Former Dunmore standout named coach of Lady Bucks

Posted on September 7, 2022 by The Dunmorean

By Steve Svetovich

Carrie Bowen Toomey is a basketball lifer.

And a former all-state basketball player for Dunmore.

For years, she has been one of the biggest supporters of the Dunmore basketball programs.

For the past three years she served as assistant basketball coach at Dunmore under Ben O’Brien who last month accepted a position as coach of the University of Scranton Lady Royals.

So it was not a surprise when Bowen Toomey, 51, was named last month as the new coach of the Dunmore Lady Bucks.

“It’s an honor to be chosen,” she said. “I prepared for this for an entire lifetime. I have more to give and I’m very excited.”

Her daughter Ciera Toomey will be a senior forward/center for the Lady Bucks this season. She will begin the season out with a knee injury, but is expected to play under her mom at some point during the season.

Carrie Bowen Toomey poses with her husband, Patrick Toomey, at right, as their daughter Ciera, at center, celebrates her 1000th point with the Ladies Buck basketball team. Carrie is taking over as head coach at DHS this season.

She is committed to play basketball for the University of North Carolina the following year. She averaged over 18 points and 7.0 rebounds while shooting 67.2 percent from the floor as a junior for Dunmore.

“We are hoping she plays,” her mom said. “If she does, it will be later in the season. She was thrilled about me being named coach though. I have coached her since she started playing basketball. We anticipate she can eventually play this year.”

Another daughter, Victoria Toomey, was a four-year basketball standout at Dunmore and is currently a senior center at Rider University.

Bowen Toomey was a four-year starter for Franklin and Marshall College. At 5-10, she played forward, was a strong rebounder and possessed a terrific jump hook shot.

The Diplomats were MAC-South champs in 1990 with a 25-5 record. During the next three years, Franklin and Marshall won the MAC-Southwesf title, losing in the league championship game each year.

Bowen Toomey was named to the MAC-Southwest Conference first team three years in a row and was the league’s MVP in her junior and senior years. She was named to the ECAC South first All Conference team her junior and senior years.

She was named to the WBCA Mid-Atlantic first team and received honorable mention All-American honors by the WBA. Gazette, the women’s basketball magazine, named her third-team All-American.

She averaged 13.6 points as a college freshman. She improved to 13.8 as a sophomore, 16.8 as a junior, and 20.1 points per game as a senior.

She finished her Franklin and Marshall career second in school history in scoring with 1,686 points, fourth in rebounding with 821, third in assists with 276, third in steals with 226, fourth in 3-point goals with 54, and third in blocks with 141.

She is in Franklin and Marshall’s Athletic Hall of Fame.

She played professional basketball in England for one year with the Avesta Sheffield Hatters in the English National League. She averaged 14.0 points per game there.

“Being named coach of the Dunmore Lady Bucks is the biggest thrill of my coaching career,” she said. “It’s a great program and we all understand what comes with it,

“Our goal every year here at Dunmore is to win the Lynett title, the district title and the state title.

“I want to make a smooth transition from what Ben did here. And then I want to continue the level of play and success Dunmore is used to every season.”

Bowen-Toomey is a member of the Northeastern Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. While playing for Dunmore, she was the Female Athlete of the Year in 1988-89. She was Scranton Times All-Regional Player of the Year in 1988-89.

She was a part of four straight Lackawanna League South titles as a four-year starter for Dunmore. She was a big part of Dunmore’s District II title in 1986-87. She earned four straight Girls’ Lackawanna Southern Division first-team all-star selections while scoring 1,635 career points and hauling down 1,020 career rebounds.

She is the first female league president in the Dunmore Biddy Basketball League where she coached and served as board member.

She served as assistant basketball coach at Bishop O’Hara from 1997 to 2001 and coached the NEPA Elite AAU team and NEPA Flames AAU team for JB Hoops. She also has experience as a basketball trainer.

“This is a labor of love for me,” she said. “It’s a big job. We all know that. But it’s what I have been doing for my entire life.”

Athlete of the Month: Moriah Murray

Posted on March 3, 2021 by The Dunmorean

By Steve Svetovich

Dunmore junior Moriah Murray scored her 1,000th career point and three weeks later led her team to another Lackawanna League Division III title.

And then COVID-19 placed a pause in the fate of the Dunmore girls basketball program in the hands of District administrators.

At press time, a total of three Dunmore girls players tested positive for COVID and because of the timing and state mandated quarentine protocols, the earliest the Lady Bucks can return to action is Friday, March 5. The team is currently seeded second in the Class 4A playoffs, but the dates initially posted by District 2 call for that bracket to begin play Thursday, March 4.

Eight other Lsckawanna League teams are also on pause due to COVID protocols.

Daughter of Joe Murray and Lynn Plotkin, Moriah said she and her teammates remain prepared, focused and ready for the district playoffs.

“We are on pause now with nine teams affected due to COVID,” she said. “We won the league title and we’ve been practicing hard. We will be ready for everything. We can’t wait to get going again. We will take it game by game.”

Moriah hit five 3-pointers and scored 21 points as No. 2 Dunmore clinched the Lackawanna League Division III title with a 71-35 win over No. 6 Old Forge Wednesday, February 24. Ciera Toomey added 17 points and Cadence Lewis added 10 points for the Lady Bucks.

Three weeks prior, Moriah reached a personal milestone scoring her 1,000th career point in a 71-45 win over Holy Cross Wednesday, February 3. The junior standout reached the milestone on a 3-pointer in the third quarter. Moriah scored 15 points in her milestone game. Toomey led the Lady Bucks with 19 points. Anna Talutto added 18.

The Lady Bucks are 16-1 under veteran coach Ben O’Brien going into playoff action.

Moriah took a pause to reflect on her 1,000th point. “It was kinda crazy,” she said.

“You don’t think about the points, but rather about your teammates and coaches who put you in a position to accomplish something like that. My heart stopped when the buzzer sounded… It was just such a great feeling.”

Moriah has a 92 academic average. Her best academic subject is math. She committed to play college basketball at Drexel University in Philadelphia. She will play there with Riverside standout basketball player Kylie Lavelle, another junior and 1,000-point scorer who is a good friend.

“I am undecided on a major, but I am looking forward to playing basketball with Kylie at Drexel. She is a very good friend. We played in AAU leagues together over the years. I am looking forward to the type of intensity of basketball at that level.”

Moriah has learned a lot about the game of basketball from her dad. She started at a young age playing in AAU leagues. She said her parents always taught her to “be myself.”

Confident and articulate, Moriah said her Lady Bucks team has a simple goal. “Get into the districts and win the district playoffs. Then win the state playoffs. We were on our way last year when COVID struck. We feel there is a need to finish off a goal. And we are ready for it. We want a state championship. We don’t want to come up short for any reason. We’ll go game to game until we reach our goal.”

“I am not even thinking about college now. I am excited about that down the road. But right now I am focusing on Dunmore and our team.”

The junior scholar-athlete is a member of the French Club and TACT at Dunmore. She is also a key member of the Lady Bucks softball team as a shortstop and pitcher.

Moriah started playing in AAU leagues at age seven, “It was such a great experience,” she said. “I picked up so many skills and moves from the other girls in the AAU leagues.”

Moriah said she loves Dunmore and her friends and teammates. “I just love the whole Dunmore experience,” she said. “I love the whole town of Dunmore. It is such a small borough. Everyone is so close, especially our basketball team. We have been together through thick and thin.”

Lady Bucks Advance to Second Round in State Playoffs Before Shutdown

Posted on April 1, 2020 by The Dunmorean

Ciera Toomey, a freshman with the Dunmore Lady Bucks is shown in action. She has been named to the Lackawanna League Basketball Coaches first team all-stars. (Photo credit: Rich Banick Photography)

By Steve Svetovich

The Dunmore Lady Bucks were on a roll.

Only a national pandemic could stop them.

And then the season came to a quick halt.

The Lady Bucks, coached by the veteran Ben O’Brien, defeated Neumann-Goretti, 65-51, in the second round of the PIAA Class 3A girls basketball playoffs at Freedom High School in Bethlehem Tuesday, March 10.

Dunmore easily beat Constitution, 62-23, Friday, March 6, in the first round of the PIAA Class 3A girls basketball playoffs.

But the Coronavirus threat halted the end of the winter sports season and sent high school athletes home. A national shut down, which does not include “life essential ” workers, has been since extended to April 30.

Social distancing is the mantra now to help thwart the spread of COVID-19, and keeps local athletes away from teammates. It’s simply keeping people away from each other.

Businesses, schools, gyms, restaurants, sports arenas, concert venues, movie theatres, life as we know it, are shut down.

Dunmore sophomore Moriah Murray scored 23 points and added five assists in the win against Constitution. She hit four 3-pointers.

Dunmore freshman Ciera Toomey added 16 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Murray exploded for a career-high 33 points, including seven 3-pointers, in the second round win over Neumann-Goretti, 65-51, Tuesday, March 10, at Freedom High School in Bethlehem. She added six rebounds and three assists.

Toomey scored 22 points and added seven assists and five rebounds.

Elisa Delfino hauled down five rebounds. Anna Talutto and Alexis Chapman contributed three assists each. Mia Blume had two assists.

Murray and Toomey were both selected as Lackawanna League Coaches first team all- stars. Talutto and Blume were honorable mention.

Moriah Murray, a sophomore, shown here on the court for the Lady Bucks basketball team, has been named to the first team all-stars by the Lackawanna League Basketball Coaches.

“It’s sad to see that our season could potentially be over,” Murray said to The Dunmorean. “as we felt our team had more to accomplish.

“I’m proud of how our team came together and won a league and district title. I will be very sad if we can not finish our season for my teammates and especially for the seniors.”

Murray swished her first six 3-pointers, none shorter than 23-feet, against Neumann-Goretti. The sharp shooter hit on 10-of-15 shots in the win.

Pennsylvania Gatorade Player of the Year Diamond Johnson scored 35 points for Neumann-Goretti.

Dunmore had a 39-21 lead at one point, but Johnson helped lead a comeback. She scored 10 points in two and one-half minutes to cut Dunmote’s lead to eight points after three quarters.

However, Murray hit one of two foul shots after a technical, the scrappy Anna Talutto drove into the the paint and hit a soft 12-footer and Alexa Chapman finished a fast break on a Toomey nifty pass. Murray’s wing drive made it seven straight for Dunmore after the technical.

The Lady Bucks all of a sudden had a 56-43 lead with 3:42 left and did not look back.

Only the Coronavirus could stop this team.