ELIZABETHTOWN – The mere fact that they’re Beavers makes them special. But within the Lebanon Catholic girls’ basketball program, every group is unique.
Pride possesses the power to be a huge motivating factor.
On Friday night at Mount Calvary Christian School, a new group of Lebanon Catholic Lady Beavers made a mark for themselves, with a 56-29 triumph over the hometown Chargers, in the quarterfinal round of the District Three Class A postseason. Following a solid start, Lebanon Catholic began to pull away from Mount Calvary in the middle of the second period.
The District Three playoff victory was the first for this particular group of Beavers, but the umpteenth in Lebanon Catholic’s storied history in the sport. The Beavers have won more championships – 20 – than any other basketball program in District Three.
But for the here and now, the win means that the fifth-seeded Beavers, now 12-11 overall, will travel to top-seeded Lancaster Country Day, on Tuesday at 7 p.m. for a Class A semifinal contest. Lebanon Catholic will do so with the knowledge that it has already qualified for the PIAA Class A tournament.
The outcome dropped fourth-seeded Mount Calvary to 18-7 on the year. Back on December 27th on Assumption Hill, the Beavers had knocked off the Chargers 51-30.
“I think they do understand the history of the program,” said Lebanon Catholic head coach Patti Hower. “How can they not? They followed us when they were younger. When we were in the section (Five of the Lancaster-Lebanon League), we had to climb over three teams. We knew if we won this game there would be a reward.
“We’ve really learned how to win,” continued Hower. “We only won seven games last year. We know how to finish. We know how to win. We’ve worked on individual skills. They understand the things they need to work on.”
Following a 17-day layoff, Lebanon Catholic appeared more refreshed than rusty at the start. With Katie Davis, Avery Hupp and Alyssa Loser getting into the act, the Beavers notched the last six points of the opening quarter to grab an early 12-6 lead.
“I thought we played extremely well, offensively and defensively,” said Hower. “We did what we wanted to do. Offensively, we executed, some things to perfection. During the lay-off, we stayed sharp.
“Playing them during the regular season gave us us-against-them on film,” added Hower. “It was like ‘This is what they do.’ I think it did help. But we play with a little more firepower than they do.”
It was a late first-half surge that allowed Lebanon Catholic to put some distance between itself and the Chargers.
It came in the form of a 15-2 run, and it gave the Beavers a 31-12 intermission advantage. Loser scored eight of those Lebanon Catholic points, while Maria Pastal added four, Hupp recorded a deuce and Davis knocked down a free throw.
“We had our defensive game plan for three weeks,” said Hower. “We had to contain number five (Kenzie Baughman). He (Mount Calvary head coach Philip Ferrari) kind of changed up their lineup, going with four guards and one ‘big’. But they did what we expected them to do.
“Who we play prepares us for postseason competition,” Hower added. “We play Lancaster Country Day and Pequea Valley twice in our section. There were only two games all year that we lost and should’ve won. It’s pretty much what we thought would come out of the season.”
On the final score sheet, Loser went off for a career-high 23 points, which included nine deuces and five-for-six foul shooting. Pastal chimed in with 14 points for the Beavers.
Lebanon Catholic outscored Mount Calvary 46-20 on two-point field goals.
“Alyssa’s capable,” said Hower. “She’s had double-digit games for us this season. She finished tonight, and cleanly. All of them did, but especially Alyssa. She hustled. She made things happen, for herself and the team.
“She played really well,” continued Hower. “She has that in her. But it was a good team win. Everyone contributed. Everyone did what they needed to do.”
The Beavers took care of the outcome in the third period. With Loser and Pastal feeding off each other, Lebanon Catholic opened a 46-19 cushion late in the third.
Then the Beavers held the Chargers without a point for a 4:48 span to open the final quarter, and extended their lead to 52-23 on two buckets from Hupp and one from Loser.
“We have gotten better,” said Hower. “That’s what we look for in every team. We don’t have that go-to star, but everyone picks their spots. They understand the game better now. For this group, that was a challenge.
“This gets us to the next round and closer to our goal of getting to the district final,” Hower continued. “And it qualifies us for states. It was nice to reach those goals. I’m proud of them. We’ll take our chances.”
| Date | Opponents | Outcomes | |
| 12/07 6:00 pm | Veritas Academy at Lebanon Catholic | 34 66 | Nonleague |
| 12/09 7:30 pm | Daniel Boone at Lebanon Catholic | 27 64 | Nonleague |
| 12/11 6:00 pm | Lebanon Catholic at Lititz Christian | 60 24 | Nonleague |
| 12/13 7:30 pm | Lebanon Catholic at Pequea Valley | 54 82 | League |
| 12/14 6:00 pm | Lebanon Catholic at Christian School of York | 30 44 | Nonleague |
| 12/16 7:30 pm | Lebanon Catholic at Lancaster Mennonite | 37 70 | League |
| 12/19 7:30 pm | Lebanon Catholic at Columbia | 51 56 | League |
| 12/20 7:30 pm | Lebanon Catholic at Conestoga Christian | 46 19 | Nonleague |
| 12/27 7:30 pm | Mount Calvary Lebanon Catholic at Lebanon Catholic Holiday Tournament | 30 51 | Nonleague |
| 12/28 2:30 pm | Linden Hall Lebanon Catholic at Lebanon Catholic Holiday Tournament | 83 43 | Nonleague |
| 1/03 7:30 pm | Annville-Cleona at Lebanon Catholic | 42 51 | League |
| 1/06 6:00 pm | Lebanon Catholic at Harrisburg Christian | 48 25 | Nonleague |
| 1/08 7:30 pm | Pequea Valley at Lebanon Catholic | 45 43 | League |
| 1/09 7:30 pm | Lebanon Catholic at Susquenita | 43 53 | Nonleague |
| 1/11 4:45 pm | Lebanon Catholic York Catholic at Catholic Showcase at York Catholic | 37 59 | Nonleague |
| 1/13 6:00 pm | Lebanon Catholic at Executive Charter Academy | 47 25 | Nonleague |
| 1/14 7:30 pm | Lancaster Country Day at Lebanon Catholic | 64 35 | League |
| 1/17 7:00 pm | Lancaster Mennonite at Lebanon Catholic | 49 44 | League |
| 1/21 7:30 pm | Columbia at Lebanon Catholic | 35 46 | League |
| 1/29 6:00 pm | Executive Charter Academy at Lebanon Catholic | 16 55 | Nonleague |
| 1/31 7:30 pm | Lebanon Catholic at Lancaster Country Day | 37 52 | League |
| 2/04 7:30 pm | Lebanon Catholic at Annville-Cleona | 40 24 | League |
| 2/21 7:00 pm | Lebanon Catholic at Mount Calvary | Playoff |
| A | School | W | L | T | Rating | TWP | OWP | TWPW | OWPW | TWPL | OWPL |
| 1*** | Lancaster Country Day School | 18- | 2- | 0 | 0.676235 | 0.898876 | 0.404118 | 16.0 | 172.7 | 1.8 | 254.7 |
| 2*** | Christian School Of York | 21- | 2- | 0 | 0.626622 | 0.870801 | 0.328181 | 16.9 | 159.3 | 2.5 | 326.0 |
| 3*** | Greenwood | 17- | 5- | 0 | 0.600117 | 0.753659 | 0.412456 | 15.5 | 200.0 | 5.1 | 284.9 |
| 4*** | Mount Calvary Christian School | 16- | 6- | 0 | 0.509352 | 0.639594 | 0.350167 | 12.6 | 162.6 | 7.1 | 301.8 |
| 5*** | Lebanon Catholic School | 11- | 11- | 0 | 0.447658 | 0.428241 | 0.471390 | 9.3 | 210.9 | 12.4 | 236.5 |
| 6*** | Halifax Area | 12- | 10- | 0 | 0.446927 | 0.476636 | 0.410617 | 10.2 | 191.5 | 11.2 | 274.8 |
| 7*** | Harrisburg Christian School | 13- | 7- | 0 | 0.444622 | 0.535326 | 0.333762 | 9.9 | 142.6 | 8.6 | 284.7 |
| 8*** | Veritas Academy | 12- | 8- | 0 | 0.433455 | 0.486772 | 0.368289 | 9.2 | 146.5 | 9.7 | 251.2 |
| 9*** | Lititz Christian School | 10- | 8- | 0 | 0.391360 | 0.449102 | 0.320786 | 7.5 | 116.8 | 9.2 | 247.2 |
| 10*** | New Covenant Christian School | 9- | 10- | 0 | 0.373253 | 0.350649 | 0.400880 | 6.8 | 154.9 | 12.5 | 231.5 |
| 11 | West Shore Christian Academy | 10- | 12- | 0 | 0.354015 | 0.336323 | 0.375638 | 7.5 | 169.3 | 14.8 | 281.4 |
| 12 | High Point Baptist Academy | 9- | 8- | 0 | 0.344040 | 0.405405 | 0.269038 | 6.8 | 96.5 | 9.9 | 262.1 |
| 13 | Harrisburg Academy | 7- | 11- | 0 | 0.322663 | 0.283784 | 0.370182 | 5.3 | 138.3 | 13.3 | 235.3 |
| 14 | Covenant Christian Academy | 5- | 17- | 0 | 0.267213 | 0.174180 | 0.380920 | 4.3 | 169.7 | 20.2 | 275.8 |
| 15 | Dayspring Christian Academy | 3- | 19- | 0 | 0.236132 | 0.090361 | 0.414297 | 2.3 | 185.8 | 22.7 | 262.6 |
| 16 | Conestoga Christian School | 2- | 15- | 0 | 0.209471 | 0.074442 | 0.374506 | 1.5 | 128.0 | 18.7 | 213.7 |
| 17 | Lancaster County Christian | 1- | 19- | 0 | 0.171100 | 0.031513 | 0.341707 | 0.8 | 132.0 | 23.1 | 254.2 |
| 18 | LINVILLE HILL CHRISTIAN | 0- | 0- | 0 | 0.000000 | 0.000000 | 0.000000 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Loading ...