Rampaging Blue Streaks win 8th in a row, take over sole possession of 1st in Section 1
JEFFREY REINHART jreinhart@LNPnews.com
Go crazy, Neffsville.
With four games to go in the regular season, Manheim Township is in sole possession of first place in Section 1 of the Lancaster-Lebanon League.
The Blue Streaks muscled their way to the top of the heap Friday night, holding off Cedar Crest 47-41 behind soph standout Kiersten Green, who pumped in a career-high 25 points before a packed house in Neffsville.
The game featured a little bit of everything, including a gazillion whistles (lets just say that neither coach was particularly happy with all the calls), wholesale substitutions and a pair of stoppages for a trainer – the second time to wipe smeared blood off not only a Cedar Crest player, but off the court.
You name it, it happened. And it happened in front of boisterous crowd on Senior Night.
It had all the atmosphere of a playoff game.
Township’s victory, its eighth in a row, snapped a first-place tie with the Falcons, who topped the Streaks in their first meeting 52-46 in Lebanon on Dec. 23.
So with four games to go, the Section 1 race looks a little something like this:
Manheim Township is alone in first with an 11-1 record. Cedar Crest slipped to 10-2 and is alone in second place. And Hempfield, which topped Warwick 43-34 on Friday, is alone in third place at 9-3.
Hempfield still has to play Township and Cedar Crest, so sit tight.
Cedar Crest and Township ended up in a tie for first when Penn Manor knocked off the Falcons 41-40 on Jan. 9, setting up Friday’s showdown for the top spot.
Township took control for good early in the fourth quarter, erasing a 25-20 halftime deficit. The Streaks also trailed 32-31 heading into the fourth quarter.
Township (13-2 overall) outscored Cedar Crest 16-9 in the final eight minutes, with Green scoring 9 points, including a deep 3 from the corner and pair of acrobatic, coast-to-coast layups, when she went up over taller defenders in the paint and scored.
“Feels awesome,” said Township’s Emily McDonald, who only scored two baskets, but both were mucho important fourth-quarter buckets in the key, when the Streaks caught and then passed the Falcons (14-4).
“It’s great to be where we are right now because not many people knew what Township had,” McDonald said. “And now we’re here in first place.”
All by themselves, with four games to go.
Township hasn’t won a section championship since the 1994-95 season, so this has been uncharted territory for this group of Streaks.
For the record, Township is at Penn Manor next Tuesday and at McCaskey next Friday, before finishing up with Hempfield at home on Feb. 2 and Warwick at home on Feb. 4.
The Streaks are now officially the hunted.
“We’re really pleased,” Township coach Lance Wagner said. “We’ve already looked at the big picture … we spelled everything out for them and they get it. They can see the forest and the trees, which is pretty cool.”
Bottom line: All this first-place stuff hasn’t really phased the Streaks.
“It’s been so long since our program has been up there with Cedar Crest and Hempfield,” Green said, “so it feels good not only to be up there with them, but to actually beat them.”
The Streaks topped Hempfield 45-31 on Jan. 7 in Landisville, the same night Cedar Crest fell to Penn Manor.
Wagner tweaked his starting lineup on Friday, adding Grace Perrone and Kelsey Curcio to the mix for Senior Night. Green, who averages 16 points a game, came off the bench. And when she got in the game, she went right to work.
The soph sniper scored all 9 of the Streaks’ second-quarter points to keep Township close. The Streaks led 11-9 after the first quarter, but the Falcons outscored Township 16-9 in the second quarter and led 25-20 at the half.
Marla Simmons – who needed a trainer in the third quarter after taking a stray elbow to the throat – scored 8 of her 11 points in the first half for the Falcons.
Green scored 9 more points in the third quarter, when Township closed to within 32-31 after outscoring Cedar Crest 11-7. The Streaks tied the game at 29-all in the third when Green went coast-to-coast and converted a circus layup.
But the Falcons snared the lead right back, 32-29, when Meghan Phillips splashed a 3 from the top of the key with 1:20 to go in the third. Phillips scored 11 points.
Township took the lead for good at 34-32 – it was the Streaks’ first lead since 16-14 – when Green hit a 3.
Green and Lisbet Byler each hit key foul shots down the stretch to ice it.
“This feels so good because we’ve been working so hard for this,” Green said. “And we knew we could do this.”
Now Township has to fend off the pack in what promises to be a mighty interesting four-game stretch.
“Of all the teams I’ve ever coached, this is the perfect team for this situation,” Wagner said. “They weren’t phased about this situation; they were excited about it. They had some nerves, but they were good nerves. I told them that I’ve never been this comfortable before a big game and it was because of them. I credit my kids. It’s not the coaching; it’s the kids. We trust our kids. They found another way to get it done. I’m proud as heck of my kids.”
With four games to go, Wagners’ kids are all alone at the top. Now comes the fun part: Staying there.
NOTABLE: Township out-rebounded Cedar Crest 36-29. McDonald plucked a game-high 8 boards for the Streaks. … Cedar Crest turned the ball over 17 times; Township 15. … Green’s previous high-scoring game was on Dec. 6, when she scored 23 points in a 46-29 win over Conestoga Valley in the consolation game of CV’s tip-off tournament. … Cedar Crest had its four-game winning streak snapped.
