Some mid-week musings for you …
If you haven’t noticed, Section 1 and Section 3 have gotten a ton of ink lately.
And why not?
The races in those sections are closer than close, and on any given Tuesday or Friday night, it seems like there’s a game with first-place on the line. And that won’t change from here on out, what with McCaskey and Cedar Crest tied for first in Section 1, and Lampeter-Strasburg and Lebanon deadlocked atop Section 3.
Instead of going through the Section 1 and Section 3 races in minute detail for the 1.68 millionth time, I thought I’d walk you through the Section 2 and Section 4 races, which have some interesting twists and turns.
So pay attention:
SECTION 2
Preseason pick Conestoga Valley is large and in charge.
Coach Jerry Beekler’s Buckskins are the only team in the section with a winning league record (6-5) and a winning overall record (10-8), and they just need to keep winning.
The real battle is the race for second place (and the final L-L League playoff bid that comes with it), where Garden Spot (4-7, 8-9) currently occupies that spot, but is feeling the heat from Solanco (3-7, 7-11).
Garden Spot (who one L-L League insider calls the 2007-08 Section 2 favorite) and Solanco have already met twice this season: Garden Spot took the first game 48-40 in the championship game of Solanco’s Holiday Tournament on Dec. 28. Solanco returned the favor in the team’s first Section 2 game, winning 57-46 on Jan. 19 in Quarryville.
The rubber match is set for Friday at Garden Spot. If Solanco wins, we’ll have a tie for second place. If Garden Spot wins, the Spartans will move two games ahead of Solanco and will be in good shape to lock up a playoff spot. I’ll be at that game (looking forward to seeing the Spartans and the Golden Mares for the first time this season) so please check Saturday’s New Era for my recap.
On paper Garden Spot is in the driver’s seat, but Solanco, with senior forward Tracee Harrison and junior guard CeCe Buzzard showing the way in the scoring department, and with young guns Morgan Jackson, Kelsey Miller and Taylor Kreider getting better every game out, the Mares, under first-year coach Tom McDonald, have the weapons to leapfrog the Spartans and crash the playoff party.
Garden Spot hasn’t been wowing teams with its offense (the Spartans are averaging just 40.4 points a game), but coach Mark Silcox’s team has good balance, getting steady contributions from sharpshooters Jenny Huyett (13 3’s) and Chrissy Taylor (15 3’s) and newcomer Tyneshia Faust.
It’s probably safe to call Cocalico (2-9, 4-14), E-town (2-9, 5-12) and Ephrata (2-9, 6-12) spoilers at this point (sorry gang) with CV, Garden Spot and Solanco slugging it out for two spots.
Here are their schedules down stretch:
CV – vs. Ephrata, @ E-town, @ Solanco, vs. Garden Spot and @ Cocalico.
Garden Spot – vs. Solanco, Saturday vs. Governor Mifflin in a non-league game, vs. Cocalico, @ E-town, @ CV and vs. Ephrata.
Solanco — @ Garden Spot, vs. Ephrata, vs. CV, @ Cocalico and @ E-town.
Should be an interesting five games, especially for the Garden Spot-Solanco winner, which will get a huge leg up with a victory on Friday.
But CV’s still the team to beat.
SECTION 4
Believe it or not, Lancaster Catholic (11-0, 16-2) clinched a tie for the section title with its 82-40 win at Columbia on Tuesday. A win over Lebanon Catholic on Friday will give the Crusaders the Section 4 crown outright.
That’s also a huge game for Lebanon Catholic (6-5, 6-12), which is currently tied for second place with Section 4 newcomer Lancaster Mennonite (6-5, 12-6).
Columbia (3-8, 5-13) has an outside shot of catching Lebanon Catholic and/or Lancaster Mennonite, but the Crimson Tide, under first-year coach Lisa Tomsheck, will likely have to run the table and get some other help to have a legit shot.
Annville-Cleona (2-9, 3-15) is likely a spoiler, but will cause some headaches, so watch out for the Little Dutchmen.
Since Lebanon Catholic and Lancaster Mennonite each have to play Lancaster Catholic one more time (I don’t wish a game against the Crusaders on anybody), it’s tough to pick a favorite, meaning their meeting on Feb. 6 at Mennonite should/could decide your second-place finisher.
Here’s what Lebanon Catholic and Lancaster Mennonite face down the stretch:
Lebanon Catholic — @ Lancaster Catholic, vs. Columbia, vs. Pequea Valley, @ Lancaster Mennonite and @ Annville-Cleona.
Lancaster Mennonite – vs. Annville-Cleona, @ Lancaster Catholic, @ Columbia, vs. Lebanon Catholic and vs. Pequea Valley.
For the record, Mennonite won the first meeting 47-44 on Jan. 19 on Assumption Hill in Lebanon, so these teams appear to be super close.
CLOSING IN ON A GRAND: Two players are poised to join the 1,000-career-point club, and one of them should crash the party as early as Friday.
Lebanon senior guard Megan Strohman has 992 points, and needs just 8 points in Friday’s game at Donegal to join the club. Strohman will be the fifth player in the history of Lebanon’s girls’ program with 1,000 career points, joining Shelly (sister of Sam) Bowie, Hannah Phillips, Andrea Padelsky and Jess Lentz.
And Cedar Crest senior guard Allison Smith is creeping closer to the magical number. After dropping 19 points on McCaskey on Tuesday, the University of Niagara recruit has 944 points. She should join the club next week – unless she drops 56 on Penn Manor on Friday. Hardy-har-har. Smith will become the fifth member of Cedar Crest’s girls’ program to reach 1,000 points, joining Carla Munnion, Alyse Hoover, Ashley Moyer and Aubrie Dellinger.
FILLING IT UP: Nine (9) current L-L League players have scored 600 or more career points. Here’s the list:
Caitlyn Dillard, Conestoga Valley, senior guard (1,574).
Megan Strohman, Lebanon, senior guard (992).
Allison Smith, Cedar Crest, senior guard (944).
Sasha Williams, McCaskey, senior guard (881).
Kelsey Caruthers, Penn Manor, junior forward (827).
Teasia Myers, McCaskey, junior guard (772).
Allison Bauer, Conestoga Valley, junior guard (691).
Samantha Carangelo, Lebanon Catholic, junior guard (678).
Amy Pickard, Lancaster Catholic, senior guard (646).
TUESDAY’S STARS: Top performances from the last night of the first go-round in section play:
- Elco senior forward Allison Bicher had the most points Tuesday – a season-high 26, including her first 3-pointer this season – in the Raiders’ 59-54 loss to Manheim Central. Bicher has 57 points in her last three games (19.0 per), but Elco is 1-2 in that stretch, and has now fallen two games off the pace in Section 3.
- Welcome back senior forward Morgan Umble, who tossed in a season-high 16 points in Lancaster Mennonite’s 63-39 win over Pequea Valley. Umble has missed nine games this season with Achilles and foot injuries, so it’s always nice to see her back in there – although the opposition probably won’t agree with that.
- Manheim Central junior forward Bekah Roland matched her season-high with 21 points in the Barons’ clutch 59-54 win at Elco. Central can knock L-S out of first place with a win over the Pioneers on Friday in Manheim. File that under big game alert, and be sure to check out Phil Glatfelter’s report from that game in Saturday’s New Era.
- Lebanon senior guard Megan Strohman scored 19 points and hit three 3-pointers in the Cedars’ 54-37 win over L-S. Two of Strohman’s 3’s beat buzzers: at the end of the first quarter and again just before the half. You can read all about it from my story in Wednesday’s New Era.
- Cedar Crest junior guard Aubrey Hoover scored 20 points in the Falcons’ 69-40 victory at McCaskey, as Crest forced a tie for first with the Tornado.
- Penn Manor junior forward Kelsey Caruthers scored 19 points in the Comets’ 63-54 shocker over Warwick, which was flying high after a win over Cedar Crest last Friday. Penn Manor could be a major spoiler over the last two and half weeks.
- Lancaster Catholic senior guard Mac O’Grady scored 19 points in the Crusaders’ 82-40 romp over Columbia, as Catholic clinched at least a tie for the Section 4 title and also earned a spot in the L-L League playoffs. Wow, won’t be long before we’re actually filling out brackets. Can’t wait for that.
- Conestoga Valley’s dynamic backcourt duo of senior Caitlyn Dillard and junior Allison Bauer scored 17 points apiece in the Buckskins’ 55-39 win over Cocalico, as CV kept its 2-game lead in the Section 2 chase.
- Garden Spot junior guard Chrissy Taylor hit three 3-pointers and matched her season-high with 14 points in the Spartans’ 50-46 win over Ephrata, as the Spotties remained alone in second place.
- Solanco’s high-scoring tandem of senior forward Tracee Harrison (15 points) and junior guard CeCe Buzzard (13) led the way in the Golden Mares’ 43-31 win over E-town, as Solanco stayed on Garden Spot’s heels for second place.
- Columbia didn’t have much fun in its 82-40 loss to Lancaster Catholic, but senior forward Tara Anspach scored 8 points and grabbed 16 rebounds and soph guard Erica Gilbert (in her first game back after battling through a flu bug) scored a career-high 10 points.
NEWS AND NOTES: Forgot to mention last week that L-S senior guard Lil Snyder, my Midterm Report Section 3 MVP, has committed to Division III Alvernia College. Congrats to Lil … Tuesday’s Donegal-Northern Lebanon Section 3 game was postponed after two Northern Lebanon student-athletes were killed in a car accident last weekend. There was a memorial service on Tuesday, so the game was postponed. No makeup has been announced, but rumor has it that it will be played on Monday. … Top scoring teams in the L-L League through Tuesday’s games: Lancaster Catholic (67.9), L-S (61.1), Cedar Crest (60.8) and McCaskey (58.3). … Top defensive teams in the L-L League through Tuesday’s games: Hempfield (34.2), Cedar Crest (37.8), Elco (39.4) and Lebanon (39.6).
CRAZY 8’s: I must have entirely too much time on my hands – McCaskey has allowed 888 points, Warwick has scored 888 points, and Conestoga Valley has scored 888 points. Now there’s a stat for you.
That is all. I should have another notebook, rankings and a stat pack posted hopefully by Sunday night.
JEFFREY REINHART
