Pioneers win Round 1, top Indians 69-50 for first place in Section 3

Click here to read a replay of my LIVE BLOG from the L-S vs. Donegal game 

JEFFREY REINHART jreinhart@LNPnews.com

For a game with an otherwise lopsided 69-50 final score, this one sure lived up to the hype.

It was billed as an early season L-L League Super Bowl of sorts.

Donegal, at 10-0 the league’s only unbeaten team, against Lampeter-Strasburg, at 9-1, but riding a nifty nine-game winning streak.

The Indians and the Pioneers both brought 4-0 league records into their Section 3 showdown Friday night in Mount Joy.

And before a packed house in a playoff-like atmosphere, L-S won Round 1 – running its winning streak to 10 and snapping Donegal’s winning streak at 10 in the process.

Renee Fritz pumped in 23 points, grabbed nine boards and swatted five shots for L-S, and Lisa Boyer chipped in with 14 points – 10 in the first quarter alone – and Kelsey Souders added 10 points for the Pioneers, who grabbed sole possession of first place in the section.

“We were really looking forward to this game,” said L-S guard Danielle Rittenhouse, who chipped in with 9 points and 6 rebounds.

“Winning a game like this shows that we don’t give up and we keep playing our hardest,” she said. “We always keep our heads up and we never get down.”

L-S is now looking down on the rest of the section. The Pioneers are 5-0 and alone in first, a game clear of Donegal (4-1) and Northern Lebanon (4-1), two up on Elco (2-3) and Manheim Central (2-3) and four up on Cocalico (1-5), which earned its first win this season on Friday, a 39-33 victory over Elco.

“We still don’t look at this as if we’re the team to beat,” Rittenhouse said. “We really don’t. We go one game at a time, and every game is a big game – especially here on out. We bring everything we have every single game. I think that’s why we’re doing a nice job so far this season, and why we’re having some success.”

You can definitely file 10 wins in a row and sole possession of first place under the ‘success’ category.

And L-S, the reigning Section 3 champ, faces another big challenge on Monday, when Northern Lebanon heads to Lampeter with a shot to tie the Pioneers for first place.

Not much should faze L-S after Friday’s win: Donegal’s gym was packed to the gills. It felt like a playoff game. The bleachers were overflowing and student sections had the chants going.

“The crowd was absolutely wild,” Rittenhouse said. “We really enjoyed playing here.”

“The kids were anxious and excited, but they were ready to play,” L-S coach Matt Wieand said. “They could have played (Friday) at 10 a.m. This was exciting for a mid-season game, and I thought our kids really came out ready to play.”

Sure did.

L-S jumped out to a 20-10 lead after the first quarter. Boyer was a terror in transition, scoring 10 points – all on dribble-drives through the lane to the bucket. She was unstoppable early on.

When Boyer wasn’t using her wheels to create havoc, Fritz was dominating in the lane.

“We couldn’t control the tempo and they ran all over us,” said Donegal guard Nicky Hess, the league’s leading scorer coming into the game. She scored 20 points – 3 under her per-game average – including 9 in the fourth quarter, when L-S led by as many as 22.

By the way, Hess had to fight like heck for those points. She was continually harassed in the backcourt by any number of L-S guards. And once the Indians finally got the ball over, Katie Andrews blanketed Hess and made her scrap to get an open look.

“We used a triangle and 2 on Hess and Alecia McNiff,” Rittenhouse said. “And Katie did a really good job with Hess. We knew she was their big player and that she was going to take a lot of shots. And everyone stepped up around her. But I thought we played really great team defense in the end.”

L-S controlled the tempo, too. And that pretty much spelled doom for Donegal.

“L-S’s game is up-tempo and getting the ball up and down,” Hess said. “They were able to do that, and we couldn’t control Fritz underneath. They completely took us out of our game.”

Still, Donegal hung tough. L-S led 38-29 at the break. And McNiff scored 6 of her 12 points in the third quarter to make the Pioneers sweat a bit.

Andrews drilled a 3-pointer and Rittenhouse had three field goals in the paint in the third quarter, and L-S led 53-39 heading into the fourth.

“L-S was prepared, they executed and we didn’t execute,” Donegal coach Cathy Koenig said. “We didn’t come out with the intensity that L-S had. They wanted this game more than we wanted this game.”

Donegal’s next game, Monday at home against Elco, is the game Koenig is now most concerned with.

“I hope our kids learn from this loss,” she said. “If they do, that’s a good thing, because the biggest thing now is how we practice (Saturday), and how we bounce back Monday. Our kids walked out of here every night with their heads held high up to 10-0. Coming out of here with their heads held up high at 10-1 will show what true athletes they really are.”

Bottom line: Donegal would like to start another winning streak on Monday, and remain on the Pioneers’ heels until they meet up again Jan. 27 in Lampeter.

“The first loss wasn’t fun, but we’ll see them again,” Hess said. “This is a tough loss, but we’re not going to let it get us down. We’ll learn from this. We’ll use this to light a fire. You can take this loss two ways. Hopefully we’ll use it as motivation not to lose again.”

L-S, meanwhile, hasn’t lost since Opening Night, when the Pioneers – minus Fritz, who was nursing a sprained ankle – fell to Mid-Penn power Central Dauphin East.

Since then, the Pioneers have punished everyone using their speed game, their balance, their depth, and a heavy dose of the 6-1 Fritz in the middle. She ripped Donegal apart.

“Nobody could stop her,” Rittenhouse said, “so we kept feeding her the ball. Who doesn’t want a player like that on their team?”

Fritz has been spectacular as of late for L-S. And Friday, in the biggest showdown to date in the L-L League this season, she delivered time and time again.

“The gym was packed and it was a great atmosphere,” Wieand said. “So it was great to get a W. Donegal was 10-0 and they were playing great. But we came in here and played pretty well. We needed a game like this … a big game, on the road, and to play well and take control.”

L-S is now in control of the Section 3 race.

NOTES: With Fritz leading the way, L-S out-rebounded Donegal 40-24. … L-S survived 19 turnovers; Donegal turned the ball over 11 times; a pretty low amount, considering the Pioneers’ unwavering pressure on Hess in the backcourt. … L-S had 23 assists.