BY JEFF FALK

NEW HOLLAND – Good basketball teams are made up of good players who can run fast, jump high and shoot straight. That’s the conventional thinking.

Every time out, the Northern Lebanon girls fly in the face of that wisdom.

The Vikings are a good team because they execute the game plan, practice fundamentals and make their free throws. They also possess the abilities to channel the emotions of their leaders, to rise to the occasion and to play defense.

On Thursday night at Garden Spot High School, during the play-in round of the Lancaster-Lebanon League playoffs, Northern Lebanon did what they do, during a 43-32 triumph over Warwick. Mixing in some match-up zone with their trademark man-to-man defense and controlling the defensive boards, the Vikings opened a 29-7 lead through 24 minutes of action.

The victory propelled now 20-2 Northern Lebanon, the runner-up from Section Four, into the quarterfinal round of the L-L League playoffs, Saturday at 7 p.m. at Section Three champion Solanco. Warwick, the runner-up from Section Two, slipped to 12-10 overall .

“We sell something at Northern Lebanon. We sell the belief that we are special,” said Northern Lebanon head coach Ken Battistelli. “That we work harder. That we take it more seriously. When kids start believing in that, you become better than you are alone. You don’t generally see kids do what they’re not good at. They try to do things that they’re good at.

“They think it takes five organisms to be a good defensive team,” continued Battistelli. “They believe in the vision. But maybe what’s bigger than everything is that they love each other. They want to do well for each other. Because they like each other, they play harder. There’s no selfishness. It’s just more fun to win than anything else they do. They’re 20-2 because they work their butts off. If they didn’t work hard, one day – poof, it’s gone.”

The Vikings never trailed, after holding Warwick without a point for the entire opening quarter, and 46 seconds of the second period. On the other side of the ball, star Zara Zerman was netting nine points and Tabitha Hubbard was knocking down a three-pointer to build a 12-0 Viking lead.

“I thought we played a real good half of basketball,” said Battistelli. “They (his players) were moving their feet and doing a lot of right things. We played pretty strong defense. The focus was where it needed to be.

“I think we’re more prepared than most teams,” added Battistelli. “We treat every game like it’s the end of the world. I think that helped the gold start.”

When the Warriors finally did get on the scoreboard, they pulled to within 14-5 of Northern Lebanon’s lead. But on a lay-in from Rachel Papson and a three-pointer by Ashlyn Messinger, the Vikings closed the first half with a 19-5 advantage.

“When it’s right, I think it’s gorgeous,” said Battistelli of his side’s defense. “Because there’s nothing that emphasizes selflessness more than defense. You can’t be a team that’s good on defense without loving each other. It only takes one screwball to mess things up.”

On seven field goals and ten-for-13 free throwing, Zerman totaled 24 points. Northern Lebanon outscored Warwick 35-20 inside the arc.

“She’s a freak,” said Battistelli of Zerman. “She’s great. There’s not enough I can tell you about her performance.”

For the Vikings, the third quarter was pretty much a repeat of the first two.

Northern Lebanon did not allow a Warrior point for the first 6:15 of the second half, while it was stretching its lead to 27-5. Zerman tallied six more points and fellow senior Lindsay McFeaters scored on a driving lay-up.

“Do you know what I think happened? I think you can’t help but get happy,” said Battistelli of the Vikings’ fourth-quarter performance. “We’re not meant to be happy. When you aren’t focused 100 percent, that happens. You see why I’m intense. It’s that fine line. If you get happy and don’t violently control that first step (on defense), they’ll blow by you.”

The Warriors recorded 25 points in the final quarter – one of the highest totals that the Vikings had surrendered all season – and crept within 36-26 with two minutes to go. But the outcome was never really in doubt.

“I’m very, very concerned,” said Battistelli of Saturday’s match-up at Solanco. “We played them early in the season (a 35-19 NL win in Fredericksburg on Dec. 20). They’re very strong. If we’re not great, we’ll get exposed. Good will not be OK.”

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

2019-20 Northern Lebanon Girls’ Basketball Results

Date	Opponents	Outcomes
12/06 6:45 pm	Ephrata Northern Lebanon at Northern Lebanon Tip-Off Tournament	43 48	Nonleague
12/07 7:00 pm	Palmyra Northern Lebanon at Northern Lebanon Tip-Off Tournament	29 41	Nonleague
12/10 7:30 pm	West Perry at Northern Lebanon	19 35	Nonleague
12/13 7:30 pm	Northern Lebanon at Lampeter-Strasburg	38 26	League
12/16 7:30 pm	Cocalico at Northern Lebanon	31 37	League
12/18 7:30 pm	Northern Lebanon at Garden Spot	48 17	League
12/20 7:30 pm	Solanco at Northern Lebanon	19 35	League
12/27 6:00 pm	New Oxford Northern Lebanon at Lebanon Holiday Tournament	27 45	Nonleague
12/28 7:30 pm	Northern Lebanon McCaskey at Lebanon Holiday Tournament	44 41	Nonleague
1/03 7:30 pm	Lancaster Catholic at Northern Lebanon	50 47	League
1/04 2:30 pm	East Pennsboro Northern Lebanon at Northern Lebanon Middle School	22 44	Nonleague
1/08 6:30 pm	Middletown at Northern Lebanon	15 38	Nonleague
1/10 7:30 pm	Northern Lebanon at Elco	53 45	League
1/14 7:30 pm	Northern Lebanon at Octorara	54 17	League
1/17 7:30 pm	Donegal at Northern Lebanon	39 65	League
1/18 2:30 pm	Northern Lebanon at Tulpehocken		Postponed Nonleague
1/21 7:30 pm	Northern Lebanon at Lancaster Catholic	35 42	League
1/23 7:30 pm	Northern Lebanon at Manheim Central	47 35	League
1/25 4:30 pm	Northern Lebanon at Annville-Cleona	47 12	Nonleague
1/28 7:30 pm	Elco at Northern Lebanon	35 37	League
1/31 7:30 pm	Octorara at Northern Lebanon	30 59	League
2/04 7:30 pm	Northern Lebanon at Donegal	60 46	League
2/06 7:30 pm	Northern Lebanon Warwick at Garden Spot		Playoff

PIAA District Three

Class AAAA Power Rankings

AAAA	School	W	L	T	Rating	TWP	OWP	TWPW	OWPW	TWPL	OWPL
1	Lancaster Catholic	19-	3-	0	0.769688	0.878099	0.637185	21.3	303.3	3.0	172.7
2	Northern Lebanon	19-	2-	0	0.718342	0.917927	0.474406	21.3	214.6	1.9	237.7
3	Bermudian Springs	18-	3-	0	0.708281	0.853717	0.530527	17.8	253.3	3.1	224.2
4	Eastern York	16-	6-	0	0.694032	0.779736	0.589284	17.7	282.7	5.0	197.0
5	Susquehanna Township	17-	5-	0	0.693945	0.814894	0.546120	19.2	253.7	4.4	210.9
6	Wyomissing	17-	5-	0	0.642647	0.799539	0.450891	17.4	202.5	4.4	246.6
7	Bishop McDevitt	10-	9-	0	0.606278	0.588859	0.627568	11.1	258.2	7.8	153.2
8	Fleetwood	13-	8-	0	0.601579	0.676960	0.509447	14.3	225.2	6.8	216.8
9	Kennard Dale	12-	10-	0	0.598708	0.604545	0.591574	13.3	283.0	8.7	195.4
10	Schuylkill Valley	14-	8-	0	0.564890	0.671171	0.434991	14.9	195.6	7.3	254.0
11	Eastern Lebanon County	11-	11-	0	0.553386	0.550228	0.557245	12.1	263.8	9.9	209.6
12	Big Spring	9-	11-	0	0.504223	0.505076	0.503180	10.0	209.7	9.8	207.0
13	Littlestown	11-	11-	0	0.504069	0.497685	0.511871	10.8	242.6	10.9	231.3
14	Boiling Springs	10-	11-	0	0.485234	0.515663	0.448043	10.7	202.7	10.1	249.7
15	James Buchanan	9-	13-	0	0.461670	0.438389	0.490126	9.3	212.2	11.9	220.8
16	West Perry	7-	14-	0	0.403828	0.341289	0.480265	7.2	217.8	13.8	235.7
17	Middletown Area	5-	16-	0	0.391081	0.253071	0.559759	5.2	259.7	15.2	204.3
18	Oley Valley	8-	14-	0	0.386221	0.344186	0.437597	7.4	198.1	14.1	254.6
19	Hamburg Area	6-	16-	0	0.373007	0.295238	0.468058	6.2	216.5	14.8	246.1
20	Octorara Area	2-	17-	0	0.325424	0.123324	0.572434	2.3	235.9	16.4	176.2

Lancaster-Lebanon League

Final Section Four Standings

	League	Overall
	W	L	PCT	W	L	PCT	PF	PA
Lancaster Catholic	13	0	1.000	19	3	0.864	1330	977
Northern Lebanon	11	2	0.846	19	2	0.905	958	640
Elco	6	7	0.462	11	11	0.500	1013	933
Donegal	4	9	0.308	8	14	0.364	1109	1223
Octorara	1	12	0.077	2	19	0.095	596	1304

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