FREDERICKSBURG – Heart, team work and intensity can only take a scholastic basketball team so far. This season, those three intangibles have taken the Northern Lebanon girls as far as they can go.
On Thursday night at Northern Lebanon High School, the Vikings employed their special brand of winning basketball to nudge Susquehanna Township 33-28, and capture the consolation prize of the District Three Class AAAA postseason. After trailing by a couple of possessions in the locker room, the Vikings held the Indians score-less over the entire third period to put themselves in the driver’s seat.
As the third seed from District Three, Northern Lebanon, now 22-4 on the year, will open competition in the PIAA Class AAAA postseason opposite the runner-up from District 12, on Saturday, March 7 at a site and time to be determined. Susquehanna Township slipped to 18-7 overall.
“We try to win every single game,” said Northern Lebanon head coach Ken Battistelli. “We were devastated with our performance on Tuesday against Eastern York. Tonight, they (his players) looked like my team again. They don’t know any other way. We just win. They’re conditioned to win every game. We try our hardest to win. Every victory is important.
“It matters because we won a game in front of our fans and we’re headed into states,” continued Battistelli. “It was a battle of wills, and when you win a battle of wills, it makes you tougher. We’re going to be better tomorrow because of today.”
Northern Lebanon encountered its usual share of difficulties in crunch time, even after Lindsay McFeaters had nailed a jumper early in the fourth quarter to give the Vikings a 24-18 margin. On three separate ocassions, Susquehanna Township pulled to within three points of Northern Lebanon’s lead – 26-23, with three minutes to go, 28-25 with 43 seconds remaining and 31-28 with 21 ticks left.
But Rachel Papson, McFeaters and Zara Zerman combined to go seven-for-ten at the foul line over the contest’s final 1:04, and Northern Lebanon never relinquished the lead.
“This game was a summary of Northern Lebanon girls’ basketball,” said Battistelli. “We don’t look like we know what we’re doing, but we find a way to win. It ain’t pretty. It ain’t ballet. But we grinded for it.
“I’m so proud of these girls,” Battistelli continued. “They’ve won 22 games now. They’ve won 18 games more than they’ve lost. They weren’t into it to the same degree last year that they are this year.”
After trailing by six points at the break, the Vikings turned the defensive screws to the Indians in the third period and held them without a point. Meanwhile, Zerman was dropping in a couple of buckets, Papson and McFeaters were nailing jumpers and Emily Hauck was laying in a deuce, as Northern Lebanon assumed a 22-18 margin.
“We hit the same phase at the end of the first quarter and the second quarter that we did against Eastern York, when we weren’t looking to score.” said Battistelli. “When we don’t look to score, we don’t score. Aside from Zeke (Zerman) we don’t have anyone who can create their own shot.
“We could go three days without scoring, until we snap out of that mindset,” added Battistelli. “When you lose that scoring mindset, it just doesn’t snap back. When you have Zeke, you can get away with that. But when you play against really good teams, with really good athletes, it’s different.”
Zerman tallied 17 points and again made the spectacular look routine. The Vikings outscored the bigger Indians 26-18 on two-point buckets.
“We think every single team we play is like that,” said Battistelli of Susquehanna Township’s physical prowess. “Eastern York played great against us, and we didn’t step up and score the ball. But even at the end, the girls didn’t back down. We think Susquehanna Township is too good for us, and to beat them we have to be super human.
“If you take us individually, man-to-man, how many teams are better than us?,” Battistelli added. “But they (his players) think that together they’re better.”
With three minutes of the second quarter remaining, Zerman scored on a driving lay-in to tie the score at 12. But the Indians notched the final six points of the first half, and with 19 seconds left before the break, Zerman was hurt and hobbled off the floor.
“I knew she was coming back,” said Battistelli of his floor general. “It was kind of nice because I got to yell at everyone else and tell them to try to score. She’s that competitive, she’s not going to break.”
The Vikings registered the first two baskets of the evening on driving lay-ups from Zerman. Northern Lebanon also scored the last two buckets of the opening quarter, courtesy of Tabitha Hubbard and Zerman, to grab an 8-4 advantage.
“When we lost to Eastern York, that was the first goal we failed to reach,” said Battistelli. “We have never reached a final four in states. That would be fanstastic. We’ll look at our first state game and look at it like it’s the most important game Northern Lebanon has ever played, and we’ll prepare for it that way.”
| Date | Opponents | Outcome | |
| 12/06 6:45 pm | Ephrata Northern Lebanon at Northern Lebanon Tip-Off Tournament | 43 48 | Nonleague |
| 12/07 7:00 pm | Palmyra Northern Lebanon at Northern Lebanon Tip-Off Tournament | 29 41 | Nonleague |
| 12/10 7:30 pm | West Perry at Northern Lebanon | 19 35 | Nonleague |
| 12/13 7:30 pm | Northern Lebanon at Lampeter-Strasburg | 38 26 | League |
| 12/16 7:30 pm | Cocalico at Northern Lebanon | 31 37 | League |
| 12/18 7:30 pm | Northern Lebanon at Garden Spot | 48 17 | League |
| 12/20 7:30 pm | Solanco at Northern Lebanon | 19 35 | League |
| 12/27 6:00 pm | New Oxford Northern Lebanon at Lebanon Holiday Tournament | 27 45 | Nonleague |
| 12/28 7:30 pm | Northern Lebanon McCaskey at Lebanon Holiday Tournament | 44 41 | Nonleague |
| 1/03 7:30 pm | Lancaster Catholic at Northern Lebanon | 50 47 | League |
| 1/04 2:30 pm | East Pennsboro Northern Lebanon at Northern Lebanon Middle School | 22 44 | Nonleague |
| 1/08 6:30 pm | Middletown at Northern Lebanon | 15 38 | Nonleague |
| 1/10 7:30 pm | Northern Lebanon at Elco | 53 45 | League |
| 1/14 7:30 pm | Northern Lebanon at Octorara | 54 17 | League |
| 1/17 7:30 pm | Donegal at Northern Lebanon | 39 65 | League |
| 1/18 2:30 pm | Northern Lebanon at Tulpehocken | Postponed Nonleague | |
| 1/21 7:30 pm | Northern Lebanon at Lancaster Catholic | 35 42 | League |
| 1/23 7:30 pm | Northern Lebanon at Manheim Central | 47 35 | League |
| 1/25 4:30 pm | Northern Lebanon at Annville-Cleona | 47 12 | Nonleague |
| 1/28 7:30 pm | Elco at Northern Lebanon | 35 37 | League |
| 1/31 7:30 pm | Octorara at Northern Lebanon | 30 59 | League |
| 2/04 7:30 pm | Northern Lebanon at Donegal | 60 46 | League |
| 2/06 7:30 pm | Northern Lebanon Warwick at Garden Spot | 43 32 | Playoff |
| 2/08 7:00 pm | Northern Lebanon at Solanco | 32 41 | Playoff |
| 2/21 7:00 pm | Bishop McDevitt at Northern Lebanon | 45 60 | Playoff |
| 2/25 7:00 pm | Eastern York at Northern Lebanon | 51 28 | Playoff |
| 2/27 7:00 pm | Susquehanna Township at Northern Lebanon | Playoff |
| AAAA | School | W | L | T | Rating | TWP | OWP | TWPW | OWPW | TWPL | OWPL |
| 1*** | Lancaster Catholic | 19- | 3- | 0 | 0.770048 | 0.878099 | 0.637985 | 21.3 | 305.9 | 3.0 | 173.6 |
| 2*** | Northern Lebanon | 19- | 2- | 0 | 0.717449 | 0.917927 | 0.472421 | 21.3 | 214.6 | 1.9 | 239.6 |
| 3*** | Eastern York | 16- | 6- | 0 | 0.690866 | 0.779736 | 0.582247 | 17.7 | 283.7 | 5.0 | 203.6 |
| 4*** | Susquehanna Township | 17- | 5- | 0 | 0.693070 | 0.814894 | 0.544175 | 19.2 | 257.2 | 4.4 | 215.4 |
| 5*** | Bermudian Springs | 18- | 4- | 0 | 0.690098 | 0.820276 | 0.530991 | 17.8 | 256.2 | 3.9 | 226.3 |
| 6*** | Wyomissing | 17- | 5- | 0 | 0.640972 | 0.799539 | 0.447167 | 17.4 | 201.7 | 4.4 | 249.3 |
| 7*** | Bishop McDevitt | 10- | 9- | 0 | 0.605559 | 0.588859 | 0.625970 | 11.1 | 262.3 | 7.8 | 156.7 |
| 8*** | Fleetwood | 13- | 8- | 0 | 0.600233 | 0.676960 | 0.506457 | 14.3 | 223.6 | 6.8 | 217.9 |
| 9*** | Kennard Dale | 12- | 11- | 0 | 0.585607 | 0.579521 | 0.593045 | 13.3 | 298.5 | 9.7 | 204.8 |
| 10*** | Schuylkill Valley | 14- | 8- | 0 | 0.562965 | 0.671171 | 0.430713 | 14.9 | 194.0 | 7.3 | 256.4 |
| 11 | Eastern Lebanon County | 11- | 11- | 0 | 0.554537 | 0.550228 | 0.559803 | 12.1 | 266.6 | 9.9 | 209.6 |
| 12 | Big Spring | 9- | 11- | 0 | 0.508521 | 0.505076 | 0.512731 | 10.0 | 221.5 | 9.8 | 210.5 |
| 13 | Littlestown | 11- | 11- | 0 | 0.502302 | 0.497685 | 0.507945 | 10.8 | 244.6 | 10.9 | 236.9 |
| 14 | Boiling Springs | 11- | 11- | 0 | 0.498550 | 0.536866 | 0.451720 | 11.7 | 211.5 | 10.1 | 256.7 |
| 15 | James Buchanan | 9- | 13- | 0 | 0.466487 | 0.438389 | 0.500829 | 9.3 | 226.5 | 11.9 | 225.8 |
| 16 | West Perry | 7- | 15- | 0 | 0.393886 | 0.325000 | 0.478081 | 7.2 | 225.2 | 14.9 | 245.9 |
| 17 | Oley Valley | 8- | 14- | 0 | 0.386301 | 0.344186 | 0.437774 | 7.4 | 199.8 | 14.1 | 256.6 |
| 18 | Middletown Area | 5- | 16- | 0 | 0.382454 | 0.253071 | 0.540588 | 5.2 | 247.4 | 15.2 | 210.3 |
| 19 | Hamburg Area | 6- | 16- | 0 | 0.371387 | 0.295238 | 0.464459 | 6.2 | 216.0 | 14.8 | 249.0 |
| 20 | Octorara Area | 2- | 17- | 0 | 0.324956 | 0.123324 | 0.571394 | 2.3 | 235.9 | 16.4 | 177.0 |
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