With the Lancaster-Lebanon League girls basketball regular season in the rear-view mirror, focus has shifted to the playoffs. The league has reached the Final Four phase of its bracket, and the District 3 playoffs are right up around the corner.
Here are some news and notables to get you caught up on everything L-L League girls hoops …
SEMIFINAL SHOWDOWNS SET
Two games in one gym Tuesday night, when the L-L League playoffs resume with the semifinals at Hempfield. In the opener at 5:30 p.m., Section 4 champ — and 15-time league winner — Lancaster Catholic (19-4) will square off against unscathed Section 5 champ Columbia (22-0), and in the nightcap at 7:30 p.m., Section 1 champ Penn Manor (16-7) will face Section 2 co-champ Ephrata (15-9).
The winners will clash Thursday at 7 p.m. at Manheim Township for league gold.
The Catholic-Columbia matchup is a real beauty. The Crusaders have dominated the L-L League tournament over the years like no other program, and they’ve played a terrific nonleague schedule to gear up for this postseason run. Catholic is also plenty motivated, after falling to Hempfield in OT in last year’s finale, snapping the Crusaders’ run of three straight league championships.
Columbia is having its best season in years, with a perfect record, the No. 1 seed in the upcoming D3-2A bracket, and its first section title since 1997 under its belt.
And this fun nugget: Catholic coach Charlie Detz was a standout player during his prep days for Columbia, and he’s a former Tide coach. His Crusaders’ crew topped Hempfield 53-33 in the quarterfinals, while Columbia outlasted Lebanon 61-54 in a spectacular game that featured a little bit of everything.
This is the first time Catholic and Columbia will tangle since they were Section 3 foes before the league realigned four years ago.
There will be plenty of top-tier talent on display when Catholic and Columbia do battle. Definitely keep an eye on the Tide’s electric twin duo of Brie Droege and Brooke Droege, who continue to mesmerize local fans with their uncanny hoops ability. Brie Droege dropped 32 points on Lebanon in the quarterfinals.
Lancaster Catholic counters with scorers and defenders aplenty, like Jeriyah Johnson, Mary Bolesky and Rylee Kraft.
Columbia. Catholic. Oh my. Fans have been clamoring for that matchup, and they’ll get it Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Penn Manor and Ephrata are both coming off hold-them-off-at-the-wire quarterfinal wins — the Comets 40-34 over Lampeter-Strasburg and the Mountaineers 36-33 over Manheim Central — and Ephrata survived a play-in win over Elco to get into the main draw.
There should be a milestone moment in the PM-Ephrata showdown; Mounts’ junior Jasmine Griffin is at 992 career points, and she’ll need just 8 points to hit a grand. Ephrata’s top priority will be limiting Comets’ dribble-driver Lily Sugra and wing sniper Morgan Miller.
Not sure how many people would have had Penn Manor and Ephrata in the L-L League semifinals back in early December. But here are the Comets. And here are the Mounts. The winner gets the Columbia-Catholic survivor for league supremacy on Thursday.
L-L LEAGUE GIRLS BASKETBALL STATISTICS, STANDINGS, SCHEDULES
15 FOR THE SHOW
More than a dozen local teams have qualified for the District 3 playoffs, including Garden Spot — go crazy, New Holland — which will go postseason dancing for the first time since 2008.
6A: On Feb. 21, Hempfield will host uber rival Manheim Township; Penn Manor will welcome Wilson; and Lebanon will play at Central York.
5A: On Feb. 23, Manheim Central will host New Oxford, and on Feb. 22, Lampeter-Strasburg will welcome York Suburban and Garden Spot will play at Gettysburg.
4A: On Feb. 25, Lancaster Catholic will play at Schuylkill Valley.
3A: On Feb. 22, Pequea Valley will play host to Upper Dauphin.
2A: On Feb. 25, Columbia will host Millersburg and Lancaster Country Day will play at three-time reigning champ Linden Hall.
1A: On Feb. 22, Lititz Christian will host Greenwood and Mount Calvary will play at Lancaster County Christian.
Much, much more about the D3 matchups coming up shortly. Stay tuned.
COACHING CAROUSEL
A trio of L-L League coaches have announced that they will be stepping down from their posts at the end of this season, including Elco’s Ashli Shay, Elizabethtown’s John Myers and Lampeter-Strasburg’s Tony Fink; Fink and his Pioneers made a run to the league quarters after sharing the Section 3 crown with Manheim Central and winning a play-in game, and L-S will continue on in the D3-5A playoffs.
SCORING LEADERS
Through the L-L League quarterfinals: Columbia’s Brie Droege (22.6); Manheim Central’s Maddie Knier (22.1); Lancaster Country Day’s Genesis Meadows (21.0); Lebanon’s Kailah Correa (20.7); Penn Manor’s Lily Sugra (18.9); Ephrata’s Jasmine Griffin (16.9); Northern Lebanon’s Ashlyn Messinger (16.4); Columbia’s Brooke Droege (16.2); Elco’s Kailey Eckhart (15.8); Manheim Township’s Ava Byrne (15.3); Lancaster Mennonite’s Jayla Rivera (13.4); Conestoga Valley’s Taylor Hehnly (13.1).
3-POINT LEADERS
Through the L-L League quarterfinals: Lancaster Country Day’s Genesis Meadows (51); Ephrata’s Cara Tiesi (42); Cocalico’s Kiersten Shipton (40); Lampeter-Strasburg’s Jenna Daveler (39); Conestoga Valley’s Taylor Hehnly (39); Pequea Valley’s Katie Stoltzfus (38); Lancaster Catholic’s Mary Bolesky (37); Penn Manor’s Morgan Miller (37); Lancaster Catholic’s Jeriyah Johnson (35); Columbia’s MacKenzie Burke (34); Elizabethtown’s Ainsley Raybold (33).
MILESTONES
Two current L-L League players are now in the 1,000-point club, and Manheim Central junior Maddie Knier (1,248 points) and Lancaster Country Day junior Genesis Meadows (1,045) will continue on in the D3 playoffs. … Elco senior Kailey Eckhart finished her career with 964 points. … Five other current players are at 800-plus points: Ephrata junior Jasmine Griffin (992); Penn Manor senior Morgan Miller (898); Northern Lebanon senior Ashlyn Messinger (871 is her final total after the Vikings wrapped up their season Sunday vs. Minersville); Columbia sophomore Brie Droege (851); and Penn Manor senior Lily Sugra (839). … If Columbia can make an extended postseason run, there’s a shot Brie Droege could hit 1,000 points as a sophomore. That doesn’t happen in these parts very often. The last player to do it: Lancaster Catholic grad Kiki Jefferson joined the 1,000-point club in her sophomore season in January, 2017.
THIS AND THAT
No D3 bid for Cedar Crest after an 11-11 campaign, as the Falcons finished two slots behind Lebanon for the 12th and final D3-6A invite. Ephrata, which is still dancing in the L-L League playoffs, was the first team out at No. 13, so the Mounts need a win in the league semifinals vs. Penn Manor to keep their season afloat. … Hempfield is 2-5 in its last seven games after falling to Lancaster Catholic in the league quarterfinals on Saturday. Up next for the Black Knights: A date against their arch rivals — Manheim Township — in a win-or-go-home D3-6A opener next Monday. Circle that one. … Last six games for Township’s Ava Byrne: 21.8 points, five 3’s. … Last seven games for McCaskey ace Anisha Sepulveda: 14.7 points and nine 3’s, with a pair of 30-point games mixed in there; 30 and three 3’s vs. York and 33 and two 3’s vs. Hempfield. Alas, a winless league season for the Red Tornado, but a really nice nucleus due back next winter, including Sepulveda. … Last eight games for Penn Manor’s Lily Sugra: 22.9 points and seven 3’s, with a pair of 30-point efforts in there. She’s had a superb senior season for the Comets, who will go for a spot in the league finals in the semifinals Tuesday vs. Ephrata. … Conestoga Valley played spoiler in the Section 2 race, knocking off Ephrata a couple of weeks back when the Mounts were alone in first place; Ephrata and Lebanon ended up sharing the section crown. The Buckskins couldn’t play spoiler a second time on Friday, when Garden Spot beat CV to clinch a D3-5A playoff spot for the first time since 2008. The Spartans would have been out with a loss, but beat the Bucks on the last night of regular-season action to punch their tickets to districts. … Taylor Hehnly finished with a flourish for CV, scoring at a 12.6 clip with 24 3’s in the Bucks’ last 10 games; she scored in double-digits and hit at least one trey in all 10 games. … Said it before and will say it one last time: CV was much better than its 8-13 overall record. Nobody wanted to play the Bucks down the stretch; ask Ephrata. That loss likely cost the Mounts a D3-6A playoff bid — and a solo Section 2 title. … End of an era at E-town: As mentioned, John Myers is stepping away as the coach, after nine seasons and 103 victories. And the stalwart backcourt combo of Ainsley Raybold (679 career points, 133 career 3-pointers) and Jade Love-Morris (633 career points) will be taking their talents to the college level. Raybold (Salisbury recruit) bowed out with a 14-point, 4-trey night, and Love-Morris (Lock Haven recruit) bowed out with a 17-point, 4-trey night in the Bears’ season-finale vs. Hershey. … Ephrata has picked it up in the arc shooting department during its late-season ride; the Mounts have nailed 34 3’s in their last seven games, and they’ve won all seven of those tilts. Note to Penn Manor: Guard the perimeter vs. Ephrata on Tuesday. Ephrata’s Jasmine Griffin is scoring at a 16.1 clip with six treys in the last eight games for the Mounts. … Unreal effort by Lebanon in the L-L League quarterfinals; the Cedars trailed host Columbia by 21 points early in the second quarter, but came all the way back to grab a fourth-quarter lead — in hostile territory, with the Tide’s fans going wild throughout. It was an amazing atmosphere in Columbia’s gym. … Last eight games for Lebanon’s Kailah Correa: 20.6 points and 12 3’s. We’re already running out of superlatives for the Cedars’ ninth-grade wiz. … No playoff date this time around for Warwick, which had that awesome finish down the stretch last winter to nab a D3-6A spot on the last night of the regular season. The Warriors went 4-2 to finish out this season, but a playoff push was not in the cards — despite a hot finish by Olivia Shertzer, who averaged 16.3 points with three 3’s in Warwick’s last three games. … No Section 3 repeat and no postseason trip for Cocalico, which still gave everyone fits in a retooling season of sorts in Denver. Shooter du jour Kiersten Shipton finished up her junior season with 547 career points and 103 career 3-pointers; she scored at a 13.0 clip with 14 treys in the final five games to hit the offseason with some serious mo. … As mentioned, Garden Spot will go to districts for the first time since 2008, which was coach Kevin Gensemer’s first season on the Spartans’ bench. Taylor Soehner has been a rock in the mid-range/baseline area all winter for Garden Spot; she’s at 13.0 points in the last eight games, including a 15-point, 2-trey night in the regular-season finale win vs. Conestoga Valley, which pushed the Spartans into the playoffs. … L-S had its 4-game winning streak snapped by Penn Manor in the league quarterfinals, but the Pioneers certainly made the Comets earn it. L-S hits districts feeling fine, as Jenna Daveler — 12.0 points, 11 3’s in last five games — continues to make buckets. … Manheim Central had its 6-game winning binge snapped by Ephrata in the league quarterfinals, but the Barons will still take plenty of good mo into districts; Maddie Knier, who dipped to No. 2 in the league in scoring behind Columbia’s Brie Droege, is at 20.4 points with three 3’s in the last seven games. … A funky season in Quarryville for Solanco, which finished up with just three victories, but the Golden Mules played a tricky schedule — nonleague foes Hempfield, Cumberland Valley, Red Lion, Eastern York and Manheim Township all made the D3 playoffs — and made everyone earn it. Olivia Lasko had a standout winter for Solanco, and she capped her season in style with a 22-point, four-3 night against Manheim Township. … Happier days ahead for Donegal, which only won a pair of games, but got a ton of experience on the fly. The Indians’ hero: Victoria Burton was outstanding from start to finish, and she should have an all-star nod in her immediate future. … Elco bowed out in the L-L play-in round against Ephrata, in what turned out to be Ashli Shay’s swan song on the Raiders’ bench. What a 12-year ride for Shay, who steps down with Elco’s program in really good shape — thanks to her tireless efforts and coaching/teaching prowess. Huge shoes for the next coach to step into in Myerstown. … Elco’s Kailey Eckhart came up 36 points shy of 1,000 points, but she left a terrific mark on the Raiders’ program. Her next stop: Lebanon Valley College, where she’ll play hoops for the Flying Dutchmen. … Mary Bolesky and Jeriyah Johnson have combined for 26 3’s in the last seven games, as Lancaster Catholic has really taken off from the arc. Bolesky had 17 points and four treys and Johnson had 14 points and four triples in the Crusaders’ payback win over Hempfield in the league quarterfinals. Stay tuned for a feature story about Johnson coming up later this week. Also, keep Catholic sophomore winger Lily Lehman in your thoughts. She exited the Hempfield game early with an injury. … Northern Lebanon should be in pretty good shape in the go-to scorer department moving forward after Olivia Shutter had a breakout freshman season making buckets for the Vikings. But a special nod to outgoing senior Ashlyn Messinger, who didn’t quite reach 1,000 points — she ended up with 871, including 10 points Sunday in Northern Lebanon’s season-ending setback at Minersville — but she carved out a great prep career for Northern Lebanon, overcoming a pair of dreadful knee injuries early in her career. She’s ticketed for Clarks Summit University. … A valiant effort by Annville-Cleona, but the Dutchmen came up one agonizing slot shy of making the D3-3A bracket; the top six go, and A-C finished seventh. That’s a stinger, but still, the Dutchmen went 6-2 down the stretch to pound on the door for a playoff bid. Back-to-back losses last week against Lancaster Country Day and Oley Valley likely cost A-C a shot at postseason glory, but it was a heck of a ride for rookie coach Wee Sanchez and his troops — many of whom are due back next season, including ninth-grader Ava Hoover, who had a nice breakout season this winter. … Columbia vs. Lancaster Catholic on Tuesday. ‘Nuff said. … Lancaster Country Day will take a 7-game winning tear into its D3-2A semifinal showdown at Linden Hall. Over that red-hot clip, the Cougars’ trio of Genesis Meadows (24.3 points, 24 3’s), Kiana Wakefield (14.3 points, 13 3’s) and Piper Graham (11.9 points, 13 3’s) have been lights-out. … Because of illness and injuries, Lancaster Mennonite capped its schedule at 19 games this season, and the Blazers won three of those tilts, often times with only six or seven kids on the bench. Jayla Rivera had a fast finish for Mennonite, scoring at a 19.0 clip with 16 3’s in the last seven games, and she’ll open her senior season in December with 521 career points. … A great way for Octorara to end its season with a 55-19 victory at Freire Charter in Wilmington, Delaware. After a winless campaign in 2020-21, the Braves wrapped up their stay in Section 5 with three victories, and ace Ja’syah James (12.2 points, 11 3’s in final nine games) locked up an all-star nod for her efforts this winter. … Pequea Valley freshman lefty sniper Katie Stoltzfus has 14 3’s in the last four games, including a nifty 15-point, 5-trey night in the league play-in game vs. L-S. Stoltzfus shot 5-for-6 from deep that night vs. the Pioneers, as the Braves now look forward to a D3-3A playoff run.
TWITTER: @JeffReinhart77
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