BY JEFF FALK

FREDERICKSBURG – Basketball is not a complex game.

Play defense, box out, work the fundamentals, play together. And the rest will take care of itself.

Well, it’s not quite that simple. But you get the idea.

It’s a concept that the Northern Lebanon girls’ basketball team has embraced. And one that Annville-Cleona is starting to figure out.

On Friday night, the Vikings practiced what they’ve been preached to, during a 56-24 dismantling of the Little Dutchmen. Northern Lebanon notched 14 of the game’s first 15 points and never had its double-digit lead threatened.

The contest was the Lancaster-Lebanon Section Three opener for a couple of squads which entered the fray undefeated – the Vikings expectedly, the Little Dutchmen not so much. With the outcome, Northern Lebanon improved to 5-0 overall, while Annville-Cleona slipped to 3-1.

“I’m not going to pretend. I’m pretty happy,” said Northern Lebanon head coach Ken Battistelli. “We have issues that when we discuss them, they (his players) try to fix them. We’re still making five-games-in mistakes. It doesn’t seem like our killer instinct is gone. But you’re never as good as you could be.

“It’s just kind of the way we get caught up in things,” added Battistelli. “We had a successful season last year, and we just got caught up in the season. They (his players) played a nice game. They took care of business.”

“Regardless of what’s on that scoreboard, all of our goals are ahead of us,” said Annville-Cleona head coach Roger Hayes. “Three-and-oh is a great start for us. Three-and-one is a great start for us. We need to fix some things and we’ll be just fine.”

Already ahead 4-1, the Vikings used their physical man-to-man defense to rip off ten unanswered points late in the opening quarter to open a 13-point margin. Senior Zoe Zerman accounted for five of those points, sister Zara Zerman drained a couple of foul shots, Amber Kintzer knocked down a jumper and Liz Voight added a charity toss.

“I get so worried my team is going to rest on their laurels,” said Battistelli. “It’s nice to see when you talk to the kids and they listen.

“I still think Annville-Cleona presented a very unique challenge that we haven’t faced to this point,” Battistelli added. “They have four kids on the floor who can shoot the ball. We did a nice job against it. You could see if those kids are free, they’re going to hit shots. That’s why I was pleased with the defense.”

“They are a huge measuring stick,” said Hayes of the Vikings. “They’re obviously one of the best teams in a loaded Section Three, if not the best team. It’s a big rivalry game. Whenever you play Northern Lebanon, the sport is irrelevant.”

Little Dutchmen sniper Arianna Clay disrupted Northern Lebanon’s rhythm with a three-pointer 42 seconds into the second quarter, one that pulled her side to within 14-4. But the Vikings held Annville-Cleona scoreless over the final 5:03 of the first half and tallied seven points of their own to all but settle the issue.

That spurt began with a Kintzer jump shot, continued with an inside maneuver from Megan Brandt, and when Zoe Zerman nailed a three-pointer, the Vikings had a 25-7 bulge.

“Like tonight, it didn’t seem like they (the Little Dutchmen) were trying to take one particular player away,” said Battistelli. “So we hit the open player. That is tough to defend. We’re unselfish enough to let anyone who’s hot score. We have the nature to rise.”

“They’re (the Vikings) excellent defensively,” said Hayes. “They were the best team I saw on film, and they did not disappoint tonight. Their defense affected the beginning of the game. We have a young team.”

Northern Lebanon’s scoring was ridiculously balanced. Zoe Zerman, Brandt and Kintzer all notched a dozen points, while Voight canned ten.

Clay collected ten points for the Little Dutchmen. But Annville-Cleona was held to only eight field goals and just six two-pointers.

“I notice in practice they don’t like each other,” said Battistelli of the Zerman sisters. “When I’m mad at one, I’ll yell at the other, and she’ll say, ‘She’s not my sister.’ On the floor, they’ve got a Zerman connection. It’s a cool dynamic. There’s a lot to like about Zoe. My favorite part is how competitive she is. She’s ultra-competitive. She’s very athletic and very strong, and when you combine that with her competitiveness, it makes her pretty tough.

“Zara can be our deep shooter,” Battistelli continued. “She can run point. As another dynamic guard, it allows us to mess around with Zoe and move her inside.”

“I thought we played OK,” said Hayes. “I thought we played well defensively. Obviously their pressure took us out of what we wanted to do.”

The Little Dutchmen didn’t reach double digits on the scoreboard until 3:55 of the second half had elapsed, when Clay canned another three-pointer. By that time, the Vikings were sitting on a 27-point cushion.

Northern Lebanon’s lead reached an even 30 points, 47-17, on a Zara Zerman jump shot with 5:50 remaining.

“You can see the youth,” said Battistelli of the Little Dutchmen. “And they’re quick kids. The thing that’s in their way, you can see when inexperience bubbles up. I think you can see they’re getting better.

“Three-and-one is a good start,” continued Battistelli. “But they didn’t get off to a good start tonight and it shook their confidence. They’re going to grow up fast.”

“We have to execute better,” said Hayes. “Their defensive pressure got to us. We’re going to get better and we’re going to see them again.”

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 2016-17 Northern Lebanon Girls’ Basketball Schedule

Date	Teams	Score
12/09 7:00 pm	Littlestown at Northern Lebanon	22 56	Nonleague
12/10 7:30 pm	Palmyra at Northern Lebanon	24 43	Nonleague
12/13 7:30 pm	Northern Lebanon at Middletown	67 52	Nonleague
12/14 7:30 pm	Northern Lebanon at Garden Spot	53 23	Nonleague
12/16 7:30 pm	Annville-Cleona at Northern Lebanon		League
12/19 7:30 pm	Northern Lebanon at Lebanon Catholic		League
12/21 7:30 pm	Columbia at Northern Lebanon		League
12/27 6:00 pm	McCaskey Northern Lebanon at Lebanon		Nonleague
1/03 7:30 pm	Northern Lebanon at Pequea Valley		League
1/06 7:30 pm	Northern Lebanon at Lancaster Catholic		League
1/10 7:30 pm	Lancaster Mennonite at Northern Lebanon		League
1/13 7:30 pm	Elco at Northern Lebanon		League
1/17 7:30 pm	Northern Lebanon at Annville-Cleona		League
1/20 7:30 pm	Lebanon Catholic at Northern Lebanon		League
1/21 7:30 pm	Tulpehocken at Northern Lebanon		Nonleague
1/24 7:30 pm	Northern Lebanon at Columbia		League
1/26 7:30 pm	Manheim Central at Northern Lebanon		Nonleague
1/27 7:30 pm	Pequea Valley at Northern Lebanon		League
1/31 7:30 pm	Lancaster Catholic at Northern Lebanon		League
2/03 7:30 pm	Northern Lebanon at Lancaster Mennonite		League
2/07 7:30 pm	Northern Lebanon at Elco		League

 2016-17 Annville-Cleona Girls’ Basketball Schedule

Date	Teams	Score
12/09 4:00 pm	Tri Valley Annville-Cleona at Hamburg	23 38	Nonleague
12/10 7:30 pm	Annville-Cleona at Hamburg	47 36	Nonleague
12/13 6:30 pm	Tulpehocken at Annville-Cleona	25 52	Nonleague
12/16 7:30 pm	Annville-Cleona at Northern Lebanon		League
12/19 7:30 pm	Annville-Cleona at Columbia		League
12/21 7:30 pm	Lancaster Catholic at Annville-Cleona		League
12/28 6:30 pm	Littlestown at Annville-Cleona		Nonleague
12/29 TBD	Annville-Cleona at TBD		Nonleague
1/03 7:30 pm	Elco at Annville-Cleona		League
1/06 7:30 pm	Annville-Cleona at Lancaster Mennonite		League
1/10 7:30 pm	Annville-Cleona at Pequea Valley		League
1/12 7:30 pm	Middletown at Annville-Cleona		Nonleague
1/13 6:00 pm	Annville-Cleona at Lebanon Catholic		League
1/14 7:30 pm	Pine Grove at Annville-Cleona		Nonleague
1/17 7:30 pm	Northern Lebanon at Annville-Cleona		League
1/20 7:30 pm	Columbia at Annville-Cleona		League
1/24 7:30 pm	Annville-Cleona at Lancaster Catholic		League
1/27 7:30 pm	Annville-Cleona at Elco		League
1/28 1:00 pm	Annville-Cleona at Oley Valley		Nonleague
1/31 7:30 pm	Lancaster Mennonite at Annville-Cleona		League
2/03 7:30 pm	Pequea Valley at Annville-Cleona		League
2/07 7:30 pm	Lebanon Catholic at Annville-Cleona		League

LEBANON SPORTS BUZZ’S

 2016-17 Preseason All Lebanon County Girls’ Basketball Rankings

1. Cedar Crest

2. Northern Lebanon

3. Palmyra

4. Lebanon Catholic

5. Elco

6. Annville-Cleona

7. Lebanon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lebanon Sports Buzz’s

 2016-17 Preseason All-Lebanon County Girls’ Basketball Team

Ariel Jones of Cedar Crest; Alyssa Austin of Cedar Crest; Zoe Zerman of Northern Lebanon; Megan Brandt of Northern Lebanon; Alexis Hill of Lebanon Catholic