JEFFREY REINHART jreinhart@LNPnews.com
I hope everyone is having a nice holiday. Other than my bout with strep throat (anyone have a cough drop?), I can’t complain.
Since I am a stat monger, I’ll begin this week’s notebook with the scoring leaders and 3-point leaders, through all holiday tournament and non-league games over the break:
SCORING LEADERS: Twenty-seven (27) L-L League players are averaging at least 10.0 points per game. Here’s the list, through games of Saturday, Dec. 29:
(player, school, games, points, average)
Kelsey Caruthers, Penn Manor 12-252-21.0
Teasia Myers, McCaskey 7-119-17.0
Bekah Roland, Manheim Central 11-176-16.0
Brittany Ryder, Lancaster Catholic 11-171-15.5
Nicky Hess, Donegal 10-153-15.3
Lisa Boyer, L-S 12-168-14.0
Hailey Carangelo, Lebanon Catholic 11-153-13.9
Allison Bauer, CV 12-161-13.4
Meghan Phillips, Cedar Crest 11-144-13.1
Nichole Heister, N. Lebanon 12-156-13.0
Chrissy Taylor, Garden Spot 11-143-13.0
Dani Artman, Manheim Central 11-42-12.9
Analicia Evans, Hempfield 12-154-12.8
Ana Cruz, Warwick 11-135-12.3
Samantha Carangelo, Lebanon Catholic 8-96-12.0
CeCe Buzzard, Solanco 10-113-11.3
Shannon Stokes, Cedar Crest 11-124-11.3
Melissa Sattazahn, Lebanon 11-122-11.1
Emily Weaver, Lancaster Catholic 11-121-11.0
Danee Simms, McCaskey 11-119-10.8
Taylor Kreider, Solanco 10-107-10.7
Aubrey Hoover, Cedar Crest 11-114-10.4
Brynn Lyons, Ephrata 11-114-10.4
Danielle Rittenhouse, L-S 9-93-10.3
Katelyn Vanderhoff, Lancaster Mennonite 12-121-10.1
Tori Aston, Columbia 12-120-10.0
Ashley Marshall, Pequea Valley 12-120-10.0
3-POINTERS: The top 3-point shooters in the L-L League are as follows, through games of Saturday, Dec. 29:
Nichole Heister, Elco (34), Nicky Hess, Donegal (23), Dani Busansky, Penn Manor (22), Chrissy Taylor, Garden Spot (21), Carmen Cruz, Warwick (20), Allison Bauer, CV (16), Tessa Smucker, Pequea Valley (15), Molly Holt, Lancaster Catholic (14), Brynn Lyons, Ephrata (12).
Ana Cruz, Warwick (11), Hailey Carangelo, Lebanon Catholic (11), Samantha Carangelo, Lebanon Catholic (11), Emily Nobile, Columbia (11), Kacy Shaw, Manheim Central (11), Dani Artman, Manheim Central (10), Kelsey Curcio, Manheim Township (10), Melissa Sattazahn, Lebanon (10), Alyssa Torres, Penn Manor (10).
TOURNEY CHAMPS: A tip of the cap to the following holiday tournament champs:
Hempfield (Hempfield Holiday Tournament)
Warwick (Warwick Holiday Tournament)
Lampeter-Strasburg (Ephrata Holiday Tournament)
Solanco (Solanco Holiday Tournament)
SECTION UPDATE: In case you drank too much egg nog (or you fell asleep for the last week and half), here’s where we stand in the section races, when league play commences Wednesday and Friday:
Section 1 – Cedar Crest (5-0) and Hempfield (5-0) are tied for the top spot, and they’ll meet Wednesday in Landisville, where someone is walking out of there in sole possession of first.
Section 2 – Garden Spot (3-2) is alone in first, a game clear of Conestoga Valley (2-3) and Ephrata (2-3), which has won two league games in a row and is feeling frisky.
Section 3 – Great race here, with L-S (4-1), Manheim Central (4-1) and Elco (3-1) all in the thick of things. Elco has a makeup game against Lebanon Catholic still on the books, and the Raiders are at Central on Friday. So we could start to see some separation soon.
Section 4 – Just to refresh your memory: Lancaster Mennonite knocked off Lancaster Catholic 45-40 in a thriller on the last night of league play before the holiday break. So the Blazers (4-1) and the Crusaders (4-1) share the top spot.
BEAR SEASON: Elizabethtown cracked the win column for the first time this season on Friday, when the Bears rolled Greencastle-Antrim 59-31 in the consolation game of the Hershey Holiday Tournament to improve to 1-9. Three E-town players scored career-highs in the win: Becca Bigler (19), Brianna Kuhn (14) and Kelsey Benson (11). … That means everyone in the L-L League has now won at least one game.
STREAKS OVER: Cedar Crest sophomore F Meghan Phillips and Donegal junior G Nicky Hess were finally held to single-digits in a game. After scoring at least 11 points in the Falcons’ first 10 games, Phillips was held to four points in Crest’s 52-34 loss to Wilson in the finale of the Wilson Holiday Tournament. And after scoring at least 10 points in the Indians’ first nine games, Hess was held to 8 in Donegal’s win over Susquenita in the consolation game of the Donegal Holiday Tournament. … Penn Manor’s Kelsey Caruthers and McCaskey’s Teasia Myers (when healthy) are the only two players in the league who have scored in double-digits in every game out.
SPEAKING OF CREST: The only team with three double-digit scorers is Cedar Crest – Phillips (13.1), Shannon Stokes (11.3) and Aubrey Hoover (10.4). Those three will be tested Wednesday against Hempfield, which boasts the league’s stingiest defense.
INJURY UPDATE: McCaskey’s Teasia Myers, second in the league in scoring (17.0) has missed the last four games with a right ankle sprain. Saw her at the Ephrata Holiday Tournament, and the walking boot was off. She’ll likely be back Wednesday vs. Warwick. … Ephrata sharpshooter Brynn Lyons has been dynamite since she missed the Hempfield crossover game on Dec. 17 with an eye injury. In her last four games, Lyons is averaging 14.8 points with four 3-pointers, including 21 points in a win over Solanco, and 23 points and 3 treys in a gut-wrenching two-point loss to L-S in the consolation game of the Ephrata Holiday Tournament. Lyons has 589 career points. … Since missing three games with a knee injury, L-S junior Danielle Rittenhouse has found her stroke. In her last seven games, she’s averaging 11.9 with four 3-pointers. L-S is 6-1 in those seven games. … Lebanon Catholic senior sniper Samantha Carangelo (12.0, 11 3-pointers) is out indefinitely with a case of mononucleosis. … It looks like Pequea Valley’s Rayna Carney will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury.
WHO’S HOT: Lebanon Catholic’s Hailey Carangelo (16.0, 5 3’s in her last 6 games; and the Beavers will need even more with her big sister out). … Pequea Valley’s Tessa Smucker (13.0, 9 3’s in her last 4 games). … Donegal’s Nicky Hess (at least 1 3-pointer in all 10 games this season). … L-S’ Danielle Rittenhouse (16.0 in her last 3 games, including 13 foul shots in victory over McCaskey). … Lebanon’s Melissa Sattazahn (13.0, 9 3-pointers in her last 5 games). … Northern Lebanon’s Nichole Heister (at least 1 3-pointer in all 12 games this season; league-high 34 triples). … McCaskey’s Danee Simms (14.0 in her last 3 games, all with Teasia Myers out). … Penn Manor’s Kelsey Caruthers (despite being held to a season-low 11 points against State College on Saturday, she’s scored in double-digits in all 12 games, including nine games of at least 20 points, and a league-best 30-point game). … Solanco’s CeCe Buzzard (14.4 in her last 5 games, including 13 points in her last three games in a row.
THE FINAL COUNTDOWN: CV’s Allison Bauer is on the verge of joining the 1,000-career-point club. The Buckskins’ senior guard is sitting on 985 points, leaving her 15 shy of joining the club when league play starts back up Wednesday. CV has a pair of road games this week – at Solanco and at Cocalico, so it looks like she’ll probably eclipse the mark on the road. … Penn Manor’s Caruthers and McCaskey’s Myers have each scored their 1,000th-point this season. Next up will likely be Lebanon Catholic’s Samantha Carangelo, who is sitting on 886 points. She’s also sitting on a case of mono, which could push her pursuit back a couple of weeks.
NOTES: I have Elizabethtown for one (1) 3-pointer through 10 games this season. … Congrats to McCaskey junior Lamar Patterson, who gave a verbal to Pitt this week. … Don’t forget: the L-L League championships will not be played in Hershey this season. That contract was cancelled. Still no word on where the finals will be played. I’d vote for Manheim Township’s new gym. … I’ll see Cedar Crest twice this week: Wednesday at Hempfield and Friday at home vs. McCaskey. What are the odds of the Falcons and the Red Tornado hooking up five times again this season?
