Mounts Survive Warriors

It wasn’t exactly a Picasso.

But not every victory needs to be a work of art.

Ephrata wasn’t looking for perfection Tuesday night. Just a win – Picasso-like or otherwise. The Mountaineers had to pull some teeth and scratch and claw and overcome a wonky third quarter before getting the victory.

Leah Caldwell scored 12 of her 17 points in the first quarter, Jasmine Griffin went 6-for-6 at the foul line in crunch time and the Mountaineers fended off backyard rival Warwick 45-38 in Lititz to clinch second place in the Lancaster-Lebanon League girls basketball Section Two race – and snag the playoff slot that comes with it.

Ephrata’s reward for sewing up said league quarterfinal slot: A rematch from last year’s league championship game on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Section Three champ Lancaster Catholic.

“We didn’t know coming over here who we’d have available, so we had to find a way,” said Ephrata coach Brian Cerullo, who has some players dealing with illness and late-season bumps and bruises. “It’s always hard to play here and this was a hard-fought game, so we’re happy to get out of here with a win.”

Warwick, which needed a win Tuesday to force a second-place tie with Ephrata, is now fighting for its postseason life. The Warriors started Tuesday at No. 13 in the District Three Class 5A power ratings, just inside the 14-team bracket. They welcome Section Two champ Manheim Central on Thursday in the regular-season finale for both teams. Warwick (7-4 league, 10-11 overall) will likely need a win and help to make the 5A bracket. Tuesday’s win should go a long way in helping Ephrata (9-2, 16-5) wrap up a D3 6A playoff spot. The Mounts were at No. 11 in a 12-team bracket. They finish up Thursday against Elizabethtown.

“It hurts, because as far as districts are concerned, we’re going to have to find a way to win Thursday or hope that the math works out in our favor,” Warwick coach Danny Cieniewicz said.

Caldwell, a promising freshman who is having a breakout season, sparked Ephrata’s early surge, scoring at will in the post in the first quarter. And when she put back an offensive rebound to beat the first-quarter horn, the Mounts had a 19-8 lead.

Ephrata had an 8-0 second- quarter burst to grab a 27-10 cushion. Marie Mc-Cracken, Cara Tiesi, Lydia Ehst and Caldwell had buckets during the run, and the Mounts had a seemingly safe 27-14 lead at the break.

Warwick came out swinging in the third quarter. Natalie Wenger and Sam Shaak had buckets, and Kayla Willis hit a pair of 3-pointers, the latter capping a 12-0 spree and slicing Ephrata’s lead to 27-26 with 2:02 to go in the third.

“I thought we had a better fight in us, and our best chance was to pressure them and see what we had in us, and just go for it there in the third quarter,” Cieniewicz said. “We were able to get back into the game.”

Barbara Price and Griffin (10 points) stopped the bleeding with back-to-back transition layups and Ephrata went up 31-26 through three.

Warwick hung tough as Shaak (17 points) hit a clutch 3-pointer, Bella Smithson scored in the lane and Willis had a put-back, and the Warriors were within 40-38 with 1:31 to play.

But Ephrata was able to ice it. Tiesi drilled a corner 3-pointer and Griffin was perfect from the line late as the Mounts sewed up their playoff slot.

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