Crusaders finish first half tied for top spot in Section 4 with Lancaster Mennonite
JEFFREY REINHART jreinhart@LNPnews.com
The second half of the L-L League Section 4 race will begin the same way the first half began.
With a tie.
Reina Hill pumped in a career-high 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, Marissa Uylingco (left) scored 10 of her 12 points in the second quarter, and Madeline Sloan chipped in with 11 points to lead Lancaster Catholic to a convincing 62-44 victory over Lebanon Catholic on Friday night in Lancaster.
The difference was rebounding, where Lancaster Catholic owned a commanding 35-21 lead on the glass over Lebanon Catholic.
“It was really important to get the rebounds because it was really important to get a win here,” Hill said. “We really needed this one.”
The victory pushed Lancaster Catholic’s winning streak to four games in a row, which comes on the heels of an un-Crusaders-like three-game losing skid.
The victory also kept Lancaster Catholic in a tie for first place with Lancaster Mennonite after one time through the section. The Crusaders and the Blazers – who bounced Annville-Cleona 71-22 on Friday – are both 7-1 in league games.
Lancaster Catholic improved to 9-4 overall, while Lebanon Catholic slipped to 4-4 in league games and to 8-6 overall.
The Crusaders survived 10 first-quarter turnovers against Lebanon Catholic. Lancaster Catholic jumped out to a 16-11 lead after the first quarter, when Hill and Sloan had three buckets apiece in the paint, and the Crusaders grabbed an early 10-3 advantage on the boards.
Lancaster Catholic turned on the jets in the second quarter behind Uylingco, who had a pair of transition buckets and a 3-pointer during the Crusaders’ dizzying 25-11 run, which gave Lancaster Catholic a cozy 41-22 lead at the half.
The Crusaders opened the second quarter with a quick 6-1 spurt, capped by Uylingco’s breakaway bucket, which forced Lebanon Catholic coach Patti Hower to burn a timeout. The Beavers called another timeout with 4:33 to go in the half when Lancaster Catholic’s Emily Weaver scored in transition.
“We played as a team,” Hill noted. “And I thought we all worked really hard for this win.”
Lancaster Catholic junked its full-court pressure early on when Lebanon Catholic’s guards had some success pushing the ball down the court. But once the Crusaders grabbed the lead for good, they did a fabulous job jumping passing lanes and applying double-team pressure in half-court situations.
Lebanon Catholic turned the ball over 21 times – six times in the second quarter, when the Crusaders seized control for good.
“That’s Catholic basketball,” Hill said. “That’s how we play. We didn’t really go after them full-court, but in the half-court we really went after them and we all played defense as hard as we could.”
Undaunted, Lebanon Catholic made a rally of sorts in the third quarter, when Rachel Shirk hit a couple of 3-pointers, Hailey Carangelo drilled a trey and Kelsey Boehmer had a pair of transition buckets. The Beavers did cut Lancaster Catholic’s lead to 11, but the Crusaders led 53-35 heading into the fourth quarter.
Weaver added 9 points and Ariana Nazario (left) grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds and scored 7 points for Lancaster Catholic, which has a tricky Section 3-4 crossover game on deck Tuesday at Lampeter-Strasburg, the Section 3 leader and winner of 13 games in a row.
L-S topped Section 4 co-leader Lancaster Mennonite the first time around.
“We’re very anxious for that game,” Hill said. “And we know that if we can keep playing like we’ve been playing here lately, that we have a great chance.”
Shirk splashed four 3-pointers and paced Lebanon Catholic with 16 points, Carangelo chipped in with 11 points and a team-high 5 boards and Boehmer had 9 points for the Beavers.
NOTABLE: Lancaster Catholic’s 1974 and 1989 state-championship teams were honored in a presentation after the game. The present Crusaders and coach Lamar Kauffman – who guided the 1989 team – had their picture taken at center court with members from those teams who came back for the ceremony. Lancaster Catholic also won a state title in 1996. … Friday’s game was part of a doubleheader, with the Crusader and Beaver boys’ teams hooking up in the second game. Lancaster Catholic won that one 69-62 behind Chris Markel, who pumped in 23 points. … Lebanon Catholic opens Round 2 of crossover games next Tuesday at Donegal. … Lancaster Catholic and Lebanon Catholic will meet again on the last night of league play, Feb. 4, in Lebanon.
