Lancaster Country Day stormed into the District 3 Single-A championship game Tuesday night after a thrilling 2-point victory over Scotland. Here’s my story on that game, plus info on Lebanon Catholic’s upset win over Reading Central Catholic, and Lebanon clinching a spot in States from Wednesday’s New Era …
MECHANICSBURG – Kaitlyn Lukehart only hit one shot Tuesday night.
But it was the biggest shot in the history of Lancaster Country Day’s girls’ basketball program.
Lukehart, a junior forward, hit a fadeaway jumper in the key with 2.7 seconds to play to give the Cougars a 44-42 victory over Scotland in a District 3 Single-A semifinal game in Cumberland Valley High School’s Dome Gymnasium.
The win propelled LCD, the No. 2 seed, into the district championship game for the first time in school history, where the Cougars will meet fifth-seeded Lebanon Catholic, a program with a rich history in the District 3 playoffs.
The Beavers, who finished in second place in Section 4 of the Lancaster-Lebanon League, have won 13 Single-A championships, and will go for another gold Thursday at 4:30 p.m. in Hershey’s Giant Center against LCD.
Lebanon Catholic held off two-time defending Single-A champ Reading Central Catholic 38-31 in Tuesday’s other semifinal.
LCD (20-4 overall) won in thrilling fashion, watching Scotland (10-14) tie the game at 42 with 9.2 seconds to go, only to win it on Lukehart’s clutch jumper in the waning seconds.
“We just made history,” Lukehart said. “This is the first time we’ve made it this far.”
LCD bowed out to Scotland in the Single-A semifinals in 2005, so the Cougars got some revenge Tuesday. They also clinched a spot in the state playoffs for being one of the final four teams still dancing in Single-A.
“It’s always been the kids’ goal to get to Hershey, and they’ve worked so hard to finally get to this point,” LCD second-year coach Kristin Maneval said. “We’re all so elated.”
Especially Lukehart, who bailed out LCD after the Cougars coughed up a seemingly safe 42-37 lead.
Sophomore forward Lauren Reitz, who scored 14 points and grabbed 13 rebounds off the bench, hit back-to-back buckets, the latter putting LCD ahead by five with 1:35 to play.
But Scotland’s Keyonna Montgomery drilled a 3-pointer to slice the Cougars’ lead to 42-40 with 44 seconds to go, and after Reitz misfired with 15 seconds left, Montgomery hit the second of two foul shots with 9.2 seconds showing and it was 42-all.
“We were winging it,” Maneval said. “We wanted to push the ball down the floor, and we were only going to call timeout if we didn’t have anything. Since we were tied and we weren’t playing from behind, I decided to just let them play, and we were going to get the win or go to overtime.”
LCD sophomore guard Grace Chesters advanced the ball into the frontcourt and fed Lukehart, who spun to her left and pulled the trigger on a straightaway 15-footer.
“I just remember that it was tied and that we were all a little nervous,” Lukehart said. “I had my back to the basket, but as I turned around, I realized that I had to take the shot. At first I was looking for someone under the basket for a layup, but nobody was there. And I didn’t want to drive because that would have taken more time off the clock. So I shot it.
“I was so nervous that I was shaking. But as soon as I let it go, I knew it was going in.”
Swish.
Scotland, the No. 6 seed, called a timeout with 1.4 seconds to play and had to go the length of the court, but the Kaydettes didn’t get a shot off.
“We had the will to win this game,” Lukehart said.
Scotland never trailed in the first half, leading 12-8 after the first quarter and 24-22 at the break. LCD took its first lead, 25-24, when junior guard Phoebe Fasulo hit the first of her three third-quarter 3-pointers on the Cougars’ first trip of the second half.
“She stepped up and got us back in the game,” Lukehart said of Fasulo’s third-quarter shooting display.
Fasulo finished with 11 points, and senior forward Lauren Auster-Gussman added 10 points for LCD, which was outrebounded 45-40 and shot just 32 percent (19-for-59) from the field, but only turned the ball over 11 times.
And thanks to Lukehart’s shot, LCD’s next stop is the Giant Center.
Also Tuesday:
Lebanon Catholic 38, Reading Central Catholic 31
At Penn Manor, Anna Wengert scored 14 points, and the Beavers (13-14) outscored RCC (20-6), the No. 1 seed, 25-16 in the second half and advanced to Thursday’s title game opposite LCD.
Lebanon Catholic hasn’t won a Single-A crown since 2005, and that capped a run of six championships in a row.
Lebanon 46, Muhlenberg 38
In a Triple-A consolation game at Penn Manor, the Section 3 champion Cedars clinched a spot in the state playoffs and earned a trip to the fifth-place game with a victory over the No. 1 seed.
Megan Strohman (game-high 16 points), Abbey Leibig (13) and Megan Snook (10) led 13th-seeded Lebanon, which raced out to a 23-17 lead at the half and held the Muhls to just six third-quarter points.
Lebanon (21-9) will take on seventh-seeded Gettysburg (19-7) in the fifth-place game Thursday at a site and time to be announced.
JEFFREY REINHART
