BY JEFF FALK
MYERSTOWN – It’s extra cool when success leads to new opportunities. Sometimes, that’s all that teams can really ask for in athletics.
But the Elco girls’ basketball team wasn’t content to simply measure its progress or find out where it stands. The Raiders wanted to seize the opportunity.
On Friday night, the red-hot Raiders met their match in mighty Lancaster Catholic, during a 68-44 Lancaster-Lebanon Section Four home setback. Behind some blistering shooting and the all-around play of senior superstar Kiki Jefferson, the Crusaders jumped on Elco early, opened a 20-point lead late in the first half and never allowed the thought of an upset to enter its head.
The outcome snapped Elco’s seven-game win streak and dropped it to 12-3 on the campaign and 6-2 in Section Four. It was also Lancaster Catholic’s 47th straight victory and pushed the reigning PIAA Class AAAA champions to 15-0 overall and 8-0 in the circuit.
With five league games remaining, the Crusaders now have a two-game cushion over the Raiders in the Section Four standings. Elco, currently seated fourth in the District Three Class AAAA power rankings, hasn’t won a section championship since 2001.
“Our approach was that this was a great opportunity,” said Elco head coach Ashli Shay. “We’ve been playing with confidence and winning close games. They (her players) have shown so much resiliency. We wanted to see where we stand against one of the top teams in the state. We had nothing to lose. It was like, ‘Let’s go out there and play our guts out and see what happens.’
“We absolutely thought we could win the section,” continued Shay. “But we knew it wasn’t going to be easy. Our goal, if we were going to be realistic, was to finish in the top two in the section. And that’s still not easy. We’re going to get our heads on straight and get back on track.”
It was the Crusaders’ famous full-court, man-to-man pressure that set the stage for the rout.
Lancaster Catholic tallied the first five points of the game and then opened an 11-2 lead midway through the opening quarter. The first period ended with the Crusaders up 13-5.
“We weren’t knocking shots down,” said Shay of her side’s opening act. “We looked scared to shoot. We were stagnant. Offense was our biggest struggle. Number 11 (Peyton Jaquis) is unbelievable. Kiki is unbelievable. But if we knock a few shots down, we think we could’ve knocked it (the lead down) to five.
“In spots (against the Crusaders’ pressure), we were fine,” added Shay. “In other spots, it didn’t look like we wanted the ball in our hands. You know you’re going to get that from them.”
A jumper from freshman Kailey Eckhart and a three-pointer by senior Julia Nelson pulled the Raiders to within 17-10 of Lancaster Catholic early in the second stanza. But the Raiders went nearly five minutes without a point, as the Crusaders built their advantage to 30-10.
“We’ve played a lot of games from behind, but not against a team of the caliber we played tonight,” said Shay. “Once they heated up, they didn’t cool down. They’re as advertised. They’re one of the best teams in the state. They just wear you down.
“Our struggle was playing so hard on defense, we didn’t have a lot of energy left on offense,” Shay continued. “How do you combat that? The effort was great. But to sustain the energy, especially playing from behind, it’s tough. There’s not many teams that can stand up to that.”
Senior captain Ryelle Shuey poured in 16 points for Elco, while sophomore Amanda Smith struck for ten. Jaquis finished with seven three-pointers and 25 points, and Jefferson notched 14, before fouling out for the first time this season.
From three-point land, the Crusaders outscored the Raiders 30-6. Elco made good on 14 of its 18 free throw attempts.
“She hit some when she was challenged,” said Shay of Jaquis. “She hit some tough shots that were tightly contested. And she hit some open shots. Kiki garners so much attention that others benefit. I thought we did a good job on her.
“We need 50 (Shuey) to stay on the floor,” Shay added. “She’s been getting into foul trouble. But she did much better tonight. She stepped up. She was a senior tonight.”
Elco’s second-half run never materialized.
The closest the Raiders could come was 30-16, on two foul shots from Smith, 1:36 into the third quarter. Jaquis hit three straight ‘triples’ late in the third, and a fourth, 20 seconds into the final stanza, that gave Lancaster Catholic a 52-24 bulge.
“I will never discount the effort,” said Shay. “They (her players) play their butts off all the time. In spurts, I thought our defense was decent.
“Obvioulsy this puts them (the Crusaders) in a heck of a great position,” concluded Shay. “They’re going to have to lose a bunch of games. Is it (the section race) over for us? Heck, no. We’re going to keep battling.”
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2018-19 Elco Girls’ Basketball Results
Date | Opponents | Outcomes | |
12/07 6:00 pm |
Susquehanna Township Elco at Middletown Tip-Off Tournament |
22 46 |
|
12/08 7:30 pm |
Elco Middletown at Middletown Tip-Off Tournament |
46 55 |
|
12/11 7:30 pm |
Fleetwood at Elco |
24 34 |
|
12/14 7:30 pm |
Cocalico at Elco |
39 57 |
|
12/17 7:30 pm |
Elco at Manheim Central |
49 33 |
|
12/19 7:30 pm |
Solanco at Elco |
39 40 |
|
12/21 7:30 pm |
Elco at Lampeter-Strasburg |
32 39 |
|
12/27 4:30 pm |
Elco Pine Grove at Pine Grove Holiday Tournament |
47 30 |
|
12/28 6:00 pm |
Elco Kennett at Pine Grove Holiday Tournament |
43 36 |
|
1/04 7:00 pm |
Octorara at Elco |
12 75 |
|
1/08 7:30 pm |
Elco at Donegal |
63 59 |
|
1/11 6:00 pm |
Elco at Northern Lebanon |
31 19 |
|
1/12 2:30 pm |
Elco at Lebanon |
51 28 |
|
1/15 7:30 pm |
Elco at York Catholic |
51 46 |
|
1/18 7:30 pm |
Lancaster Catholic at Elco |
||
1/22 7:00 pm |
Elco at Octorara |
||
1/25 7:30 pm |
Donegal at Elco |
||
1/26 6:30 pm |
Elco at Oley Valley |
||
1/29 6:00 pm |
Northern Lebanon at Elco |
||
1/30 7:30 pm |
Conrad Weiser at Elco |
||
2/01 7:30 pm |
Garden Spot at Elco |
||
2/05 7:30 pm |
Elco at Lancaster Catholic |
League | Overall | |||||||||
W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | PS | PA | |||
Lancaster Catholic | 8 | 0 | 100.00 | 15 | 0 | 100.00 | 1045 | 523 | ||
Elco | 6 | 2 | 75.00 | 12 | 3 | 80.00 | 709 | 549 | ||
Northern Lebanon | 4 | 4 | 50.00 | 8 | 7 | 53.33 | 608 | 520 | ||
Donegal | 3 | 6 | 33.33 | 9 | 8 | 52.94 | 929 | 891 | ||
Octorara | 0 | 8 | 0.00 | 0 | 13 | 0.00 | 229 | 813 |
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