BY JEFF FALK

HERSHEY – Not sure how many people know this, but the Lebanon Catholic girls’ basketball program has a bag of tricks. Last night the Beavers reached into it, pulled out and dusted off an old 2-2-1 full-court defense.

The idea was to jump start Lebanon Catholic’s game. But what it did was set the tone for the Beavers’ entire state run.

On Saturday evening at Milton Hershey School’s Spartan Center, the reigning Class A champions opened defense of their state title by playing ‘name the score’, during a 65-16 mercy-rule beat-down of  Cowanesque Valley. Utilizing a hustling full-court defense, the Beavers tallied – get this – the first 34 points of the game and didn’t allow the Indians to score until 12:10 of game clock had expired.

Lebanon Catholic forced turnover after turnover after turnover, and did not permit Cowanesque Valley to even attempt a shot in opening quarter. The Beavers scored more points in the first period, then the Indians would score the entire game.

With the result, Lebanon Catholic, the champions of District Three, moved to 23-6 and into Wednesday’s second round of the PIAA Class A postseason, against the winner of Sankofa Freedom Academy and Greenwood, at a site and time to be determined. Cowanesque Valley, the fourth-place finisher out of District Four, ended its campaign at 15-10.

“Not much. A little bit. We’ve played it some,” said Lebanon Catholic head coach Patti Hower, when asked how much her squad had played the 2-2-1 this season. “It gets us going. We felt like we needed to do it this game.

“Our goal is to make it to the state final, because we were there last year and won it,” continued Hower. “We don’t want anything less. It’s one game at a time. But I think that they (her players) want to get back there also.”

This one wasn’t over before it started, but darn close.

During the Beavers’ devastating 34-0 opening volley, star Alexis Hill netted 14 points, Jasmine Turner pumped in 10 points, Taylor Bossert tallied eight and Celine Mars contributed a bucket. It wasn’t until Lebanon Catholic took off the press and inserted a handful of reserves that Cowanesque Valley scored, with 3:50 left in the first half.

“No, we have’t ever scored the first 34 points of a game,” said Hower. “You have to respect your opponent. Our pressure hurt them. Our athleticism hurt them. Our talent hurt them. I was happy with our intensity, and the fact that we were able to maintain it.

“I guess the reason we haven’t played it (the 2-2-1) more is a little bit because of our depth,” Hower continued. “Our half-court man (-to-man defense) is pretty good. I just don’t like to press for the sake of pressing. That’s probably me. We could’ve pressed more teams more often. Today it served its purpose.

“Perhaps (it’ll be used again in the state playoffs). I don’t know. It depends on the opponent. We may come out in it again.”

On the strength of a Jayden Shellehamer three-pointer, the Beavers led 37-11 at the break.

“Probably when we were up 10-0,” said Hower, when asked when she thought her side had things under control. “I felt comfortable (at the beginning), because we had tape on them (the Indians). I just wanted to come out and play hard and execute.

“It’s a big court,” added Hower. “We ran the court. We hit some shots. You can only simulate some things at practice.”

A total of 15 Beavers played. Hill spearheaded the attack with a total of 18 points, Turner recorded 15 and Bossert registered 14.

Lebanon Catholic drained eight three-point field goals. The Beavers held Cowanesque Valley to just five field goals.

“I thought our length hurt them,” said Hower. “Neesha Pierre is a big guard who hurts other teams. Everyone can score and we’re very unselfish. I think we’re talented enough, we just can’t take anyone lightly.”

Lebanon Catholic also held the Indians without a point for the first 3:36 of the second half, during which time it extended its lead to 46-11. During that 9-0 run, the Beavers got six points from Pierre, a Hill put-back and a charity toss from Mars.

“It was just positive. Nothing negative,” said Hower. “It was nice to get everyone in. I thought it was a nice effort by all the girls.”

Lebanon Catholic opened the final quarter with two three-pointers from Bossert and a trey by Alaina Kline, as its advantage reached 64-16.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2017-18 Lebanon Catholic Girls’ Basketball Results