BY JEFF FALK
LEBANON – If you practice a craft, it’s only natural to want to show off what you can do. And if you respect the people you’re dressed to impress, well that just makes you want to try even harder.
On Thursday night at Lebanon High School, Cedar Crest turned its rivalry with the home-standing Cedars into its own exhibition of girls’ basketball. The Falcons excelled at all phases of the game, pulled farther and farther away from Lebanon as the game wore on and transformed their annual crosstown war into a 54-21 laugher.
It was also a tale of two teams headed in different directions.
The win was the Falcons’ seventh straight and bumped them to 14-1 overall and 10-1 in Section One of the Lancaster-Lebanon League.
The loss was the Cedars’ eighth straight and dropped them to 4-12 on the season and 3-8 in Section Two of the L-L. The result also marked the fourth consecutive game that Lebanon’s point total did not surpass the 30-point plateau.
The Cedars were without sophomore star Alexis Hill, who sat out with ongoing back issues. While Hill’s presence most certainly would’ve affected the final score, it may have not changed the ultimate result.
“It did seem different,” said Cedar Crest head coach Jim Donmoyer, of the seeming lack of intensity. “I can’t put my finger on that. You were here. You had that feeling too. But it didn’t feel like a rivalry game. It’s one game at a time. The next game was Lebanon and it was a big game.
“We played alright,” continued Donmoyer. “I thought we did what we normally do. We came out and played our defense. It was one of those games.”
“It didn’t feel the same,” said Lebanon head coach Ben Brewer. “It’s the first time in a bunch of years we had the boys’ game on a different night. There wasn’t the intensity or the back-and-forth. I wanted our girls to be able to experience that. Maybe a good goal for us would be to become more competitive for next year at ‘The Cage’.
“The last thing we had on our goal board was we wanted to compete,” Brewer continued. “We wanted to represent our school, our family and our teammates. We played McCaskey last night and we did a nice job of bouncing back. But we have to continue to get better.”
It was actually the Cedars who tallied the first three points of the contest, courtesy of an Alicia Houser charity toss and a Jasimine Turner jumper. But after that it was all Cedar Crest.
The Falcons took control for good with a subsequent 11-0 burst. Caitlynn Albright and Ariel Jones collected four Falcon points apiece during the run, and center Alyssa Austin stepped outside to drain a ‘three’.
“I didn’t know if she was playing or not,” said Donmoyer of Hill. “If she’s not, we’re very confident. If she is, we’re confident. She’s a good player. With her, the intensity is different. If she was in, it was going to be more intense. But we have to get after people no matter who’s out there.
“We started slow,” added Donmoyer. “It was just one of those things. But we always seem to go on one of those runs. Ariel is all-around tough, and Alyssa is hard to handle in the paint. The last three games, neither has seen the fourth quarter. It’s just the situations we’ve been in.”
“It does make a difference,” said Brewer of Hill’s absence. “Just with her energy, and when she is playing, she’s averaging 20 points and 15 rebounds a game. With the injury she has, we don’t know when she’s coming back. But we can’t use it as an excuse.
“She played 16 minutes last night (Wednesday against McCaskey),” Brewer added. “But she’s going to be out a little bit.”
The Falcons’ dominance spilled over into the second quarter, where they all but put the outcome to rest. Cedar Crest scored its 23rd point on a Skyanne Yancey three-pointer, with 2:38 remaining before the break, and it gave the Falcons a 13-point advantage.
Cedar Crest held Lebanon to a single point for the rest of the half, and grabbed a 30-11 lead thanks to a Jones’ steal and lay-in that beat the buzzer.
“They set the tone,” said Donmoyer of Austin and Jones. “Ariel is the tempo. And when we need bailed out, we throw it into Alyssa. When you have a point guard and a post presence you have a pretty good start of a team.
“I thought we did real well defensively,” Donmoyer continued. “Just knowing what we’re doing and doing what we do. That’s the key. Even though the game was out of hand, we kept playing defense.”
‘It’s never easy to lose,” said Brewer. “I’m a very competitive coach. I’m a very competitive person. For the most part, my team is competitive. We’re combating a little bit of bickering and trying to improve every day. Not having Alexis in there hurts.”
In a little less than three quarter of action, Jones recorded 14 points and Austin registered 11 points, nine blocks and eight rebounds. In all, nine different Falcons found their way into the score book.
The Falcons limited the Cedars to just five field goals, and eight-of-17 foul shooting.
“It’s nice to be able to get the whole bunch in,” said Donmoyer. “The bottom line is: I’m still getting kids playing time.
“Lebanon will always scrap,” Donmoyer added. “Lebanon will always fight. The kids will fight. They got after us a little bit. When you’re missing your best player, it’s tough to replace her.”
“Offensively, they have that one-two punch,” said Brewer of Austin and Jones. “They have a heady point guard who’s quick, and they have a post player who can shoot and finish. But the most impressive thing about them is their defense. They’ve got a complete basketball team. And they can come off the bench a little bit.”
With five different players contributing – Sage Bartal, Yancey, Jones, Austin and Albright – Cedar Crest scored the first 11 points of the second half to extend its lead to 41-11. Falcon Kelsey Guth notched the first four points of the final quarter, as Cedar Crest’s bulge ballooned to 47-14.
“We’ve run off seven since,” said Donmoyer of the Falcons’ only setback, a one-point loss at Manheim Township. “We won our first seven and then lost to them. It wasn’t the ideal way we lost to them, but we lost.
“We’re 14-1 and headed in the right direction,” Donmoyer added. “The next two weeks will tell us how good we are. We’re looking forward to it.”
“Honestly, we’re two games back (of second place) in the section,” said Brewer. “If we can get back on a roll, we have an opportunity to make the league playoffs, as amazing as that sounds. You never know what’s going to happen.
“I’m disappointed for my girls,” concluded Brewer. “I take the blame. They should be having more success than this. I’m not frustrated at them, I’m frustrated for them. I want to see them have more success.”
To purchase images in this article email jkfalk2005@yahoo.com, or to view more go to www.http://lebanonsportsbuzz.com/gallery-ten/.
Lancaster-Lebanon League
Section One Standings
TEAM | LEAGUE | OVERALL |
---|---|---|
Cedar Crest | 10-1 | 14-1 |
Manheim Twp. | 9-1 | 10-5 |
McCaskey | 8-2 | 11-3 |
Hempfield | 7-3 | 11-5 |
Warwick | 5-5 | 7-9 |
Penn Manor | 1-9 | 2-13 |
Section Two Standings
TEAM | LEAGUE | OVERALL |
---|---|---|
Elizabethtown | 6-4 | 8-7 |
Ephrata | 5-5 | 6-9 |
Solanco | 3-7 | 4-11 |
Lebanon | 3-8 | 4-12 |
Conestoga Valley | 2-8 | 5-10 |
Garden Spot | 2-8 | 4-11 |
DATE | OPPONENT | TIME | RESULT | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
12/04 # |
Reading
|
6:00 PM | W 57-39 | ||
12/05 # |
@Muhlenberg
|
7:30 PM | W 47-26 | ||
12/11 * |
@Solanco
|
7:30 PM | W 63-37 | ||
12/14 * |
Ephrata
|
7:30 PM | W 50-34 | ||
12/16 * |
@Conestoga Valley
|
7:30 PM | W 63-34 | ||
12/18 * |
McCaskey
|
7:30 PM | W 70-55 | ||
12/21 * |
@Hempfield
|
7:30 PM | W 57-52 | ||
12/23 * |
@Manheim Twp.
|
7:30 PM | L 49-50 | ||
12/29 # |
Conrad Weiser
|
6:00 PM | W 52-31 | ||
12/30 # |
@Eastern York
|
7:30 PM | W 60-41 | ||
01/05 * |
Warwick
|
7:30 PM | W 58-34 | ||
01/08 * |
@Penn Manor
|
7:30 PM | W 63-42 | ||
01/11 * |
Garden Spot
|
7:30 PM | W 69-33 | ||
01/13 * |
@Elizabethtown
|
7:30 PM | W 62-42 | ||
01/14 * |
@Lebanon
|
7:30 PM | W 54-21 | ||
DATE | OPPONENT | TIME | LOCATION | |
---|---|---|---|---|
01/19 * |
@McCaskey
|
7:30 PM | McCaskey High School | |
01/22 * |
Hempfield
|
7:30 PM | Cedar Crest High School | |
01/25 * |
Manheim Twp.
|
7:30 PM | Cedar Crest High School | |
01/27 |
@Palmyra
|
7:30 PM | Palmyra High School | |
01/28 * |
@Warwick
|
7:30 PM | Warwick High School | |
01/30 |
Lower Dauphin
|
7:30 PM | Cedar Crest High School | |
02/02 * |
Penn Manor
|
7:30 PM | Cedar Crest High School |
DATE | OPPONENT | TIME | RESULT | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
12/04 # |
@Muhlenberg
|
7:30 PM | L 35-36 | ||
12/05 |
Reading
|
6:00 PM | W 54-38 | ||
12/11 * |
@Manheim Twp.
|
6:00 PM | W 47-46 | ||
12/14 * |
@Penn Manor
|
7:30 PM | W 45-43 | ||
12/16 * |
Warwick
|
7:30 PM | L 42-50 | ||
12/18 * |
Conestoga Valley
|
7:30 PM | L 36-44 | ||
12/21 * |
@Ephrata
|
7:30 PM | L 37-44 | ||
12/23 * |
Solanco
|
7:30 PM | W 50-34 | ||
12/28 # |
Lebanon Catholic
|
7:30 PM | L 45-51 | ||
12/29 |
Garden Spot
|
6:00 PM | L 44-50 | ||
01/02 |
Governor Mifflin
|
12:00 PM | L 25-77 | ||
01/05 * |
Elizabethtown
|
7:30 PM | L 30-41 | ||
01/08 * |
@Garden Spot
|
7:30 PM | L 43-48 | ||
01/11 * |
@Hempfield
|
7:30 PM | L 22-53 | ||
01/13 * |
McCaskey
|
7:30 PM | L 28-52 | ||
01/14 * |
Cedar Crest
|
7:30 PM | L 21-54 | ||
DATE | OPPONENT | TIME | LOCATION | |
---|---|---|---|---|
01/19 * |
@Conestoga Valley
|
7:30 PM | Conestoga Valley High School | |
01/22 * |
Ephrata
|
7:30 PM | Lebanon High School | |
01/25 * |
@Solanco
|
7:30 PM | Solanco High School | |
01/28 * |
@Elizabethtown
|
7:30 PM | Elizabethtown High School | |
02/02 * |
Garden Spot
|
7:30 PM | Lebanon High School | |
02/04 |
Hershey
|
7:30 PM | Lebanon High School |
PIAA District Three
Class AAAA Power Rankings
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