JEFFREY REINHART jreinhart@LNPnews.com

Full L-L League girls’ basketball Section 1 preview capsules, listed alphabetically for your reading and viewing pleasure …

CEDAR CREST FALCONS
COACH: Gretchen Hall (3rd season; 51-13 overall).
CLASSIFICATION: Quad-A.
LAST SEASON: 14-2 Section 1, 23-8 overall (Section 1 champs; lost to Lancaster Mennonite in L-L League semifinals, lost to Central Dauphin in District 3 Quad-A third-place game, lost to Scranton in PIAA Quad-A Eastern quarterfinals).
KEY PLAYERS LOST: G Aubrey Hoover (9.2, 12 3-pointers), G Cassie Jones (4.5, 17 3-pointers), F Chelsey Mitchell (0.8), F Carrie Sheffey (7.8), F Shannon Stokes (11.9, 12 3-pointers).
KEY PLAYERS RETURNING: F Taylor Boyer (Jr., 1.9), G Meghan Phillips (Jr., 13.0, 19 3-pointers), G Marla Simmons (3.2), G Jazmine Trimble (Jr., 2.2).
KEY NEWCOMERS: G Kirsten Clemens (Jr., 0.8), F Megan McCabe (So., 0.2), F Nouria Sharifi (Sr., 1.3), G Torri Wagner (Jr., 0.8).

KEEP AN EYE ON: Meghan Phillips – She’s been playing since her freshman year, and last season she really settled in as the Falcons’ floor general. She also had some good scorers around her, like Hoover, Sheffey and especially Stokes. Those three have all graduated, so I’m expecting Phillips to step it up in the scoring department a little more. Ashley Moyer … Allison Smith … Meghan Phillips. They all fit that same mold, don’t they?

OUTLOOK: Despite the loss of four starters from back-to-back Section 1 championship teams, still quite good. Phillips is a terrific floor general, and she’ll be surrounded be reinforcements from last season’s undefeated JV team. No reason to believe the Falcons won’t be in the thick of the hunt come early February. And this juicy nugget for you: Just one senior on the varsity roster, so get used to Cedar Crest being with the lead pack here for a while.

REINHART SAYS: Section 1 favorites, even with four starters gone. Pretty bold prediction, I know. But I saw that JV team a lot last year, and kids like Clemens, McCabe and Wagner can all play, and should step right in and get major varsity minutes. Probably won’t run the table, but nobody runs the table in Section 1 anymore. But it might not go down to the last night like last season this time.

HEMPFIELD BLACK KNIGHTS
COACH: Lenny Groft (15th season; 280-104 overall).
CLASSIFICATION: Quad-A.
LAST SEASON: 13-3 Section 1, 25-6 overall (Beat Lancaster Mennonite in L-L League championship game, beat McCaskey in District 3 Quad-A fifth-place game, lost to Spring-Ford in first round of the PIAA Quad-A playoffs).
KEY PLAYERS LOST: F Andrea Bowman (1.3), F Chelsea Cypress (6.3), F Analicia Evans (14.0), G Steph Graver (7.7, 13 3-pointers), G Samantha Holker (4.5, 15 3-pointers), G Allison Markow (1.8), G Hannah Miller (5.5, 25 3-pointers).
KEY PLAYERS RETURNING: G Kendra Beittel (Jr., 1.2), G Kelsey Hohman (Sr., 3.5).
KEY NEWCOMERS: F Allison Hartman (Jr., 1.3), G Mariah Landis (Sr., 0.9), G Brittany Starner (Sr., 0.7), G Shauna Walters (Jr., missed 07-08 with knee injury).

KEEP AN EYE ON: Here’s one of those otherwise useless factoids I’ve been lugging around in the back of my head the last two years. Did you know that Kendra Beittel got the starting nod in her very first varsity game as a freshman for the Black Knights? It’s true. It was two years ago in the Columbia Tip-Off Tournament, and Hempfield was playing L-S on Opening Night. I don’t recall the exact circumstances (injury, illness) but Groft trotted Beittel out there as a freshman in her first varsity game. Might have been the only game she’s started since. Fast forward to this season, and Beittel, a key contributor off the bench for last season’s L-L League title team, should get more of a starring role in the coming months. She can shoot from distance and she can defend. But she’s going to be getting more minutes, so she’ll need to do those things even better – and for an extended period of time. C’mon admit it: You loved the story about Beittel starting her first game, didn’t you?

OUTLOOK: All five starters from last season’s L-L League championship team have graduated – including Evans, the postseason hero who finished her career with 964 points – so this edition of the Black Knights will look completely different at the outset. But Groft is an old pro, and even when Hempfield is rebuilding, it usually doesn’t take the Knights very long to get back with the lead pack. Keep an eye on Beittel. This could be her season to blossom.

REINHART SAYS: Hate to use the words Hempfield girls’ basketball and rebuilding in the same sentence, but the Knights really got cleaned out after last season. They lost some major weapons to graduation. I know some of the kids coming back played a little bit last season, but nothing like that group that just came through did. So there will be some growing pains in Landisville. If it all comes together, I think Hempfield can make a run for the 2-spot in Section 1. Still, they should finish no worse than in the middle of the pack – and should still make Districts. Too much pride and tradition here.

MANHEIM TOWNSHIP BLUE STREAKS
COACH: Lance Wagner (7th season; 70-72 overall).
CLASSIFICATION: Quad-A.
LAST SEASON: 5-11 Section 1, 7-15 overall.
KEY PLAYERS LOST: F Jen Rentz (0.8).
KEY PLAYERS RETURNING: F Lisbet Byler (Jr., 2.6), F J.J. Collins (Jr., 1.5), G Kelsey Curcio (Sr., 7.3, 18 3-pointers), G Annie Feingold (Sr., 6.2), G Kiersten Green (So., 10.8, 14 3-pointers), F Emily McDonald (Jr., 7.0), F Grace Perrone (Sr., 1.7), G Ashley Templeton (Jr., 1.0), G Abby Zielinski (Jr., 3.2).
KEY NEWCOMERS: G Laura Bair (So., 1.7), F Jordan Brewer (Fr.), F Nikki Carillo (Sr.), F Abby Ness (So., 0.3).

KEEP AN EYE ON: Kiersten Green. One regret I had last season was not getting to a Township game, because I really wanted to see Green, then a freshman, in action. So you better believe my early season to-do list includes a note about getting to a Blue Streaks’ game. Green really took off in the second half last season, averaging 13.9 points a game over her final nine games. From the looks and sounds of it, she’s going to be a good one. I know I’m anxious to hit a Township game early on.

OUTLOOK: Say hello to your sleeper Section 1 team. And the scary thing about the Blue Streaks is that they’re young. Keep an eye on Green and McDonald, who could be quite the 1-2 punch. Just a hunch but Township, with some quality depth – and vet Curcio launching from deep – will be back in the playoff chase in a couple of months.

REINHART SAYS: Township will be there in the end. The Streaks have sort of disappeared the last couple of years, but they’ll be back, especially with Green and McDonald as reliable scorers, plus snipers Curcio and Feingold. I’m stoked to see a Township game. Can you tell? And heck, I hope the Streaks are better because I love their new gym. I’ll go there anytime.

McCASKEY RED TORNADO
COACH: Brian McCloud (5th season; 86-31 overall).
CLASSIFICATION: Quad-A.
LAST SEASON: 11-5 Section 1, 17-11 overall (Lost to Hempfield in District 3 Quad-A fifth-place game, lost to State College in first round of the PIAA Quad-A playoffs).
KEY PLAYERS LOST: F Janaya Brown (7.3), G Courtney Jackson (2.1), G Teasia Myers (13.6), G Ciara Pagan (6.3), F Cherelle Simmons (7.4).
KEY PLAYERS RETURNING: G Maria Lane (Sr., 2.1), F Lavanda McNair (Sr., 1.9), G Danee Simms (Sr., 11.2, 19 3-pointers).
KEY NEWCOMERS: F Maargae Bair (Sr., 0.3), G Brittany Brito (Sr., 0.9), G Evita Colon (Sr., 0.3), G Rochelle Dean (Sr., 2.0), G Jazmin Guzman (Jr.), G Josie Soto (Jr.).

KEEP AN EYE ON: Danee Simms, the lone holdover starter from last season, when McCaskey found some late-season magic and made a nice run to the state playoffs. She’s not the flashiest-dashiest player, but she’s solid. She’ll step back and hit a 3 in your mug (19 last season), but she’d rather get in the key and create some havoc and get to the foul line. McCaskey will be counting on Simms to do a lot this season; most importantly to be a leader and guide this new-look team through some early season bumps until everyone gets on the same page.

OUTLOOK: Heavy duty job No. 1 is replacing four-year point guard Myers, her court awareness and her 1,229 points. Heavy duty job No. 2 is replacing stalwart jack-of-all-trades F Simmons, another four-year contributor. Having Simms back in the fold will help. But there could be some growing pains in the Red Tornado camp early on.

REINHART SAYS: Simms and McNair are basically the only kids who played major varsity minutes a year ago, so McCloud will have some young pups on the floor right out the chute. I never count the Tornado out, regardless of who is on the roster. Too much youth here to catch Cedar Crest. But if Simms does her thing and if McNair can own the paint, McCaskey can be in the mix for the 2-spot and/or a trip to the postseason.

PENN MANOR COMETS
COACH: Bobby Graybill (2nd season; 15-9 overall).
CLASSIFICATION: Quad-A.
LAST SEASON: 11-5 Section 1, 15-9 overall (Lost to Harrisburg in first round of the District 3 Quad-A playoffs).
KEY PLAYERS LOST: F Kelsey Caruthers (19.3, L-L League scoring champ), F Ali Girvin (1.7), G Emily Long (4.4), G Alyssa Torres (4.4, 19 3-pointers).
KEY PLAYERS RETURNING: G Dani Busansky (Sr., 7.0, 36 3-pointers), G Julie Falk (Jr., 2.6).
KEY NEWCOMERS: G Katie Breneman (So.), G Maddy Hess (So., 1.3), F Caroline Lovett (So.), F Ashley Vellucci (Jr., 0.2), G Hannah Willett (So.), F Devin Yecker (So.), F Bianca Ygarza (Jr., 3.6).

KEEP AN EYE ON: The mad-bomber herself, Dani Busansky. Her range is the back row of the bleachers, and she’s not afraid to pull the trigger. And since the Comets might be a little more guard-oriented this season (Caruthers, Edwards and Beam are all gone; kindly keep reading), the onus might be on Busansky to pull that trigger even a little more than usual. She’ll gladly oblige. And more times than not she’ll knock down the shot.

OUTLOOK: Big question mark here will be the post, now that Caruthers took her 1,336 points to Division 1 St. Francis, athletic F Demetria Edwards (8.5) transferred and low-post pillar Teri Beam (4.4) didn’t come back to the team. Uh, oh. Busansky is one of the top snipers in the league, and she’ll shine. But the Comets need to tweak the frontcourt – pronto – if they want a repeat of last year’s run to the postseason.

REINHART SAYS: Wholesale losses in the frontcourt will sting. That’s an area where Penn Manor really dominated the last season or two. So that’ll hurt. Not sure if this bunch has another 15-win, shock-Hempfield-on-the-last-night, go-to-Districts run in them or not. Depends how long it takes the new post kids to jive. I’m sensing middle of the pack in Section 1. But since practically everyone else in Section 1 also lost the house to graduation, who knows?

WARWICK WARRIORS
COACH: Matt Reber (6th season; 53-65 overall).
CLASSIFICATION: Quad-A.
LAST SEASON: 8-8 Section 1, 14-10 overall (Lost to Hempfield in first round of the District 3 Quad-A playoffs).
KEY PLAYERS LOST: F Jess Brown (5.4), F Hillary Weachter (9.2).
KEY PLAYERS RETURNING: G Ana Cruz (Sr., 11.8, 21 3-pointers), G Carmen Cruz (Sr., 6.9, 35 3-pointers), G Jen Thomas (Sr., 2.8), F Casey Mitchell (So., 2.7).
KEY NEWCOMERS: F Mackenzie Brown (Jr., 2.3), F Chloe Hayter (So.), G Mercedes Ortiz (Jr.), G Emily Osborne (So.), G Whitney Reddig (Jr., 2.2), G Macaulay Soto (Fr.), G Maddie Zimmerman (Sr., 0.6).

KEEP AN EYE ON: The twins. That would be Ana and Carmen Cruz, who can flat-out scoot. Nothing seems to slow them down. They will make the Warriors tick, and they will set the tempo for every game, no doubt. And it’s not just their speed game that gets you – both of them can handle, distribute, D you up and shoot; clutch shooting, too. I’ve seen both of them hit ridiculous 3-pointers late to tie the game or give Warwick the lead. They are a ton of fun to watch. Now seniors, let’s see if they can lead their team to the top of the Section 1 charts.

OUTLOOK: With their speed, court awareness and 3-point ability, the Cruz twins are double trouble. They are relentless defenders and only have one gear: Fast. If the Warriors can find a suitable replacement for Weachter in the paint, Warwick will be in the race. Book it.

REINHART SAYS: Why not Warwick? Hempfield lost five starters. Cedar Crest lost four starters. McCaskey lost four starters. Penn Manor lost a Division 1 recruit and the league’s leading scorer (Kelsey Caruthers). Meanwhile, the Warriors return two of the quickest guards in the league (I’d love to see the Cruz twins race Lampeter-Strasburg’s Lisa Boyer while dribbling end line to end line) and some key role kids. Don’t count these guys out, hear me?