BY JEFF FALK
LANCASTER – They say familiarity breeds contempt. It’s also been said that familiarity breeds content.
The Elco girls’ basketball team has played Lancaster Catholic four times this season. There are both advantages and disadvantages to a potential fifth meeting.
On Tuesday night at Lancaster Catholic High School, the Crusaders defeated the Raiders for the fourth time this season, this time by a score of 45-24, in a semifinal of the District Three Class AAAA postseason tournament. It was an all too familiar story line for the Raiders, as they struggled with turnovers, played from behind the entire way and generally didn’t perform like they are accustomed to.
Factually, last night’s point differential was the smallest of the four meetings between Elco and Lancaster Catholic this season. The Crusaders had beaten the Raiders by margins of 24, 26 and 24 previously.
With the loss, fourth-seeded Elco slipped to 21-6 overall and into Thursday’s Class AAAA third-place game at 7 p.m. at third-seeded Kenard-Dale. The Raiders had already been assured a spot in the upcoming state playoffs.
The win was 27-0 Lancaster Catholic’s 59th straight over two seasons and propelled the reigning PIAA Class AAAA champion into Thursday’s District Three championship game opposite Bishop McDevitt.
“We bounce back every time from this,” said Elco head coach Ashli Shay. “We’re 21-6 and four of those losses have come to the same team. There’s three teams who have beaten us this year. As far as I know, we don’t have to play them again next week.
“Does anyone want to see them (the Crusaders) again?,” Shay continued. “It is what it is. At this point of the season, every team is going to be good and battle-tested. We just have to be more prepared.”
The start to the game was the Raiders’ nightmare realized.
Plagued by turnovers and experiencing difficulties even getting off shots against Lancaster Catholic’s vaunted full-court pressure defense, Elco went without a point for the contest’s initial 9:34 – a full quarter plus. During that time, Lancaster Catholic created an 11-0 lead that it would never relinquish.
The Raiders were guilty of nine turnovers in the first quarter alone.
“For me, ‘No’,” said Shay, when asked if the past meetings with the Crusaders have affected her team’s psyche. “But I think it is like that for them (her players). It is a factor. They’ve (the Crusaders) won something like 59 in-a-row. Once you start turning the ball over it becomes demoralizing and you become frustrated.
“You hope every time is going to be the charm,” continued Shay. “We thought we had the right idea. It’s difficult when you don’t move, and turn the ball over. In all reality, we spent 15 minutes of practice on something that didn’t work.”
The Raiders caught a spark early in the second quarter, and it would prove to be one of their few highlights of the evening.
Elco rattled off six unanswered points to cut Lancaster Catholic’s lead to 11-6, 3:10 into the second period. Freshman Kailey Eckhart scored on a pair of hard ‘takes’ to the bucket, while senior Jordan Rosengrant knocked down a couple of free throws.
But the Raiders’ prosperity was short-lived. The Crusaders registered the final 12 points of the first half to take a 25-6 advantage to the locker room.
“I thought we played scared and timid in the first half,” said Shay. “I thought we did well defensively. But offensively, we did not show up.
“I thought it (the turnovers) were a little bit of both (forced and unforced),” added Shay. “Just them running and jumping, and getting into passing lanes. They forced us to turn the ball over.”
None of Elco’s three leading scorers – Ryelle Shuey, Amanda Smith or Julia Nelson – registered a point in the first half. For the Crusaders, Peyton Jaquis poured in a game-high 18 points and Kiki Jefferson dropped in 17 points.
Lancaster Catholic outscored Elco 15-3 from beyond the arc.
“She definitely played her more this time,” said Shay of assigning Shuey to Jefferson defensively. “We wanted to put some size on her (Jefferson) and bring help. She (Shuey) played tough. She played physical. I thought she did a good job.
“We were looking to attack offensively, and finish,” Shay added. “We were actually out rebounding them at halftime. But offensively, you’ve got to make shots.”
Elco was unable to mount much of a rally in the second half.
A driving lay-up by Shuey and another Rosengrant charity toss drew the Raiders to within 28-9 of the lead, 2:33 into the third period. But Lancaster Catholic closed the third stanza with a 35-14 bulge, and it was around that point that Elco’s body language began to tell its own story.
“I thought our defensive rebounding was pretty darn good,” said Shay. “Our offense let us down. They (the Crusaders) certainly had a lot to do with that. If you hold Lancaster Catholic to 45 points, you’ve got to think you have a chance.
“If you would’ve told me in late November that we’d be in the district semifinals, I would’ve agreed with you,” Shay continued. “I believe in this team that much.”
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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 |
68 44 |
|
1/22 7:00 pm |
Elco at Octorara |
68 13 |
|
1/25 7:30 pm |
Donegal at Elco |
59 78 |
|
1/26 6:30 pm |
Elco at Oley Valley |
50 27 |
|
2/01 7:30 pm |
Garden Spot at Elco |
38 54 |
|
2/02 1:00 pm |
Elco at Northern Lebanon |
49 26 |
|
2/05 7:30 pm |
Elco at Lancaster Catholic |
31 67 |
|
2/07 6:00 pm |
Elco Ephrata at Garden Spot |
61 44 |
|
2/09 7:00 pm |
Elco at Solanco |
55 38 |
|
2/13 7:30 pm |
Elco Cedar Crest at Lebanon |
36 34 |
|
2/15 7:00 pm |
Lancaster Catholic Elco at Manheim Township |
66 42 |
|
2/22 7:00 pm |
Eastern York at Elco |
42 46 |
|
2/26 7:00 pm |
Elco at Lancaster Catholic |
AAAA | School | W | L | T | Rating | TWP | OWP | TWPW | OWPW | TWPL | OWPL |
1 | Lancaster Catholic | 21- | 0- | 0 | 0.809768 | 1.000000 | 0.577262 | 23.4 | 265.1 | 0.0 | 194.1 |
2 | Bishop McDevitt | 19- | 2- | 0 | 0.800883 | 0.930283 | 0.642726 | 21.4 | 298.5 | 1.6 | 165.9 |
3 | Kennard Dale | 20- | 2- | 0 | 0.751993 | 0.922131 | 0.544046 | 22.5 | 258.2 | 1.9 | 216.4 |
4 | Eastern Lebanon County | 17- | 4- | 0 | 0.713756 | 0.834452 | 0.566239 | 18.7 | 260.3 | 3.7 | 199.4 |
5 | Eastern York | 15- | 7- | 0 | 0.681454 | 0.732906 | 0.618568 | 17.2 | 301.2 | 6.3 | 185.7 |
6 | Big Spring | 14- | 6- | 0 | 0.629746 | 0.740196 | 0.494750 | 15.1 | 212.1 | 5.3 | 216.6 |
7 | Bermudian Springs | 15- | 7- | 0 | 0.614414 | 0.679545 | 0.534809 | 15.0 | 248.9 | 7.1 | 216.5 |
8 | Susquehanna Township | 11- | 11- | 0 | 0.603616 | 0.570455 | 0.644147 | 12.6 | 315.6 | 9.5 | 174.4 |
9 | Wyomissing | 14- | 8- | 0 | 0.587937 | 0.685990 | 0.468094 | 14.2 | 217.5 | 6.5 | 247.2 |
10 | Northern Lebanon | 13- | 9- | 0 | 0.570943 | 0.637778 | 0.489256 | 14.4 | 232.3 | 8.2 | 242.5 |
11 | Oley Valley | 14- | 8- | 0 | 0.544753 | 0.628959 | 0.441835 | 13.9 | 200.4 | 8.2 | 253.1 |
12 | West Perry | 11- | 11- | 0 | 0.511226 | 0.506637 | 0.516836 | 11.5 | 237.2 | 11.2 | 221.7 |
13 | Fleetwood | 9- | 12- | 0 | 0.511012 | 0.486420 | 0.541069 | 9.9 | 239.5 | 10.4 | 203.1 |
14 | James Buchanan | 11- | 11- | 0 | 0.490770 | 0.532895 | 0.439285 | 12.2 | 193.0 | 10.7 | 246.4 |
15 | Schuylkill Valley | 11- | 11- | 0 | 0.490253 | 0.537209 | 0.432862 | 11.6 | 196.0 | 10.0 | 256.8 |
16 | Littlestown | 9- | 13- | 0 | 0.468523 | 0.405963 | 0.544984 | 8.9 | 258.1 | 13.0 | 215.5 |
17 | Boiling Springs | 9- | 12- | 0 | 0.468042 | 0.461358 | 0.476212 | 9.9 | 212.2 | 11.5 | 233.4 |
18 | Middletown Area | 7- | 13- | 0 | 0.453423 | 0.379227 | 0.544107 | 7.9 | 231.3 | 12.9 | 193.8 |
19 | Hamburg Area | 8- | 14- | 0 | 0.417688 | 0.386473 | 0.455840 | 8.0 | 212.9 | 12.7 | 254.2 |
20 | Octorara Area | 0- | 21- | 0 | 0.267241 | 0.000000 | 0.593869 | 0.0 | 249.0 | 19.9 | 170.3 |