Northern Lebanon Wins as a Family, Loses as a Family

7 years ago
Northern Lebanon Wins as a Family, Loses as a Family

Mar 20, 2017
Jeff Falk
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BY JEFF FALK

READING – Northern Lebanon didn’t set out to become the best girls’ basketball team in school history. It happened quite by accident.

The Vikings figured to achieve success they had to come together, work together, play together. But somewhere along the way that cohesion took on a life of its own.

Wins became a way of prolonging their time together.

Championships became common, bonding goals.

History became a way of measuring their collective success.

Losses came to represent members going their separate ways, thus things not only unthinkable, but unimaginable.

On Sunday afternoon at Reading’s Santander Arena, Gwynedd Mercy’s Carly Heinaman ripped a hole in Northern Lebanon’s collective heart that only time can mend when she knocked down a long game-winning jumper that sent the Vikings to a season-ending 43-42 loss,in the quarterfinals of the PIAA Class AAAA postseason. After the Vikings had valiantly rallied from an 11-point fourth quarter deficit, Heinman connected from the right corner with six seconds remaining and a Northern Lebanon defender in her face.

After senior Amber Kintzer had tied the game at 38 by converting an offensive rebound into a three-point play 51 seconds earlier, fellow 12th-grader Megan Brandt gave the Vikings their first lead of the game with an inside move with 1:20 to go. Then with 25 seconds remaining, another senior, Zoe Zerman scored on a driving lay-in to give the Vikings a 42-41 edge.

Northern Lebanon did everything it possibly could defensively on Gwynedd-Mercy’s final possession, but Heinaman knocked down the shot anyway.

The setback concluded the Vikings’ season at 27-3, as well as the most successful era in program history. Over the past two years, Northern Lebanon went a combined 55-7, captured a pair of Lancaster-Lebanon Section Two championships and garnered the first District Three title in school history.

Last year, Northern Lebanon’s season ended in the same round of the state playoffs.

Gwynedd-Mercy, the runner-up from District One,will carry a 28-2 mark into Tuesday’s semifinal round of the PIAA postseason.

“In my opinion, they’re the best collection of little kids a coach could ever want,” said Northern Lebanon head coach Ken Battistelli. “This team loved us and we loved them. How often do you get that from a group of people? I’ve been in this denial world for so long because I can not imagine being without them.

“This team will be remembered as the best basketball team at Northern Lebanon,” continued Battistelli. “I don’t see how it’s debatable. A lot of them are going to have their names on the wall. Before this team came along there was never a playoff win at Northern Lebanon. No championships, and now there are three. I think this team can beat anybody on any given day.”

“I’ll remember being with these people for the last four years,” said Zoe Zerman. “The last two years have been a roller coaster. Battistelli sees more in us than most people do, and we believed him. We all had it in our minds that it (winning a state championship) was possible. This year we knew it could happen. I’ll just remember being with all these people all the time.

“I’m really thankful for the opportunity I got,” Zerman continued. “It was a big deal for the community and the fans who followed us. It brought our community together. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I’ll never forget it. I’m glad I was a part of it.”

“I think of family,” said Brandt. “That’s the best word I can use to describe this team. That’s the kind of relationship I have with these girls. They’re like sisters. It’s really brought us together. I spend all my time with them and I wouldn’t change a thing.

“It was an exhilarating ride,” added Brandt. “It was a roller coaster of emotions. But there is nothing else I would’ve wanted from this team.”

Staring down the possibility of that end early in the fourth quarter, down 36-25, the Vikings responded like champions. They turned up their defensive pressure and held Gwynedd-Mercy to a mere two points during a key 6:09 stretch.

On the other side of the floor, Northern Lebanon tallied five points in a 24-second span – a Zara Zerman hoop, a Zoe Zerman free throw and a Brandt stick-back – to pull to within 36-30 of the lead. Then Liz Voight connected on a jumper, Zara Zerman dropped in a free throw and Brandt converted another offensive rebound to get the Vikings to within 38-35.

Northern Lebanon outscored Gwynedd-Mercy 17-11 over the entire fourth quarter, after entering the stanza with a 32-25 deficit.

“We played really good defense,” said Battistelli of Gwynedd-Mercy’s final possession. “We wanted to prevent them from getting to the rim. If a kid stepped up and made a long jumper, we could live with it. You’ve got to have a plan and our plan was not letting them get to the hole. Number five (Heinaman) hit the hardest shot in basketball. It was contested. What are you going to do?

“There’s only so many ways this season could’ve ended,” added Battistelli. “We could’ve won a state championship, and that would’ve been amazing. We could’ve won this game. Or we could’ve lost this game. They (his players) fought and came back, and that kid (Heinaman) made a huge shot.”

“I’m pretty sure I was in her face,” said Zoe Zerman of Heinaman. “She was pretty far out there. I didn’t think I was giving her anything.

“I thought about it (the possibility of the season ending),” Zerman added. “The only way we were going to be happy was if we won a state championship. We had it in our minds that we could win a state championship. That helped us get where we did.”

“On the floor, I saw Zoe crying,” said Brandt. “I was in complete shock. I couldn’t fathom seeing the season ending. The fact that it is over is so heartbreaking.

“We didn’t think about the season ending,” Brandt continued. “We focus on the game. We try to win. But in the last few seconds our world collapsed.”

Gwynedd-Mercy led by ten points twice in the third quarter, 30-20 and 32-22. But the Vikings got a pair of charity tosses from Kintzer and a foul shot from Zoe Zerman to close out the stanza.

“I just remember thinking, ‘I don’t know if we can do this because we’re exhausted’,” said Battistelli of his team’s rally. “Then I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, we are going to be able to do this’. And I thought, ‘This is going to be neat to do’. We did everything we had to do in the fourth quarter to win. I felt like there was no way this team could lose. But I was reminded how difficult sports are sometimes.

“I remember Ginter (Kintzer) ripping down an offensive rebound and getting an ‘and-one’,” continued Battistelli. “I can’t say anything besides I can’t expect anything more from them, and then they give me more. When you think they can’t try harder, they try harder. They’re something special. They have an ability to give without end.”

“The pivotal moment was Amber’s ‘and-one’,” said Zoe Zerman. “That shifted all the moment. I remember Megan scoring in the post. I remember me scoring on a drive. And we got ‘stops’.

“We played well in the second half,” Zerman added. “That’s when we started to play defense. When we do that, it feeds our offense. We showed them what we are made of.”

“The first half wasn’t very good,” said Brandt. “But when we made that comeback, it was in our hands. We did everything we possibly could. It just wasn’t enough. There had to be a winner and there had to be loser. And it just happened to be us.”

Despite missing large portions of the first half with foul trouble, Zoe Zerman registered 11 points, a total matched by Brandt. Voight connected on Northern Lebanon’s only three-pointer, but the Vikings outscored Gwynedd-Mercy 13-9 at the foul line.

“That changes everything,” said Battistelli of Zerman’s fouls. “That’s terrible, especially when you’re playing against a team with that much depth. When you take our strongest kid off the floor, it messes everything up. One of the things is when you’re playing against different opponents, they have talented players. We ask a guard (Zoe) to play post players because of the make-up of our team. Inevitably, stuff like this happens.

“We didn’t play well at all in the first half,” Battistelli continued. “Later we did what we’ve been able to do. We got done what needed to be done. We changed.”

“Some of them were a little sloppy,” said Zoe Zerman of her fouls. “On the third one, I thought I was straight up. When I’m on the bench, I have complete faith in my teammates. But they kind of struggle without me. I think they can do it, it’s just a little easier with me.”

“I missed a bunch of peeps in the first half,” said Brandt. “I’m not going to say we played great. But we came and fought back, with every single part of our heart and soul.”

After Gwynedd-Mercy notched the first five points of the game, Kintzer tied the score at nine with an inside move 5:18 in. But the opening quarter ended with G-M ahead 13-9.

“They’re skilled at every position,” said Battistelli of Gwynedd-Mercy. “They’re a very, very, very good team. But I think we thought it was more difficult than it was going to be in the first half. They’re very good at many positions, but we can play defense. And when we started to play defense,it started to work. I think it was a matter of will power going up and up and up.”

“I’m mostly sad that it’s over,” said Zoe Zerman. “It will never be the same with this group of people. I don’t think I’ll ever have an experience like this one.”

“It’s a roller coaster of emotions,” said Brandt of playing for Battistelli. “One day you’ll see him and he’ll be happy. Then later the same day he’ll say, ‘I’m really mad at you’. It can be a challenge. But I wouldn’t change a thing. It was amazing.”

Northern Lebanon netted the first three points of the second quarter – all foul shots from Zara Zerman – to pull within 13-12 of the lead. But Gwynedd-Mercy ran off the next seven points to open a 20-12 advantage.

“What’s difficult is seeing my little girls in pain,” said Battistelli. “I’ve been in denial for so long. They’re sad and it makes me sad.

“There could never be a situation where a staff and a group of players came together in such a right way,” continued Battistelli. “They were meant for us and hopefully we were meant for them. It was as close to a perfect relationship as you’re ever going to get.”

“The district championship is up there,” said Brandt. “But the connection we had as teammates and the connection we had with our community will never be forgotten. That’s really important to us.”

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

2016-17 Northern Lebanon Girls’ Basketball Results

DATE	OPPONENT	TIME	RESULT
12/09 #	Littlestown	7:00 PM	W 56-22
12/10 #	Palmyra	7:00 PM	W 43-24
12/13	@Middletown	7:30 PM	W 66-52
12/14	@Garden Spot	7:30 PM	W 53-23
12/16 *	Annville-Cleona	7:30 PM	W 58-24
12/19 *	@Lebanon Catholic	7:30 PM	L 42-45
12/21 *	Columbia	7:30 PM	W 56-36
12/27 #	McCaskey	6:00 PM	W 47-36
12/28 #	@New Oxford	7:30 PM	W 53-38
01/03 *	@Pequea Valley	7:30 PM	W 54-33
01/06 *	@Lancaster Catholic	7:30 PM	W 49-35
01/10 *	Lancaster Mennonite	7:30 PM	W 50-21
01/13 *	Elco	7:30 PM	W 51-22
01/17 *	@Annville-Cleona	7:30 PM	W 48-18
01/20 *	Lebanon Catholic	7:30 PM	W 44-31
01/21	Tulpehocken	7:30 PM	W 57-29
01/24 *	@Columbia	7:30 PM	W 55-34
01/26	Manheim Central	7:30 PM	W 48-23
01/27 *	Pequea Valley	7:30 PM	W 62-41
01/31 *	Lancaster Catholic	7:30 PM	W 50-41
02/03 *	@Lancaster Mennonite	7:30 PM	W 53-37
02/07 *	@Elco	7:30 PM	W
02/11 #	@Hempfield	7 p.m.	W 53-31
02/14 #	Cedar Crest	7 p.m.	L 40-49

02/24 #	Berks Catholic	7:00 PM	W 41-38
02/28 #	Lancaster Catholic	8:00 PM	W 50-43
03/03 #	Bishop McDevitt	5:00 PM	W 46-44
03/10 #	@Dobbins Career & Technical	8 p.m.	W 74-16
03/16 #	@Mifflinburg	6:00 PM	W 51-25