Crusaders Back to Pinnacle

Lancaster Catholic’s Lancaster-Lebanon League redemption tour is over.

One year after falling to Hempfield in the league championship game, snapping a glorious three-year run of tournament titles, the Crusaders earned their 16th girls basketball crown Thursday night, dominating upstart Ephrata 58-43 before a packed house at Manheim Township in Neffsville to get back in the winner’s circle.

“This one feels different because we had it taken away from us last year,” Catholic coach Charlie Detz said. “Last year we didn’t have that killer instinct. So, this one feels great to get it back.”

Catholic (21-4 overall) took the Mountaineers’ first-quarter punch, answering the bell with a game-changing 11-0 blitz to open the second quarter. The Section Four-champ Crusaders never flinched after that, keeping Ephrata at bay the rest of the way.

Catholic made big shot after big shot against the Mounts, who were playing their fourth game in eight days, and because Ephrata didn’t qualify for the District Three Class 6A playoffs, Thursday’s game — league championship or bust — was the Mounts’ final game this season.

“We had to work hard and play our game, because this was their last game, and they played great,” Catholic’s Mary Bolesky said. “They left everything out on the floor, so this was about all the hard work and all the long hours we put in. It’s a special feeling, and to get to do it with these girls, it’s the best feeling.”

It was also a special feeling for Detz, who put his Crusaders through their paces this winter with a wicked nonleague schedule, before Catholic had to get through Hempfield and previously undefeated Columbia to get to Thursday’s big game against the rampaging Section Two co-champs.

“We had to go through the team that beat us in the final last year, and we had to go through undefeated Columbia,” Detz said. “And we had to play a team here that was 12-1 in their last 13 games. That’s the reason why we schedule the way we schedule. For this. For right here.”

There were plenty of heroes to go around for the Crusaders; Rylee Kraft scored 10 or her 14 points in the first half, when Catholic built a 32-19 lead at intermission.

Jeriyah Johnson drilled four 3-pointers — all of them large — and popped in 18 points. Her trey capped a clock-killing possession with 1:15 to go in the second quarter, giving Catholic a cozy 32-18 lead. Later, Johnson’s step-in 3-ball was the dagger, giving the Crusaders a 52-36 cushion with 4:09 to play.

“She hit some awesome shots,” Bolesky said of John-son. “She’s our captain. She hits big shots. That’s what she does.”

Bolesky had two key buckets along the way; her transition layup capped Catholic’s 11-0 clip for a 27-14 lead in the second quarter, and her 3-pointer with 19 ticks to go in the third gave the Crusaders a 47-29 lead.

Freshman Carleigh Anderson added a transition layup during Catholic’s second- quarter burst, and Autumn Lipson hit one of the Crusaders’ nine treys, giving Catholic a 44-26 lead with 1:11 to go in the third.

It was that kind of a night for the Crusaders, who shot the lights out, only turned the ball over eight times and outrebounded Ephrata 28-11.

Jasmine Griffin was terrific in defeat for the Mounts, with a game-high 23 points — 10 in the first half, when Ephrata kept hanging around. Kamryn Andres hit three 3-pointers for the Mounts, and her bomb cut Catholic’s lead to 49-34 with 4:49 to go.

But Kraft had an and-1, and Johnson’s triple iced it for Catholic.

Ephrata ends its season 16-10 overall, but it was a wild ride for the Mounts, who beat Elco in the play-in round before knocking out Section Three co-champ Manheim Central and Section One champ Penn Manor in OT to reach Thursday’s finale.

They were playing in an L-L League finale for the third time in program history, and for the first time since 1991.

“We don’t want to make any excuses because (Catholic) made a lot of shots,” Ephrata coach Brian Cerullo said. “That’s a deep team with a lot of talented players. We can’t be mad with the path we took to get here. We’ve gone on quite a run the last couple of weeks. It’s a great group of kids, and they really stuck together when we weren’t playing well.”

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