Here is a recap of Wednesday’s District 3 Triple-A action from my story in Thursday’s New Era. Go buy a copy!
No Amy Pickard?
No problem.
With its leading scorer still in street clothes while serving a school-imposed suspension, Lancaster Catholic put the pedal down and motored past Delone Catholic 53-40 in a much-anticipated District 3 Triple-A first-round game Wednesday night at Hempfield.
Lancaster Catholic, the No. 3 seed, has won 13 Triple-A titles, and Delone, the No. 14 seed, won three Double-A crowns in a row from 2002-24 and won three state championships in a row from 2003-05.
Plus the Crusaders, who hadn’t played since dropping a 58-48 decision to McCaskey in a Lancaster-Lebanon League quarterfinal game on Feb. 12, were once again playing without Pickard, the team’s speedy playmaker.
“All things considered,” said Lancaster Catholic coach Lamar Kauffman, breathing a sigh of relief, “this is the best win we’ve had all year. Both of these teams are good enough to go until the end, and one of us was getting knocked out.”
That would be Delone, which reached last year’s district semifinals and PIAA Eastern final. The Squirettes finished with an 18-9 overall record.
Kauffman, who earned his 599th career victory as the Crusaders’ coach, was very pleased afterward.
“This was a tremendous win,” he said. “Everybody stepped up. We needed this game. And our kids showed that they weren’t ready for their season to be finished.”
Particularly senior guard Jaclyn O’Grady, who pumped in a season-high 16 points, her twin sister Mackenzie O’Grady, who added 11 points, and junior forward Brittany Ryder, who scored all 10 of her points in the first half, when Lancaster Catholic took a 35-25 lead at the break. <That’s Ryder on the right>
“After the loss to McCaskey, we wanted to come out here full throttle and play like it could be our last game,” said Jaclyn O’Grady, who hit a pair of second-quarter 3-pointers. “I thought we did that.”
Lancaster Catholic, the Section 4 champ, forced 29 turnovers and held Delone to 36-percent shooting (10-for-28).
The Crusaders (22-3 overall) were outrebounded 26-23 and shot just 36 percent (17-for-47), but their press took its toll after the break, when Delone turned the ball over 15 times.
Lancaster Catholic took control for good early in the third, when Monica Barnett scored on back-to-back trips, the latter stretching the Crusaders’ lead to 43-30.
Up next for Lancaster Catholic is a quarterfinal game against Shippensburg on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Central Dauphin East. Shipp, the No. 11 seed, upset sixth-seeded Susquenita 54-37 in the first round.
“We knew this was going to be a tough game,” said Ryder, who grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. “But we’d love to get the three-peat. And we’re feeling pretty confident that we can do it.”
Two other L-L League teams punched their tickets to the Triple-A quarterfinals with victories Wednesday:
Section 3 runner-up and league semifinalist Lampeter-Strasburg downed Dover 60-47 at Conestoga Valley, and Section 3 champ and league semifinalist Lebanon survived in-county rival Palmyra 43-41 in a thriller at Hempfield.
L-S 60, Dover 47
The eighth-seeded Pioneers trailed 12-2 early, but opened the second half on a 24-6 blitz and cruised past No. 9 Dover and into the quarterfinals opposite No. 1 Muhlenberg on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Garden Spot.
Muhlenberg edged Mechanicsburg 41-34.
“We’re excited,” L-S coach Matt Wieand said. “We knew that if we lost, there’s no tomorrow and our season was done. So we’re thankful to extend our season, and we’re excited to get a chance to take on Muhlenberg. I’m sure we’ll be the underdogs, but we’re excited to still be playing.”
Sophomore guard Lisa Boyer pumped in 21 points and senior guard Lil Snyder added 11 points for L-S, which trailed 33-27 at the break.
Boyer is one of four sophomore starters.
“Everyone is saying that our future should be bright, but we have an opportunity right now,” Wieand said. “And we’d like to take advantage of that opportunity.”
Lebanon 43, Palmyra 41
Senior guard Megan Strohman’s 3-pointer with 27 seconds to play lifted the Cedars, who trailed 12-0 early but stormed from behind and knocked off their in-county rivals.
“The kids found a way,” said Lebanon coach Carlos Sanchez, whose team is set to face No. 5 Eastern York – a 56-46 winner over Middletown – in a quarterfinal game Saturday at noon at East Pennsboro.
“To come back after being down 12-0 speak volumes,” he said. “They stayed the course and found a way.”
Lebanon (20-8) trailed 16-7 after the first quarter and 22-15 at the break, but opened the second half on a 21-11 tear and eventually took its first lead, 29-27.
Palmyra, the two-time reigning Triple-A runners-up, led 41-40 and had the ball with 45.3 seconds to go. But Lebanon got the ball back on a defensive rebound and got the ball to Strohman, who buried a 3-pointer from deep in the left corner to give the Cedars the lead for good.
“It’s a great win,” Strohman said. “We’re not ready to go home. We don’t want this train to stop.”
Shaleene Hare and Abbey Leibig scored 10 points apiece for Lebanon.
JEFFREY REINHART
