Streaks Win to Stay on Bubble

Don’t look now, but local girls basketball teams are getting down to the nitty-gritty when it comes to accumulating all-important District Three power points.

The clock is counting down to the end of the regular season, and squads are now in final jockeying mode to earn an invite to the playoffs.

When Ephrata unloaded the bus at Manheim Town-ship on Wednesday night, both the Mountaineers and the Blue Streaks – who hit the week hovering around the cut line in Class 6A – needed a victory to remain in line for a bid.

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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.

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Cedars Keep Up Pace

LEBANON — Don’t look now, but what Lebanon’s girls basketball team is doing this season isn’t a cute little side story anymore.

The Cedars are legit. And they put another stamp on their success Saturday afternoon with a gut-check 50-39 victory over Ephrata in an intriguing nonleague matchup between the two teams that shared the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section Two championship last winter.

Now in separate sections, Lebanon and Ephrata squared off in a key game for District Three Class 6A power points, and the Cedars used a couple of game-changing runs to subdue the Mountaineers.

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Barons jump Mounts

Bam! Pow!! Krunch!!!

Like the campy, sound effect captions on the mid-1960s Batman TV series, Manheim Central opened the night with the 1-2-3 punch of three straight falls and never looked back in a 36-27 Lancaster-Lebanon League Section Two victory over Ephrata Wednesday night at Manheim Middle School.

In an evening featuring several firsts, Leo Bonanno, Braxton Kieffer and Barrett Kieffer boosted the Barons (3-0 L-L Section Two, 6-3 overall) to the early advantage.

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