win over Scranton Prep, 43-42, Thursday, March 3, at Mohegan Sun Arena.

Dunmore senior Moriah Murray hit the game-winning bucket in the district title win while senior Mia Blume led the Lady Bucks with 11 points, but the talented freshman Talutto chipped in with eight points, including two key 3-pointers.

Murray led the way with 32 points in the Lady Bucks 51-25 win over Shamokin in the PIAA Class 4A first round win Wednesday, March 9, but Sophia added 12 points as the team’s second leading scorer.

Murray scored 35 points in Dunmore’s 62-53 overtime win over Villa Joseph Marie in the PIAA Class 4A second round contest Sunday, March 13, at Easton Middle School. Sophia and Mia Blume were the team’s second leading scorers with 12 points each.

The Lady Bucks lost 40-39 in the PIAA Class 4A quarterfinal at Berwick High School Wednesday, March 16, but Sophia led Dunmore in scoring with 14 points.

So the scrappy freshman became a mighty contributor in the playoffs, with standout teammate Ciera Toomey on the sidelines. Sophia, Moriah, Mia and a few others stepped up their games to the max.

Daughter of Lori and Joseph Talutto, Dunmore, Sophia, 15, averaged about 8.5 points per game as a freshman shooting guard this season.

Her sister Anna Talutto was a key four-year member of the Dunmore Lady Bucks and currently attends Penn State.

“My sister was known for her defense,” Sophia said. “And I learned a lot just by watching her play. She taught me a lot about how to,play good defense. I pattern a lot of my game after her.”

Sophia said she and her teammates were thrilled with the district title win. “A lot of it was for Ciera. We became more aggressive after she went down and fought hard to help get her a district title. We all stepped up, played with more confidence, and played together as a team. We were so happy to get that win. We were happy for Ciera and all of us as teammates.

“With Ciera going down early in that game, it was bad. We all felt bad at first. There were a lot of emotions and then we came through.

“Winning the district championship was the greatest feeling ever.”

Well-spoken and intelligent, Sophia has a 98.5 academic average at Dunmore. She is a member of the TACT Club and is a left wing on the soccer team.

She has played AAU basketball for five years on the NEPA Elite.

Sophia said her parents are a strong influence. “They teach me to always keep going. If you get knocked down, you need to get right back up.”

She has learned a lot from Dunmore veteran basketball coach Ben O’Brien. “He gave me a lot of confidence and is very supportive of everything.”

Sophia enjoys rap music and said she would like to see Tyler the Creator in concert.

As a freshman, she is enjoying her time at Dunmore and looking forward to the next three years. “Freshman year has really been great,” she said. “I’ve made a lot of memories and friendships. I love the community. We have great fans.”

Sophia has time to decide on a college and major, but there is one thing she knows for sure when the time comes. “I want to play basketball in college. I love the game.”