BY JEFF FALK

EPHRATA – Sure, they all sting. But this one really hurt, especially given the time of the year.

Still, it wasn’t critical. And the outlook moving forward is positive, and the prognosis includes bouncing back.

On Friday night at Ephrata Middle School, the Cedar Crest girls’ basketball team endured a key setback in its quest for the postseason, as it dropped a 55-50 decision to the home-standing Mountaineers. The contest was close throughout, never more than a possession or two either way, before Ephrata gained control of the outcome during crunch time.

With the loss, the Falcons slipped to 8-5 overall. In the latest District Three power rankings, Cedar Crest was seated tenth in an AAAAAA classification that takes 12 for its playoff tournament.

The result pushed Lancaster-Lebanon Section Two champion Ephrata to 9-3 on the year.

“This game was important for district seeding,” said Will Wenninger, who’s in the first year of his second stint as Cedar Crest’s head coach. “But even more important, it was for pride. Do you like losing at anything?

“We’re not into moral victories, but I think tonight showed we’re headed in the right direction,” added Wenninger. “For me, what we want to instill in the program is a certain culture, and it’s about pride. For the seniors, finishing strong is important to leave behind a legacy.”

After the two teams had stood toe-to-toe and exchanged blows for 28 minutes, it was Ephrata which made a few more plays when it mattered most. The Mounts outscored Cedar Crest 7-2 late in the fourth quarter, after Sarah Laney had pulled the Falcons to within 46-45 of the lead, with 4:20 remaining.

Mount sophomore guard Jasmine Griffin netted 11 of her game-high 31 points in the fourth quarter, but the backbreaker may have been Brynn Adams’ three-pointer with 2:30 left that gave Ephrata a 50-45 lead.

“We were down two or three, until that one kid (Adams) hit a ‘three’,” said Wenninger. “I told the kids we were going to roll the dice and try to take away Griffin.

“Our kids work hard and do the things we ask them to do,” Wenninger added. “As people, we couldn’t ask more of them. We’ll come back in 28 hours and get after it again.”

After they had enjoyed a modest two-point halftime margin, the Falcons went without a point over the first three minutes of the third quarter, and Ephrata assumed a 33-31 edge. Later in the stanza, Cedar Crest took a 37-35 advantage on a drive by Laney, then a 39-38 edge on another Laney basket, but it would prove to be the Falcons’ last lead of the evening.

“I thought we played hard,” said Wenninger. “I thought we executed much better than we have the last couple of weeks. It’s hard to prepare when you don’t practice, or you practice once a week. It’s hard to make adjustments, first year, new system, new culture. But no excuses.”

Griffin’s 31 came on 11 field goals and nine-for-14 free throwing, while Laney led the Falcons with 22 points. Ephrata attempted 12 more foul shots than Cedar Crest, and outscored the Falcons by five points at the stripe.

“Was she the difference? I hate to say one kid was the difference,” said Wenninger of Griffin. “But she took the game over. I don’t think it was just Griffin. It was a couple of missed lay-ups here, and a couple of made lay-ups there.

“She’s, hands down, the best guard in the Lancaster-Lebanon League,” continued Wenninger. “That’s no disrespect to our kids. I thought (CC’s Kaya) Camasta did a heck of a job on her. She can take over a game and I need to convey to our girls that we need to give help. I have to emphasize things in more of a distinct way.”

Ephrata’s biggest lead of the first half came at 13-7, five minutes into the contest. But Reese Glover tallied five Falcons points in 13 seconds to pull her side to within a single point of the lead.

“Defensively, I thought, at times, we did really well,” said Wenninger. “I think at times we had mental lapses, again because of a lack of preparation.”

In the middle of the second period, back-to-back baskets from Mallory Deiderick and Glover gave the Falcons a 26-22 advantage. Then 1:21 before the intermission, Laney scored on a stick-back to make Cedar Crest’s lead 29-24.

“I told the girls at halftime that we were exactly where we wanted to be,” said Wenninger. “I said that the first four minutes of the second half was going to determine it, and it was tied halfway through the third quarter.”

To purchase images in this article email jkfalk2005@yahoo.com.

2021 Cedar Crest Girls’ Basketball Results

Date	Opponents	Outcomes
1/08 7:30 pm	Manheim Township at Cedar Crest	23 36	League
1/14 7:30 pm	Hempfield at Cedar Crest	36 28	League
1/19 7:30 pm	Cedar Crest at Penn Manor	45 27	League
1/21 7:30 pm	Cedar Crest at McCaskey	55 39	League
1/27 7:00 pm	Cedar Crest at Palmyra	36 40	Nonleague
1/29 7:30 pm	Cedar Crest at Hempfield	52 44	League
1/30 6:00 pm	Wilson at Cedar Crest	23 34	Nonleague
2/04 7:30 pm	Garden Spot at Cedar Crest	31 35	Nonleague
2/05 7:30 pm	McCaskey at Cedar Crest	33 34	League
2/09 8:00 pm	Cedar Crest at Manheim Township	33 43	League
2/11 8:00 pm	Cedar Crest at Elizabethtown	31 45	Nonleague
2/17 7:00 pm	Lebanon at Cedar Crest	40 47	Nonleague
2/19 7:30 pm	Cedar Crest at Ephrata		Nonleague

PIAA District Three

Class AAAAAA Power Rankings

AAAAAA	School	W	L	T	Rating	TWP	OWP	TWPW	OWPW	TWPL	OWPL
1	Cumberland Valley	13-	0-	0	0.827931	1.000000	0.617624	16.15	117.75	0.00	72.90
2	Central Dauphin	9-	2-	0	0.770130	0.882353	0.632968	11.25	112.70	1.50	65.35
3	Governor Mifflin	14-	4-	0	0.720012	0.841837	0.571115	16.50	156.20	3.10	117.30
4	Red Lion	11-	4-	0	0.718529	0.814241	0.601547	13.15	151.65	3.00	100.45
5	Central York	10-	3-	0	0.718397	0.819113	0.595301	12.00	146.95	2.65	99.90
6	Hempfield (3)	9-	4-	0	0.705836	0.783972	0.610336	11.25	111.60	3.10	71.25
7	Ephrata	8-	3-	0	0.698788	0.800000	0.575085	9.80	101.10	2.45	74.70
8	Cedar Cliff	8-	5-	0	0.691813	0.701107	0.680454	9.50	143.95	4.05	67.60
9	Dallastown	8-	5-	0	0.669947	0.690909	0.644328	9.50	147.10	4.25	81.20
10	Cedar Crest	8-	4-	0	0.664368	0.755725	0.552710	9.90	102.50	3.20	82.95
11	Manheim Township	8-	7-	0	0.649254	0.646865	0.652174	9.80	126.00	5.35	67.20
12	Harrisburg	5-	5-	0	0.617630	0.625000	0.608622	6.25	107.30	3.75	69.00
13	Wilson (3)	8-	8-	0	0.595804	0.586420	0.607274	9.50	156.95	6.70	101.50
14	Carlisle	5-	5-	0	0.593251	0.625000	0.554447	6.25	63.90	3.75	51.35
15	Warwick	5-	5-	0	0.576603	0.608911	0.537114	6.15	102.75	3.95	88.55
16	Penn Manor	4-	6-	0	0.569895	0.515789	0.636025	4.90	128.00	4.60	73.25
17	William Penn	6-	9-	0	0.528315	0.498270	0.565037	7.20	136.40	7.25	105.00
18	Chambersburg Area	4-	9-	0	0.520773	0.408511	0.657982	4.80	128.80	6.95	66.95
19	Reading	6-	10-	0	0.513327	0.469799	0.566529	7.00	137.10	7.90	104.90
20	Conestoga Valley	2-	5-	0	0.474927	0.390244	0.578428	2.40	90.90	3.75	66.25
21	Muhlenberg	5-	13-	0	0.441991	0.326590	0.583038	5.65	197.30	11.65	141.10
22	Lebanon	2-	11-	0	0.403592	0.199095	0.653532	2.20	140.15	8.85	74.30
23	York County School of Technology	5-	9-	0	0.370315	0.366667	0.374774	4.95	82.90	8.55	138.30
24	J P McCaskey	1-	10-	0	0.364242	0.142857	0.634822	1.25	117.95	7.50	67.85
25	Central Dauphin East	0-	15-	0	0.320426	0.000000	0.712057	0.00	159.75	11.45	64.60

Lancaster-Lebanon League

Section One Standings

	League	Overall
	W	L	PCT	W	L	PCT	PF	PA
Hempfield	7	1	0.875	11	4	0.733	660	523
Cedar Crest	5	2	0.714	8	5	0.615	516	478
Manheim Township	5	3	0.625	8	7	0.533	555	510
Penn Manor	2	5	0.286	4	7	0.364	466	468
McCaskey	0	8	0.000	1	10	0.091	379	581

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