JEFFREY REINHART jreinhart@LNPnews.com

Here are 20 players to keep an eye on this season - which starts (gulp) on Friday night.

Holy cow!

Basketball season is upon us.

And here for you now are my preseason All-Section Teams.

Five players per section. Any grade. Any position.

These ladies all got game. And I’m expecting big things from them in the coming months.

Drum roll please …

<Players are listed alphabetically, by the way>

SECTION 1

Kelsey Caruthers, senior F, Penn Manor – Perhaps the most underrated player in the L-L League, Caruthers has already committed to Division 1 St. Francis University, and she’ll begin her senior season with 874 career points. Tough on the glass and in the post and solid on putbacks. She’s a handful to contend with, and would love to help the Comets somehow get with the lead pack, or at least make Districts. It’s been a while since Penn Manor has been to the postseason. Caruthers could definitely help take them there.

Analicia Evans, senior F, Hempfield – Terrific inside-outside player who can run the floor and crash. Gets to the foul line a lot, and will step back and hit the 3 (13 treys last season). Awesome athlete who will do a lot of the dirty work for the Black Knights – who should challenge Cedar Crest and McCaskey for section honors.

Teasia Myers, senior G, McCaskey – Wow! She’s back again? Yep. Athletic point guard who can run the floor, slash and distribute. If she gets in the key, forget it. Third season as the Red Tornado’s full-time point guard, and she’ll be one of the best in District 3. Will begin her senior season with 930 career points.

Cherelle Simmons, senior F, McCaskey – Wonderful athlete who runs the floor with grace. Big wingspan makes her tough on the glass and on the baseline, and she developed a nice little 15-footer last season. Point production should (read: better) go up, because the Tornado lost some firepower. If she comes out of her shell, she could be one of the best in the league – and in District 3. Super athletic.

Shannon Stokes, senior F, Cedar Crest – Looks like a straight back-to-the-basket player, but she has a great touch from the perimeter and is sneaky quick and nimble for a forward/center type player. Always finds a way to get her points, and she’s a huge matchup problem on the glass.

SECTION 2

Allison Bauer, senior G, Conestoga Valley – Should flourish now that she’s out from Caitlyn Dillard’s shadow. And I say that in a good way; Dillard scored 1,718 points and was a gritty defender. Her scoring punch will definitely be missed. But Bauer has the whole package: lockdown defender, dribble-driver, 3-pointer shooter, distributor in transition or half-court. CV will be more balanced. But when the Buckskins need a shot in crunch time, Bauer will take it. Leaning toward playing at F&M. Begins her senior season with 825 career points.

CeCe Buzzard, senior G, Solanco – Coolest name in the L-L League and a really cool kid who came into her own last season, averaging 10.4 points and drilling 16 3-pointers for the upstart Golden Mares, who came out of basically nowhere to challenge for a playoff spot right up until the last week. Buzzard is good in the open court and has nice range. Definitely a team – and a player – to keep an eye on.

Brynn Lyons, senior G, Ephrata – Underrated sniper who isn’t afraid to pull the trigger in crunch time. Led the Mounts in scoring (10.4) and 3-pointers (27) last season, and those numbers should go up.

CariBeth Shappell, senior F, Cocalico – Athletic forward who can run the floor and score inside and out. Led the Eagles with 9.2 points a game last season, and had a 26-point and 27-point outing late in the season. If she stays healthy, Cocalico could get back in the race.

Chrissy Taylor, senior G, Garden Spot – Deadly shooter who knocked down 30 3’s and was a Section 2 All-Star last season. She should be one of the top snipers in the league this time around as the Spartans’ legit go-to scorer. Was leaning toward West Chester and Ursinus for college, and she’d make either one of those programs happy.

SECTION 3

Lisa Boyer, junior G, Lampeter-Strasburg – Fabulous in transition. Sneaky jumper. Gets to the foul line a lot. Quick. Smart. Has a terrific knack of maneuvering her lean body through the trees and to the rim. Good defender. Not much to dislike here. She was the MVP of the Keystone Camp last summer, so she’s improving. Watch out.

Nicky Hess, junior G, Donegal – Pound for pound one of the best players in the league. And you probably haven’t heard much about her. Also the steady centerfielder on Donegal’s softball team. Awesome shooter with great technique and fundamentals. Plays the game the right way. Good handle and gets her points in the system. Hit 49 3’s last season, and she missed one game (sick) and Donegal played 22 – not 23 – games. She also scored in double digits in the 17 of the 21 games she played in. Do yourself a favor: go to a Donegal game this winter.

Danielle Rittenhouse, junior G, Lampeter-Strasburg – Really good lockdown defender who should spearhead the Pioneers’ defensive schemes as far as pressing and trapping goes. Always black and blue from nightly spills to the deck, chasing loose basketballs. Will also step back and hit a 3 (21 last season), and like Boyer, she can get through traffic and into the key.

Bekah Roland, senior F, Manheim Central – Steady player on both ends of the court. She has a nice touch from the baseline and the wing. Type of player that you look at the stat sheet at the end of the night and you say, ‘Wow! Bekah had 20 points?’ Quiet assassin.

Kala Yoders, sophomore F, Elco – Wanted to get her on this list because she should slide from sixth-man to full-time starter. Burst onto the scene by averaging 8.3 points a game coming off the bench as a freshman last season. Tough on the glass and she gets to the line a lot. Bright future. Sky’s the limit for Yoders.

SECTION 4

Tori Aston, senior G, Columbia – Sleek lefty who can run the floor and step back and shoot the 3. Crimson Tide will need her: Lebanon Catholic, Lancaster Catholic and Lancaster Mennonite all mean business. The Section 4 race should be a dandy.

Samantha Carangelo, senior G, Lebanon Catholic – Sweet-shooting lefty makes the Beavers go. And last season, they went all the way to the District 3 Single-A title game, knocking off Lancaster Country Day in the finale. I put the Section 4 bull’s-eye on Lebanon Catholic, and if Carangelo plays big, I think the Beavers can win it. Honestly.

Kelsey Gorman, senior G, Lancaster Mennonite – Super athlete (awesome volleyball player as well) who will spearhead a Blazers’ team that has a legit shot at making some serious noise in the Section 4 race. If Lebanon Catholic and/or Lancaster Catholic is caught napping, Mennonite will be right there. Gorman can score and dish, and she can run the floor.

Brittany Ryder, senior F, Lancaster Catholic – Lone returning starter from last year’s District 3 Triple-A runner-up team had a nice breakout junior season, averaging 10.7 points a game. Will be called upon to do a little more this season since the Crusaders got cleaned out by graduation – particularly in the backcourt – but she has the experience and the skills to do it.

Katelyn Vanderhoff, junior G, Lancaster Mennonite – Sleek shooting guard loves to run the floor and get to the basket in transition. Tough from downtown, too. And should team with Gorman to form one of the best 1-2 punches in the league. If she doesn’t win the league scoring title this season, she’s the early favorite for 2008-09.