Blue Streaks rally past Comets, maintain sole possession of first place in Section 1

A Picasso?

Um, no.

But when Manheim Township travels to McCaskey on Friday night, the Blue Streaks will still be in sole possession of first place in Section 1 of the L-L League.

Township remained there – barely – on Thursday night, rallying past and then fending off Penn Manor in Millersville.

The host Comets led 23-17 at the break, but the Streaks sprang to life in the second half, outscoring Penn Manor 11-3 in the fourth quarter on the way to a 43-36 victory.

It was anything but a masterpiece for the Streaks, who gladly improved to 12-1 in league games and to 14-2 overall.

“Definitely an ugly win,” Township forward Lisbet Byler said. “But we pulled it out, so we can’t complain.”

The Streaks got it done on D, holding Penn Manor scoreless over the final four minutes. The Comets didn’t get a single field goal in the fourth quarter, settling for just three free throws down the stretch.

“It hurts to let this one slip away,” Penn Manor coach Bobby Graybill said. “For whatever reason, we tightened up a bit there in the second half.”

Julie Falk and Devin Yecker spearheaded Penn Manor’s early surge.

Falk scored all 9 of her points in the first half, and Yecker, who scored a team-high 14 points, beat the first-quarter buzzer with a runner in the lane, and then she beat the first-half buzzer with a turnaround jumper from the top of the key, and the Comets were up by 6 at recess.

Township turned up the pressure in the third quarter, forcing Penn Manor to turn the ball over on its first four trips and on six of its first seven possessions of the second half.

The Streaks also got their offense moving in the third with Kiersten Green getting a pair of transition hoops to help Township stay close.

Despite the turnovers – the Comets had eight in the third quarter and 21 in the game – Penn Manor led 33-32 heading into the fourth.

“We talked about picking up our energy, especially on defense,” said Byler, who scored 8 points and yanked down 7 rebounds. “We knew our offense would eventually come around,” she said. “It was a fight to the end, so we continued to play hard and we hoped for the best.”

Township’s best was indeed good enough.

Byler scored in the post, Abby Zielinski hit three big foul shots and Green, who scored a game-high 16 points, scored in transition three times, including back-to-back, coast-to-coast sojourns, the latter giving Township the lead for good, 38-36, with 3:15 to go.

It took a while, but Township finally fended off the pesky Comets, who shot just 4-for-16 from the floor in the second half.

“Penn Manor is good. Penn Manor can play. Penn Manor has some athletes,” Township coach Lance Wagner said. “We did not take them lightly at all. We weren’t sharp. Maybe it was the layoff (the game was originally schedule for Tuesday, but snow pushed it all the way back to Thursday). Maybe it was staring at this position (alone in first place) for the first time in forever. Maybe it got to them. Who knows?

“But I’m proud as heck of them because they responded and got a win – even though it was an ugly win. But it was a win against a quality opponent that always plays well here (at Penn Manor).”

Township overcame 17 turnovers – and that six-point halftime deficit – to stay a game ahead of Cedar Crest.

“Everyone is going to play us like this, but we’re ready for people to come at us like this,” Byler said. “We’re ready and we’re excited. This is something new to us; we’re not used to being alone in first place at this stage of things. So we’re excited.”

And a game clear of the field with three to play.

NOTABLE: Penn Manor freshman guard Alicia Ygarza sang the National Anthem before the varsity game – and did a fabulous job. … Township out-rebounded Penn Manor 37-21. … Township held Penn Manor’s leading scorer, Bianca Ygarza, to a season-low 2 points, and those came very early in the first quarter. … Utica College recruit Dani Busansky scored 7 points, including a 3-pointer, for the Comets. … Penn Manor slipped to 7-6 in league games and to 10-9 overall. The Comets need one more win to clinch a spot in Districts. “Our goal is still there,” Graybill said. “We’d love to qualify for Districts, and we need one more win. So the big thing for us now is letting this one go as quickly as possible. This one hurts, but the kids need to bounce back in a hurry.” Penn Manor is at Hempfield on Friday night.