PIAA Class 3A championship game capsule: Dunmore vs. River Valley
Mar. 23—Dunmore (26-3) vs. River Valley (29-2)
When/where: Giant Center, Hershey, 6 p.m.
How they got here: River Valley eliminated Our Lady of Sacred Heart, 44-38; Dunmore topped Lancaster Catholic, 43-37.
Starting lineups: Dunmore — Sophia Talutto, 5-6, Jr., 12.8 ppg; Ciera Toomey, 6-4, Sr., 9.9; Cadie Lewis, 5-5, Sr., 8.8; Tristan Canavan, 5-8, Jr., 8.7; Amanda Dempsey, 5-6, Fr., 5.8. River Valley — Ava Persichetti, 5-9, So., 19.7; Abby Pynos, 6-0, Sr., 9.9; Hannah Artley, 5-10, Sr., 9.5; Rylee Kitner, 5-6, Jr., 7.4; Emily Staats, 5-6, Jr., 5.2.
The buzz: Dunmore's roster has two sisters of players who were on the 2019 final squad. Ciera Toomey's sister is Rider University starting center Victoria Toomey, and Sophia Talutto's sister Anna was the sixth man and spark plug for that squad. ... North Carolina recruit Toomey should feel comfortable with the look of River Valley. The Panthers' colors? Carolina blue, black and white. ... Canavan leads the team in free throw attempts with 59. Five players for the Panthers have attempted more, led by Persichetti's 96 and Artley's 94. ... Dunmore's past three trips to the state final were in 1994, a 44-43 loss to Cranberry Twp.; 2011, a loss to Erie Villa Maria, 62-39; and 2019, a defeat at the hands of Delone Catholic, 49-43. Dunmore assistant coaches Ashley Murray Sunseri (2011) and LeeLee Tallo (2019) played in a final for their alma mater. ... River Valley is in its second year after the 2021 Blairsville and Saltsburg schools merged. ... River Valley is riding a 20-game win streak. ... In its four state games, Dumore is 87 of 146 (59.6%) from inside the arc, and is 15 of 51 (29.4%) beyond the 3-point line. Since the state opener with Bloomsburg, the Lady Bucks are 8 of 36 (22.2%). ... Lewis leads Dunmore with 50 of its 143 3-pointers. ... In four state playoff games, Toomey is shooting 28 for 45 (62.2%), second on the team to Canavan, who's 20 for 29 (69%). Toomey is averaging 13.0 points, 11.3 rebounds, 4.0 blocks and 2.3 assists in the PIAA tournament. ... The Lady Bucks had 15 offensive rebounds in their win over Lancaster Catholic. .... Dunmore's losses are to 4A semifinalist Scranton Prep, 3A quarterfinalist Mount Carmel and 3A quarterfinalist Lake-Lehman in OT. .... Persichetti is a 1,000-point scorer as a sophomore. ... Indiana County has never had a state champion in basketball, but River Valley and Homer-Center (2A) are both in the finals. ... The Panthers average 57.8 ppg and yield 36.8. Dunmore scores 53.5, allowing 28.5.
— MARTY MYERS
