BY JEFF FALK
LEBANON – When it comes to the Northern Lebanon girls’ basketball team, the topic of championships is an interesting one. Over the last couple of years, the Vikings have certainly won their share of them, but they have been mostly ‘lesser’ titles.
Still, a championship is a championship.
On Wednesday night, Northern Lebanon won another championship, this one the top honor at the Lebanon High Booster Club’s Holiday Tournament, with a 52-38 triumph over previously unbeaten New Oxford in the title tilt. The Vikings got off to a good, fast start, then absorbed the Colonials’ best blows with some tight defense, deft ball handling and timely foul shooting.
The championship was meaningful for the Vikings because of who it came against and what it can mean for them in the future. The reigning Lancaster-Lebanon Section Three champions are now 8-1 overall, while New Oxford dropped to 6-1 on the year.
Viking senior post Megan Brandt was named the tournament’s MVP, a night after tallying 20 points, including the 1,000th of her career. Brandt was joined on the all-tournament team by teammate Zoe Zerman, New Oxford’s Haley Luchabaugh, Lebanon High’s Destiny Infante and McCaskey’s Ahnera Parker.
“We knew we were playing some big boys,” said Northern Lebanon head coach Ken Battistelli, whose side trimmed McCaskey 47-36 an evening earlier. “We knew New Oxford’s reputation. We thought this was a great opportunity. Both of these teams are playoff-caliber teams. And we got a win our way. New Oxford has a very good press it didn’t seem to faze us. It was just a good test. We got to test ourselves. I think coming out of this tournament, we’re in a really good place.
“Those things (section, league, district championships) are our goals,” Battistelli continued. “When I say we seem a little tight, we’re functioning OK. But we’re not functioning at the highest level to achieve those goals. This is the type of situation that could look like our goals. Now I think we’re one step better, one step closer.”
It was the Vikings’ opening which set the stage for their subsequent acts.
Northern Lebanon notched eight of the contest’s first ten points, and when senior point Zoe Zerman converted a steal and lay-up, the Vikings had a 10-2 margin. Then minutes later, Northern Lebanon hit the Colonials with an 8-0 burst and opened an 18-5 bulge on an elbow jumper from Amber Kintzer, with 57 seconds of the opening period still to play.
“It looked like we were in a good place,” said Battistelli. ” ‘OK. This is a really good team. We can go out and play’. It’s been rough, but we’ve been learning a lot. This was a really big game for us.
“Every time we play, we’re a mess,” continued Battistelli. “We miss peeps. We look like we don’t know how to hold a ball. But we have players who are willing to step up, step up, step up. Coming in, we talked about this a whole bunch. We played to try to win more than to possibly not lose. Winning is so much fun. It looked like us again.”
Northern Lebanon led 31-18 at the intermission.
A 3:42 second-quarter scoreless drought by the Vikings allowed New Oxford to creep to within 22-15 of the lead. But thanks to seven points from Zoe Zerman and another jumper by Kintzer, Northern Lebanon closed the first half on a 9-3 spurt.
“Zoe is so hard for a person to play,” said Battistelli. “If you put a guard on her, she’s too strong for her. If you put a forward on her, she’s too quick. She drives hard and she’s a foul magnet. She takes a beating well, but it leads to a better life for everyone else.
“That’s Ginter (Kintzer),” Battistelli added. “She’s taking on a responsibility and I think she likes it. She understands that if they double Brandt, and if she makes that 15-footer, we become very difficult to guard. That 15-footer is money right now.”
Zerman poured in 25 points to lead all scorers, while Kintzer connected for ten points. Northern Lebanon connected on 15 of its 22 charity tosses and outscored the Colonials by seven points there.
“There were a lot of important things about this game,” said Battistelli. “When I talk to the kids about trying to win, and it resonates, they do it. That means the world to me.”
New Oxford also made a run at the Vikings in the second half, late in the third quarter to be exact, when it pulled to within 37-31. But Northern Lebanon tallied the final two buckets of the period – a Kintzer jumper and a post move from Zoe Zerman – and the initial basket of the final stanza, a stick-back by Zoe Zerman.
Up 43-31, the Vikings recorded their last ten points at the foul line, out of their spread attack.
“I think we’ve been playing tighter than we used to play,” said Battistelli. “I can recognize nerves, and I think they’ve been in me too. I forgot that a normal basketball coach has to coach in the fourth quarter. I remember thinking back that every game is a struggle.”
To purchase images in this article email jkfalk2005@yahoo.com, or to view more go to www.https://lebanonsportsbuzz.com/photo-gallery/.
2016-17 Northern Lebanon Girls’ Basketball Schedule
| 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 |
|
|
| DATE |
OPPONENT |
TIME |
LOCATION |
|
| 12/28 # |
@New Oxford
|
7:30 PM |
Lebanon High School |
|
| 01/03 * |
@Pequea Valley
|
7:30 PM |
Pequea Valley High School |
|
| 01/06 * |
@Lancaster Catholic
|
7:30 PM |
Lancaster Catholic High School |
|
| 01/10 * |
Lancaster Mennonite
|
7:30 PM |
Northern Lebanon High School |
|
| 01/13 * |
Elco
|
7:30 PM |
Northern Lebanon High School |
|
| 01/17 * |
@Annville-Cleona
|
7:30 PM |
Annville-Cleona High School |
|
| 01/20 * |
Lebanon Catholic
|
7:30 PM |
Northern Lebanon High School |
|
| 01/21 |
Tulpehocken
|
7:30 PM |
Northern Lebanon High School |
|
| 01/24 * |
@Columbia
|
7:30 PM |
Columbia High School |
|
| 01/26 |
Manheim Central
|
7:30 PM |
Northern Lebanon High School |
|
| 01/27 * |
Pequea Valley
|
7:30 PM |
Northern Lebanon High School |
|
| 01/31 * |
Lancaster Catholic
|
7:30 PM |
Northern Lebanon High School |
|
| 02/03 * |
@Lancaster Mennonite
|
7:30 PM |
Lancaster Mennonite High School |
|
| 02/07 * |
@Elco
|
7:30 PM |
Elco High School |
|
Lancaster-Lebanon League
Section Three Standings
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