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 IMG_8138BY JEFF FALK

ASSUMPTION HILL – Patti Hower knows exactly where her Lebanon Catholic girls’ basketball team is supposed to be, and she knows exactly when it’s supposed to be there. Let’s just say the Beavers are rounding into shape.

On Friday night at home, the Beavers took another step forward by dismissing rival Annville-Cleona 46-27, in a Lancaster-Lebanon Section Four affair. The Beavers proved to be the more athletic club and pulled away from the Little Dutchmen with a devastating 17-6 run through the final quarter.

The victory was Lebanon Catholic’s second impressive win in three days and pushed it to 3-2 overall and 2-2 in Section Four. After opening its campaign with a road win at Hamburg, the setback was Annville-Cleona’s fourth straight and left it 1-4 overall, 0-4 in the circuit and searching for answers.

IMG_8125“We did some things tonight that we worked on in practice,” said Hower, the Beavers’ veteran head coach. “We took them from practice to the game. I’m happy, but we need to get better. Our foul shooting needs to get better. That’s important because we have some people who can go to the basket.

“It’s Annville-Cleona. Of course it’s important,” Hower continued. “It’s a big rivalry. It’s important in our section. We want to finish first or second, and it’s a section game.”

IMG_8108“We’re in need of a win,” said Annville-Cleona head coach Roger Hayes. “It’s a big game, a rivalry game. There’s not many nights when we’re going to play in front of a full gym. We wanted to compete well.

“My message to the girls was: ‘Keep your heads up,'” continued Hayes. “This is our first section game. We’ve been inconsistent, and it’s the little things. The good news is we don’t have to start from scratch.”

After leading from the opening tap, Catholic really opened it up in the second half.

A Mariah Sholly charity toss and  a Neesha Pierre driving lay-in to start the third stanza pushed Lebanon Catholic’s lead to 21-11. That advantage reached 27-14, thanks to four more points from Pierre and an inside move from Celine Mars, before Annville-Cleona responded with the last five points of the period – a Hannah Fischer jumper and a conventional three-point play from Meredith Bachman.

IMG_8104“We kept that six- or seven-point lead, which is key,” said Hower. “When we get below that, they (her players) kind of question themselves. What we have to learn is that there are times when we don’t need to score, we need to take time off the clock. It’s a fine line, but I  think we’re starting to get it. We had some stops on the other end, and they (the Little Dutchmen) had some crucial turnovers.

“We didn’t shoot the ball well,” Hower added. “Obviously we need to improve at the foul line. We try to simulate game situations in practice. But they (the Little Dutchmen) didn’t make their shots either. When we can get out on the floor, we’re tough. But we need to get a rebound.”

IMG_8187“Any time you’re playing against Coach Hower, it’s just an honor,” said Hayes. “What does she have, 700 hundred wins? They’re (the Beavers) solid. They’re well-coached. They’re disciplined. It’s where we need to get, and take care of the little things like they do.

“If we could shoot in the game like we do in practice, we’d be OK,” added Hayes. “I don’t know what it is. We’re took streaky. We’re not consistent enough right now. I think it’ll come. It takes that momentum and getting over the hump.”

By holding Annville-Cleona without a point for a five-minute stretch to start the final quarter, the Beavers ran off seven straight points – on a ‘three’ from Hannah Callihan, and drives by Mars, then Pierre – to make it a 36-21 score. Lebanon Catholic would also add a subsequent 10-0 spurt that extended its lead to 46-24.

IMG_8134“They play hard,” said Hower of the Little Dutchmen. “They played to the end. They have some nice players. We’ve seen them and scouted them. Maybe generally they shot the ball better. He (Hayes) plays more players than I do and maybe they were fresher at the end.”

“In spurts, it was fine,” said Hayes of his club’s defensive effort. “Other times we’d miss our assignments, or lose track of a player or a ball. What really hurt us was rebounding.”

Mars led all scorers with a game-high 14 points, and Pierre supported her with ten. The Little Dutchmen were led by Bachman and her 11 points.

IMG_8118The Beavers made good on just ten of their 23 free throw attempts, but tallied seven more field goals than Annville-Cleona.

“It’s important that Mariah (Sholly) stays in the game,” said Hower. “Neesha does a nice job at the point, but it takes her out of her position. She’s (Sholly) starting to play smarter, and so is Neesha. Neesha is so smooth in there. She’s got good strides.

“We needed this game,” Hower continued. “And Celine played great. And Hannah Callihan hit some big shots for us. She needs to keep shooting the ball. We got nice contributions from everyone.”

“This atmosphere is awesome,” said Hayes. “We had the benefit of playing on the same night as the guys. It’s a rivalry. It’s a packed house. I told the girls to embrace the opportunity. It’s fun.”

Lebanon Catholic notched four of the game’s first five points and assumed an early seven-point lead on a pair of Sholly foul shots. The Beavers then proceeded to hold Annville-Cleona without a score for a seven-minute stretch, during which they pushed their lead to 15-3, on a three-pointer from Allison Warren.

IMG_8153“I feel like with the crossovers, we’re through the tougher games,” said Hayes. “We still have got to clean some things up. But we have some winnable games coming up.”

The Little Dutchmen pieced together their own 8-0 burst in the middle of the second period, courtesy of a couple of baskets from Bachman, a pair of foul shots from Morgan Zimmerman and a stick-back from Michaela Singer, to make it a 15-11 affair. But the Beavers regained their mojo in the form of Callihan jumper and a Pierre charity toss.

“Absolutely nothing has changed,” said Hayes. “Our primary goals are to have a winning record and make the district playoffs. We just need a couple of runs here or there. If we can get on a roll, we’ll be in good shape.”

IMG_8100To purchase images in this article email jkfalk2005@yahoo.com, or to see more go to www. http://lebanonsportsbuzz.com/gallery-ten/.

 

 

 

Lancaster-Lebanon League

 Section Four Standings

 

TEAM LEAGUE OVERALL
Lancaster Catholic 4-0 6-0
Lebanon Catholic 2-2 3-2
Pequea Valley 1-4 2-5
Columbia 0-4 2-5
Annville-Cleona 0-4 1-5
Lancaster Mennonite 0-4 0-7

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IMG_81212015-16 Lebanon Catholic Girls’ Basketball Schedule

DATE OPPONENT TIME RESULT
12/05
Steel-High
2:30 PM
12/09
Harrisburg Academy
6:00 PM W 55-33
12/11 *
Elco
7:30 PM L 42-45
12/14 *
@Northern Lebanon
7:30 PM L 36-47
12/16 *
Lampeter-Strasburg
7:30 PM W 58-42
12/18 *
Annville-Cleona
7:30 PM W 46-27
DATE OPPONENT TIME LOCATION
12/21 *
@Lancaster Catholic
7:30 PM Lancaster Catholic High School
12/23 *
@Lancaster Mennonite
7:30 PM Lancaster Mennonite High School
01/04
Veritas Academy
6:00 PM Lebanon Catholic School
01/05 *
Pequea Valley
7:30 PM Lebanon Catholic School
01/08 *
@Columbia
7:30 PM Columbia High School
01/11
@Donegal
7:30 PM Donegal High School
01/13
Manheim Central
7:30 PM Lebanon Catholic School
01/15
@Cocalico
7:30 PM Cocalico High School
01/19 *
@Annville-Cleona
7:30 PM Annville-Cleona High School
01/22 *
Lancaster Catholic
7:30 PM Lebanon Catholic School
01/23
@West Shore Christian
6:00 PM West Shore Christian Academy
01/25 *
Lancaster Mennonite
7:30 PM Lebanon Catholic School
01/28 *
@Pequea Valley
7:30 PM Pequea Valley High School
02/02 *
Columbia
7:30 PM Lebanon Catholic School

 

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IMG_81562015-16 Annville-Cleona Girls’ Basketball Schedule

 

DATE OPPONENT TIME RESULT
12/05
@Hamburg
6:00 PM W 43-35
12/11 *
Cocalico
7:30 PM L 31-52
12/14 *
@Lampeter-Strasburg
7:30 PM L 50-58
12/16 *
Donegal
7:30 PM L 34-52
12/18 *
@Lebanon Catholic
7:30 PM L 27-46
DATE OPPONENT TIME LOCATION
12/22 *
Pequea Valley
1:00 PM Annville-Cleona High School
12/23 *
@Columbia
7:30 PM Columbia High School
12/28
Littlestown
6:00 PM Annville-Cleona High School
01/05 *
@Lancaster Mennonite
7:30 PM Lancaster Mennonite High School
01/08 *
Lancaster Catholic
7:30 PM Annville-Cleona High School
01/11
@Northern Lebanon
7:30 PM Northern Lebanon High School
01/13
Elco
7:30 PM Annville-Cleona High School
01/15
@Manheim Central
7:30 PM Manheim Central High School
01/16
@Pine Grove
7:30 PM Pine Grove High School
01/19 *
Lebanon Catholic
7:30 PM Annville-Cleona High School
01/22 *
@Pequea Valley
7:30 PM Pequea Valley High School
01/25 *
Columbia
7:30 PM Annville-Cleona High School
01/28 *
Lancaster Mennonite
7:30 PM Annville-Cleona High School
01/30
Oley Valley
1:00 PM Annville-Cleona High School
02/02 *
@Lancaster Catholic
7:30 PM Lancaster Catholic High School

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