BY JEFF FALK

WRIGHTSVILLE – The clock was running down and the outcome had already been decided, and the starters were still out on the floor. But instead of simply going through the motions, they continued to battle, dive for loose balls, put forth everything they had left.

It was symbolic, fitting and inspirational. Right before our very eyes, the final scene was epitomizing the kind of season the Elco girls’ basketball team had had.

On Friday night at Eastern York High School, in the quarterfinals of the District Three Class AAAA playoffs, the Raiders met their fate, during a campaign-concluding 51-36 loss to the hometown Golden Knights. After falling behind in what would prove to be a decisive second quarter, Elco made a couple of spirited runs at Eastern York, with the kind of consistent effort that had come to represent its season.

With the result, the seventh-seeded Raiders ended their COVID-19 clouded year with a 13-8 overall record. For second-seeded Eastern York, now 18-1, it was on to Wednesday’s District Three Class AAAA semifinals.

“I’ve got to be honest, with 35 seconds left, I thought it was a single-digit game,” said Elco head coach Ashli Shay. “It was an exciting game, and at that point, I let the starters finish. I think they earned that.

“This year was so different than any other year we’ve ever had,” continued Shay. “But these kids were able to get it together and come together on the floor. It was those self-less acts on their part that got us through the season. When you have a team that’s willing to battle every single day, that’s special. They played to the very last seconds tonight. Effort is so key. As a coach, it’s all you can really ask for.”

Following a bit of a shaky start that produced an early 8-2 deficit, the Raiders responded by netting the final eight points of the opening period. Amanda Smith was responsible for five of those Elco points, while Kailey Eckhart converted a diving lay-up and Cassie Johnson sank a free throw.

“The trap is what killed us in the second quarter,” said Shay. “We went into that quarter with three turnovers and we came out of it with 11. I think that changed the tone of the game. The trap rattled us in the second quarter. At that point, you lose your legs a little bit, and fatigue begins to set in.”

With Elco struggling to maintain possession of the ball, Eastern York posted the first six points of the second stanza, then opened a 22-13 advantage two minutes later. The only saving grace for Elco was Eckhart’s old-fashioned three-point play right before halftime, which pulled the Raiders to within 27-21 of the lead.

“The message at halftime was, ‘We’re down six points and we just turned the ball over eight times,'” said Shay. “We were right there. We missed a couple of lay-ups we usually make.”

With Smith registering 17 points and Eckhart recording 14, the two combined to account for 31 of the Raiders’ total of 36 points. Eastern York outscored Elco 12-3 from three-point land.

“Those two finished,” said Shay of Smith and Eckhart. “They had some nice finishes. I don’t think anyone cares where the points come from, as long as you’re getting them.”

The Golden Knights came out of the halftime locker room and scored the first five points of the third quarter to extend their lead to 32-21. A pair of Smith drives halted Eastern York’s momentum momentarily, but the home side entered the final quarter with a 39-28 cushion.

“They (the Golden Knights) have some really good shooters, and overall I think we played them pretty well,” said Shay. “But in the end, I think we were down and they scored some points on offensive boards.

“I just told them (her players) that I was very proud of them,” added Shay. “I thought they gave great effort the whole season. To accomplish all the things we accomplished, and to win 13 games against a tough and loaded schedule – including this last game against Eastern York – was impressive.”

Behind Eckart and Smith, the Raiders drew within 41-36 of Eastern York, with 3:09 remaining. But the Golden Knights scored the last ten points of the contest.

“It was a little somber in the locker room after the game,” said Shay. “Obviously, the seniors are sad and disappointed. Emma Fox was crying, just because the seniors are done. These kids have a nice bond. They care deeply for each other.

“I think what I’ll remember is how much COVID-19 affected the season, just with the stops and starts, and how the kids pulled through,” concluded Shay. “I think in some people’s minds it was like, ‘When’s the next shutdown going to come?’ After we got some game action, it started to feel like a regular season. People say kids are resilient, and it’s true. They did their part and they made sure we could stay on course.”

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

2021 Elco Girls’ Basketball Results

Date	Opponents	Outcomes
1/08 7:30 pm	Lancaster Catholic at Elco	46 43	League
1/11 7:30 pm	Pottsville at Elco	35 48	Nonleague
1/13 7:30 pm	Fleetwood at Elco	34 52	Nonleague
1/15 7:30 pm	Elco at Donegal	55 33	League
1/19 7:30 pm	Elco at Northern Lebanon	39 26	League
1/23 1:30 pm	Lower Dauphin at Elco	59 42	Nonleague
1/29 7:30 pm	Susquehanna Township at Elco	57 47	Nonleague
1/30 1:30 pm	Elco at Hamburg	45 28	Nonleague
2/03 7:30 pm	Northern Lebanon at Elco	36 51	League
2/04 7:30 pm	Elco at Conrad Weiser	46 37	Nonleague
2/05 7:00 pm	Linden Hall at Elco	34 23	Nonleague
2/09 7:30 pm	Elco at Wyomissing	44 21	Nonleague
2/10 7:30 pm	Garden Spot at Elco	34 48	Nonleague
2/12 7:30 pm	Cocalico at Elco	49 46	Nonleague
2/13 1:30 pm	Donegal at Elco	31 57	League
2/16 7:00 pm	Elco at Manheim Central	54 53	Nonleague
2/20 1:00 pm	Elco at Lampeter-Strasburg	53 42	Nonleague
2/22 7:30 pm	Elco at Lancaster Catholic	40 55	League
2/24 7:30 pm	Solanco at Elco	45 41	Nonleague
3/03 7:00 pm	SCHUYLKILL VALLEY at Elco	34 53	Playoff
3/05 7:00 pm	Elco at Eastern York		Playoff

PIAA District Three

Class AAAA Power Rankings

AAAA	School	W	L	T	Rating	TWP	OWP	TWPW	OWPW	TWPL	OWPL
1	Delone Catholic	16-	0-	0	0.788971	1.000000	0.531046	16.00	146.25	0.00	129.15
2	Eastern York	16-	1-	0	0.763577	0.953930	0.530923	17.60	154.95	0.85	136.90
3	Lancaster Catholic	10-	2-	0	0.743590	0.854839	0.607620	10.60	122.80	1.80	79.30
4	Berks Catholic	15-	3-	0	0.718890	0.875000	0.528090	17.15	162.15	2.45	144.90
5	Big Spring	14-	3-	0	0.696387	0.856338	0.500892	15.20	140.40	2.55	139.90
6	Bishop McDevitt (3)	14-	4-	0	0.666055	0.788360	0.516572	14.90	141.05	4.00	132.00
7	Eastern Lebanon County	12-	7-	0	0.628640	0.670025	0.578058	13.30	176.25	6.55	128.65
8	Bermudian Springs	12-	5-	0	0.626983	0.719764	0.513584	12.20	148.40	4.75	140.55
9	Wyomissing	10-	5-	0	0.617617	0.675410	0.546981	10.30	144.95	4.95	120.05
10	Schuylkill Valley	11-	7-	0	0.551618	0.631148	0.454415	11.55	142.05	6.75	170.55
11	James Buchanan	8-	9-	0	0.538765	0.516517	0.565957	8.60	152.95	8.05	117.30
12	Northern Lebanon	9-	8-	0	0.532583	0.568513	0.488669	9.75	138.00	7.40	144.40
13	Susquehanna Township	8-	7-	0	0.532087	0.557491	0.501036	8.00	120.85	6.35	120.35
14	Hamburg	11-	10-	0	0.509477	0.529114	0.485477	10.45	183.85	9.30	194.85
15	Conrad Weiser	7-	12-	0	0.494745	0.441734	0.559536	8.15	190.55	10.30	150.00
16	Hanover (3)	9-	9-	0	0.487646	0.508152	0.462583	9.35	139.70	9.05	162.30
17	Middletown	2-	10-	0	0.362787	0.161017	0.609394	1.90	125.20	9.90	80.25
18	Littlestown	3-	14-	0	0.352837	0.194030	0.546935	3.25	157.90	13.50	130.80
19	East Pennsboro	3-	15-	0	0.343361	0.158960	0.568740	2.75	158.65	14.55	120.30
20	Kennard Dale	2-	16-	0	0.325525	0.111801	0.586744	1.80	182.80	14.30	128.75
21	Boiling Springs	0-	15-	0	0.274169	0.000000	0.609265	0.00	155.85	13.25	99.95
22	Octorara	0-	14-	0	0.193014	0.000000	0.428920	0.00	96.55	14.50	128.55

Lancaster-Lebanon League

Final Section Four Standings

	League	Overall
	W	L	PCT	W	L	PCT	PS	PA
Lancaster Catholic	6	0	1.000	11	3	0.786	674	519
Elco	4	2	0.667	13	7	0.650	929	789
Northern Lebanon	2	4	0.333	9	8	0.529	679	631
Donegal	0	6	0.000	1	14	0.067	464	806

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