Baron Bring Defense to Lady Mounts

Abbie Reed remembered the first basket that was scored against her. Great defenders tend to get annoyed by such things. They take them personally.

This one wasn’t even Reed’s fault. Jasmine Griffin drilled a long 3-pointer from the right of the key. It was a tough shot. The kind of shot that separates 1,000-point scorers from the rest.

It was also the last shot Griffin made Friday night. The 5-foot-9 senior took 11 more over the next 28 minutes. All were off the mark.

Manheim Central defeated Ephrata 31-17 in a Lancaster-Lebanon League Section Two girls basketball game at Ephrata Middle School. It was a defensive showcase.

Reed, a 5-9 senior, was the foundation of the Barons’ approach. Every plan starts with putting her on the opponent’s top gun.

“Defense is my thing,” Reed said. “I just like being able to shut someone down. It’s the one thing I’m able to control. I can control how well I contain her.”

When Mike Smith moved over from the boys to coach the girls this season, one of his first conversations was with Reed. The four-sport athlete mentioned that in previous years she was given the toughest assignment. There was no reason to make a change.

“That’s what she has done in the past,” Smith said. “Let’s put that right into our defense here. From Day 1, that’s what she has been doing.”

Reed helped to hold Lebanon star Kailah Correa scoreless during the second game of the season. The Barons have a player who can dominate the action without even taking a shot. A one-of-a kind stopper.

Maddie Knier, the All-State guard who is marching toward 2,000 career points, is usually on Reed’s side in practice. On the occasions when they square off against each other, Knier called it “very difficult.”

“She’s a scrappy player,” Knier said. “She watches film, so she knows other players’ tendencies. That, of course, helps her play defense.”

Reed is always cataloging information. Those video sessions teach her an opponent’s go-to move and how she maneuvers around a screen. When Griffin hit that 3-pointer, Reed was determined not to let it happen again.

The few times Griffin got a half-step on a drive to the hoop, the Barons rotated in waves to help. Griffin scored 5 points. She was averaging 19.“ We rode our defense the whole game,” Smith said. “Our plan was to stop her. We had three people always ready to stop her on the drive. Everything I said, they did. They followed it to a T. That’s a testament to them.”

Ephrata (2-1 L-L, 8-2) made three shots and raced to a 7-0 lead after 3:08. The Mountaineers made three baskets the rest of the game. They were held without a field goal in the second and fourth quarters.

Reed could sense Ephrata’s frustration building.

“I notice they’ll start to pass it up more rather than trying to drive or trying to shoot,” Reed said. “That’s pretty much when I know I’m doing a good job.”

Knier finished with 15 points. She helped the Barons score nine answered points to hold the lead at the end of the first quarter. They never trailed again.

Manheim (4-0, 8-3) knocked off the three-time defending section champs on their floor. The teams will meet again in 24 days.

“That’s a huge momentum shift for us and a wake-up call for them,” Knier said. “They know they can’t just run over us.”

Reed finished with 7 points, 9 rebounds and 2 assists. The point guard played all 32 minutes running through screens and running the offense. She untucked her jersey as she walked toward the locker room. Her work day was done.

After the bus ride home, Reed planned to watch the game on video. This was a clinic. It shouldn’t come as a surprise. Defense, after all, is her thing.