JEFFREY REINHART jreinhart@LNPnews.com
Took me long enough, but I finally paid my first visit to Lebanon High School this season on Monday, to watch Lampeter-Strasburg win its first section title since (gulp) 1977. Here’s my story from Tuesday’s New Era:
LEBANON – The last time Lampeter-Strasburg hung a section championship banner in the gym, Jimmy Carter was the president, a first-class stamp cost 13 cents, Star Wars hit the big screen, and gas was 65 cents a gallon.
The year was 1977, and nobody on this year’s Pioneers’ team was even close to being born.
“I was 3,” L-S coach Matt Wieand said.
For the first time since 1977, a new girls’ basketball section championship banner will be unfurled at L-S, compliments of the Pioneers’ 57-37 Section 3-clinching win over Lebanon on Monday night.
L-S (13-2 in league games, 20-2 overall) clinched its first section title in 31 years with the victory, which included a 23-5 spree by L-S to open the game, and then a 17-4 run by the Pioneers in the fourth quarter to ice it.
Junior forward Katie Lynch was the shooting star with four 3-pointers and a career-high 23 points for L-S, which lived up to the hype of being the preseason pick to win Section 3.
“This is huge,” Wieand said. “Our primary goal was to win the section title. And this was a tough section to win, so it feels great. And it’s big for our program. I reminded them that this was the first team since 1977 to win a section title, and that they should be proud of that.”
L-S, which is also ranked No. 1 in the latest District 3 Triple-A ratings, will take on the Section 1 runner-up – Hempfield or Cedar Crest, pending the outcome of that race – in the first round of the league playoffs.
“This is awesome,” said L-S junior forward Renee Fritz, who scored 10 points, blocked eight shots and grabbed eight rebounds against Lebanon.
“We’re going to be on the banner, and we’ll be able to look up there forever and say, ‘Yeah, we were on that team.’”
It wasn’t the most beautiful clinching game of all time. L-S survived 25 turnovers and several cold-shooting spurts.
And Lebanon’s pesky defense held the Pioneers’ top two scoring leaders relatively in check – junior guards Lisa Boyer and Danielle Rittenhouse, who own double-digit averages – were held to five points apiece.
But freshman guard Kelsey Souders scored six first-quarter points and added a back-breaking 3-pointer in the fourth quarter, and the Pioneers outrebounded the Cedars 45-43 and forced 26 turnovers.
L-S also clinched the title against the team that knocked them off in a one-game playoff for the Section 3 crown last season.
“Payback, I guess,” Lynch said, smiling.
“The hard work paid off. Finally,” she continued. “This is what we’ve been working for.”
L-S worked its way to a 30-19 halftime lead against Lebanon behind Fritz, who blocked six shots in the first half – five in the first quarter – and Lynch, who hit two 3-pointers in the first quarter, which ended with the Pioneers up 18-5, and hit another trey and two more jumpers in the second quarter.
“Lynch stepped up huge for them,” Lebanon coach Carlos Sanchez noted. “L-S is an impressive, road-tested team. They were the favorites at the start of the season, so I’m not surprised at all that they won the section.”
The Pioneers’ also snapped Lebanon’s two-year run as a section champ. The Cedars won the Section 2 title in 2006 before winning Section 3 last year after switching sections because of league realignment.
“This means a lot,” Lynch said, “because we’ve seen everyone’s ‘A’ game. That challenged us to step up and rise up every game. And we were able to do that.”
And the Pioneers will be rewarded handsomely with a new banner and a gold trophy for their efforts.
Also Monday:
Manheim Central 56, Elco 42
Bekah Roland pumped in 23 points – raising her career total to 957 – and the Barons clinched sole possession of second place in the section. Central will take on the Section 1 champ – Hempfield or Cedar Crest – in the first round.
Kala Yoder scored 24 points for the host Raiders, who were also knocked out of the district playoff race.
Northern Lebanon 36,
Donegal 34 (OT)
Nichole Heister scored 14 points and hit her league-leading 50th 3-pointer to pace the host Vikings, who outscored the Indians 4-2 in overtime, after rallying from a 26-17 deficit to force the extra session.
Nicky Hess hit three 3-pointers and scored 21 points for Donegal.
