Thursday, March 28, 2024
Text Size

Lady Mounts ready for LL Playoffs


A pair of teams suffering losses in the L-L quarterfinals last season returned to the tournament on a pair of winning streaks. The Section Two champion Ephrata Mountaineers (11-5, 13-9) won seven straight while the Section Four runner-up Lebanon Catholic Beavers (12-5, 16-5) grabbed four straight victories.

"They have some tremendous shooters," Ephrata coach Mike Garman said, "and Patti Hower, I have so much respect for her. She's just an unbelievable coach."

Ephrata claimed the Section Two crown behind leading scorer Caroline Stauffer (13.4 points per game). The junior netted 16.8 points per game during the Mountaineers' final seven games.

"We need to focus on where she's at at all times," Hower said of Stauffer. "We know what she's capable of."

Inside, Kenzie Horst, Ephrata's 5-10 senior center, averaged 11.1 points per game.

"It's something that we've dealt with all year," Hower said of Horst's size against her starting lineup averaging 5-6.5.

Neesha Pierre and Allison Warren led the Lebanon Catholic lineup with 13.0 points per game. The top seed in the District Three Class A tournament, and the defending district champions, Lebanon Catholic made a return to the league tournament one of its main goals heading into this seaosn.

"It's an opportunity for us," Hower said, "to showcase what we can do."