BY JEFF FALK

 LEBANON – There were definite underdog/favorite overtones. It had drama, intrigue, big plays, atmosphere, rivalry, suspense, defense and strategy.

 It had everything – and more.

 Forget all that ‘instant classic’ horse hockey, this contest will live on in the memories of those who were there for years. But most importantly, it was good for Lebanon County scholastic sports.

 On Wednesday evening at Lebanon High School, in a semifinal contest of the Lancaster-Lebanon League playoffs, Elco edged Cedar Crest 36-34 in overtime of one whale of a local girls’ scholastic basketball game. After the teams traded last-second buckets in the fourth quarter, and regulation ended in a 32-all draw, Raider senior star Ryelle Shuey tallied what would prove to be the decisive basket, with 1:38 remaining in the initial, four-minute overtime session. 

 Fellow Elco 12th-grader Julia Nelson had opened the OT period with an inside basket. But Molly Bucher responded for Cedar Crest 23 seconds later with a pair of free throws.

 It was Bucher who had given Cedar Crest a 32-30 edge, with seven seconds left in the fourth quarter, with a hard-nosed driving lay-in. But the Raiders went the length of the court in the remaining time, as sophomore guard Katelyn Rueppel got the ball to Shuey down low, and she beat the buzzer with a tough inside move that forced overtime.

 It was a monumental triumph for an Elco squad that seems to be getting better as the season wears on. Now 20-4 on the year, the Raiders, the runners-up from Section Four, advanced to what is beleived to be just their second Lancaster-Lebanon League championship game in program history.

 That contest, versus defending L-L League champ and undefeated Lancaster Catholic, will be staged at 7 p.m. on Friday at Manheim Township. Cedar Crest, the Section One champions, who slipped to 17-6 overall, will see its next action in the District Three Class AAAAAA postseaon on Monday at home against Central York.

 “This is at the top,” said Elco head coach Ashli Shay, when asked to put the victory in a historical perspective for girls’ basketball at Elco. “The difference between the experience as a coach and a player is that it’s more rewarding as a coach. To be on this end of it and see how excited they (her players) are makes it even more special.

 “This is great,” continued Shay. “The atmosphere, the turnout, the crowd, how every kid played so hard. It’s great for the county. It was the two best teams in the county going nose-to-nose. I think it’s great that Lebanon County has a team in the league final.”

 “I’ll be the first one to praise them when we play well,” said Cedar Crest head coach Jim Donmoyer of his troops. “And I’ll be first one to tell them when they stink.”

 From the outset, it was apparent that this one would come down to the wire.

 Elco began the final quarter with a 7-1 run, one which consisted of two Amanda Smtih free throws, a Shuey bucket and a Rueppel three-pointer – to take a 29-28 lead. Senior Raven Morgan regained the lead for the Falcons 17 seconds later, but Raider Kailey Eckhart’s charity toss, with 1:47 left in regulation, knotted the score at 30.

 It also set the stage for the frantic ending that ensued.

 “It was crazy, in all the good ways,” said Shay. “It was an exciting game. We dug a hole for oursleves twice. It’s unbelievable that we didn’t pack it in. Cedar Crest is a fantastic team.

 “We felt if we played well, it would be a great game,” Shay added. “We knew they’d (the Falcons) be ready to play. There was a lot riding on this. We didn’t play our best game for 32 minutes, but we played our best when we needed to.”

 “We didn’t execute. They did,” said Donmoyer. “Offensively, we struggled. Our defense was so-so. I’m just not pleased.”

 The Falcons threatened to blow Elco out of the gymnasium in the third quarter.

 Thanks to a couple of inside baskets by Morgan and three-pointers from Reese Glover and Bucher, Cedar Crest opened the second half on a 10-2 run to expand its lead to 25-15. Elco’s answer featured jumpers from Smith and Rueppel, and an old-fashioned three-point play by Shuey that drew it to within 25-22 of the lead.

 “It’s hard to pinpoint,” said Shay of her side’s key to success. “They’re fantastic kids. They come to work everyday and they bust their butts. They work so hard. They’re so supportive of each other, just their chemistry. The success they had in soccer has definitely transitioned into basketball. And the younger kids have stepped up. It’s a collective effort.”

 “I didn’t think they (the Raiders) were going to score all that much,” said Donmoyer. “And I didn’t expect us to score 34 points.”

 Shuey played one of her best games of the year and one of the finest of her illustrious career. Battling Morgan and Hannah Woelfing on the blocks, Shuey struck for a game-high 17 points and hauled down ten caroms.

 Morgan pumped in a dozen Cedar Crest points, a total matched by Bucher.

 Cedar Crest outscored Elco 15-3 from behind the arc, but the Raiders outscored the Falcons 26-16 on two-pointers. Elco converted seven of its ten foul shots.

 “She’s just a winner,” said Shay of Shuey. “She’s made so many plays. Was it her best game? Yeah, it might’ve been. She took command of the game. She proved she belongs in this atmosphere.

 “That (the battle between Shuey and Morgan) was huge,” continued Shay. “We thought it could come down to it inside. Those two really went at it. Raven is a very good player. What a great match-up between two very good kids.”

 “Shuey was it,” said Donmoyer. “We didn’t contain her. We didn’t stop her. Nobody else hurt us. She dominated inside. She was the difference and we didn’t have an answer for her.”

 Early on, the Falcons enjoyed the better of the defensive struggle, thanks in part to the three-ball.

 Cedar Crest held Elco score-less over the contest’s first 4:08, and led 5-0 on a Bucher trey and 10-4 on a Madison Rambler triple.

  “I thought our Saturday game at Solanco was our best game of the year,” said Shay of a 55-38 quarterfinal win over the Mules. “That’s a good sign, when you’re playing your best basketball in the playoffs. Cedar Crest took it to us on the glass. But overall, we’ve been getting better and better every week. These kids have decided to be great.”

 The Falcons’ advantage reached 13-5, on another Rambler three-pointer, 1:30 into the second quarter. But Elco held Cedar Crest without a point over the next 6:28, while receiving four points apiece from Shuey and Smith to tie the score at 13.

 “I told the girls we didn’t deserve to win,” said Donmoyer. “If we play like that on Monday night (during their District Three Class AAAAAA opener), we’ll be one-and-done.”

 To purchase images in this article email jkfalk2005@yahoo.com, or to view more go to https://lebanonsportsbuzz.com/photo-gallery/.

 2018-19 Elco Girls’ Basketball Results

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 2018-19 Cedar Crest Girls’ Basketball Results

 

Date	Opponents	Outcomes
12/07 6:30 pm	Central Dauphin East Cedar Crest at Cedar Cliff Tip-Off Tournament	31 57
12/08 7:30 pm	Cedar Crest Cedar Cliff at Cedar Cliff Tip-Off Tournament	28 42
12/11 7:30 pm	Wilson at Cedar Crest	44 53
12/12 7:30 pm	Wyomissing at Cedar Crest	27 37
12/14 7:00 pm	Cedar Crest at Elizabethtown	41 22
12/17 7:30 pm	Lebanon at Cedar Crest	23 52
12/19 7:30 pm	Cedar Crest at Ephrata	42 23
12/21 7:30 pm	Warwick at Cedar Crest	19 39
12/22 7:00 pm	Cedar Crest at Palmyra	26 43
12/27 7:30 pm	Dover Cedar Crest at Lower Dauphin Holiday Tournament	18 52
12/28 7:30 pm	Cedar Crest Lower Dauphin at Lower Dauphin Holiday Tournament	23 38
1/03 7:00 pm	Cedar Crest at Conestoga Valley	60 29
1/08 7:30 pm	Hempfield at Cedar Crest	26 41
1/11 7:30 pm	Cedar Crest at Penn Manor	42 33
1/15 7:30 pm	Cedar Crest at McCaskey	46 31
1/18 7:30 pm	Manheim Township at Cedar Crest	34 46
1/21 7:30 pm	Cedar Crest at Red Lion	36 40
1/25 7:30 pm	Cedar Crest at Hempfield	39 24
2/01 7:30 pm	McCaskey at Cedar Crest	26 59
2/04 7:30 pm	Penn Manor at Cedar Crest	38 55
2/05 7:30 pm	Cedar Crest at Manheim Township	33 37
2/09 7:00 pm	Lampeter-Strasburg at Cedar Crest	28 43
2/13 7:30 pm	Elco Cedar Crest at Lebanon
2/18 7:00 pm	Central York at Cedar Crest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 PIAA District Three

  Final Class AAAA Power Rankings

 

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	0.587132	0.685990	0.466306	14.2	215.2	6.5	246.3
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	0.544282	0.628959	0.440787	13.9	199.5	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	0.418239	0.386473	0.457063	8.0	212.9	12.7	252.9
20	Octorara Area	0-	21-	0	0.267241	0.000000	0.593869	0.0	249.0	19.9	170.3

 

 PIAA District Three

 Final Class AAAAAA Power Rankings

 

 

AAAAAA	School	W	L	T	Rating	TWP	OWP	TWPW	OWPW	TWPL	OWPL
1	Cumberland Valley	18-	2-	0	0.791391	0.936975	0.613456	22.3	254.4	1.5	160.3
2	Dallastown	19-	2-	0	0.774557	0.931034	0.583306	23.0	267.3	1.7	191.0
3	Cedar Cliff	17-	5-	0	0.726756	0.818750	0.614318	19.7	296.9	4.4	186.4
4	Central Dauphin	16-	6-	0	0.724342	0.815574	0.612836	19.9	280.3	4.5	177.1
5	Cedar Crest	16-	5-	0	0.694789	0.832272	0.526755	19.6	233.8	4.0	210.1
6	Governor Mifflin	14-	8-	0	0.687715	0.725322	0.641751	16.9	302.7	6.4	169.0
7	Wilson	13-	8-	0	0.680203	0.715576	0.636969	15.9	287.1	6.3	163.6
8	Harrisburg	12-	8-	0	0.674124	0.706161	0.634968	14.9	266.8	6.2	153.4
9	Reading	15-	5-	0	0.672960	0.817568	0.496218	18.2	203.4	4.1	206.5
10	Manheim Township	15-	6-	0	0.663407	0.794433	0.503265	18.6	223.5	4.8	220.6
11	Red Lion	12-	10-	0	0.655425	0.641256	0.672742	14.3	330.4	8.0	160.7
12	Central York	9-	13-	0	0.571321	0.497685	0.661320	10.8	325.7	10.9	166.8
13	Central Dauphin East	7-	15-	0	0.554345	0.426829	0.710198	8.8	336.4	11.8	137.3
14	Penn Manor	8-	14-	0	0.528322	0.476190	0.592039	10.0	283.4	11.0	195.3
15	Warwick	8-	13-	0	0.518092	0.476190	0.569306	9.5	256.7	10.5	194.2
16	Ephrata Area	9-	13-	0	0.510205	0.509132	0.511516	11.2	238.8	10.8	228.0
17	HEMPFIELD	7-	15-	0	0.503134	0.424757	0.598929	8.8	285.2	11.9	191.0
18	Exeter Township	8-	14-	0	0.499844	0.437186	0.576427	8.7	270.2	11.2	198.6
19	Carlisle	6-	16-	0	0.459384	0.351064	0.591775	6.6	273.4	12.2	188.6
20	Conestoga Valley	6-	16-	0	0.449814	0.362245	0.556843	7.1	266.7	12.5	212.3
21	Lebanon	4-	18-	0	0.376507	0.240642	0.542565	4.5	251.8	14.2	212.3
22	Chambersburg Area	2-	19-	0	0.365930	0.135693	0.647331	2.3	294.1	14.7	160.2
23	William Penn	1-	21-	0	0.334652	0.064433	0.664919	1.3	317.1	18.2	159.8
24	York Country Day School	4-	10-	0	0.301635	0.220588	0.400693	3.0	115.6	10.6	172.9
25	J P McCaskey	0-	22-	0	0.257701	0.000000	0.572669	0.0	270.5	17.5	201.9
26	York County School Of Technology	0-	0-	0	0.000000	0.000000	0.000000	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

 

 

 Lancaster-Lebanon League

 Final Section Four Standings

 

	League			Overall
	W	L	PCT	W	L	PCT	PF	PA
Lancaster Catholic	13	0	100.00	23	0	100.00	1599	868
Elco	10	3	76.92	19	4	82.61	1155	861
Northern Lebanon	7	6	53.85	13	9	59.09	928	764
Donegal	4	9	30.77	10	12	45.45	1209	1162
Octorara	0	13	0.00	0	22	0.00	403	1378

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lancaster-Lebanon League

 Final Section One Standings