Tonight, Annville-Cleona's girls' basketball team will get a chance to slow down Malia Tate-DeFreitas.

The Little Dutchmen topped Halifax 49-39 on Thursday night in Annville during the opening round of the Annville-Cleona Holiday Tournament. The win puts A-C into tonight's 7:30 p.m. final against Steel-High, which beat Northern Lebanon 67-46 in the tournament opener Thursday, a game in which Rollers star Tate-DeFreitas scored 39 points.

Against Halifax, A-C jumped out to an 18-8 first-quarter lead and never looked back, improving to 4-3 in the process. The lead was at 39-25 entering the final period before Halifax was able to cut into the deficit.

Alex Siebecker led the way for the Dutchmen with 18 points, while Elaina Wanamaker added 13 points.

In the opener, Steel-High bolted out to a 20-8 first-quarter lead and cruised from there. The Rollers held a 51-37 lead entering the final period and outscored the Vikings 16-9 over the final eight minutes to lock up the victory.

Northern Lebanon (5-3), which made seven 3-pointers in the game, got 10 points apiece from Mariah LiBrandi and Morgan Phillips, who drained a trio of 3-pointers.

Elsewhere Thursday night:

Girls'

basketball

roundup

  • Palmyra 63, Manheim Central 19: In Palmyra, the Cougars jumped out to leads of 22-6 and 38-8 by the ends of the first two quarters and kept their perfect season in tact by improving to 8-0 with the non-league win.

    Palmyra's

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    Carly Richardson scored 19 points in the first half and finished with 23 to lead all scorers, while Kaitlyn Carmo and Kristen Smoluk both finished with 10 points.

  • Eastern York 51, Cedar Crest 35: In Wrightsville, the Falcons fell into a 21-12 first-quarter hole they could not dig out of, falling to the host Golden Knights in their own holiday tournament. The loss sends Crest (2-5) into today's 6 p.m. consolation game against Kennard-Dale, which fell to Susquehannock 47-39.

    Still within 29-19 at halftime, Eastern York used a 15-8 third-quarter spurt to put the game out of reach. Rachel Miller paced the Falcon offense with 10 points.

  • Veritas Academy 33, New Covenant 24: In Leola, the Flames saw their mini two-game winning streak come to an end when Veritas rode a 16-5 first-quarter lead to victory. The loss drops New Covenant to 2-3 overall.

    Trailing by 11, the Flames cut it to 18-14 by halftime with a 9-2 run through the second quarter but was then held to just two points in the third and trailed 24-16 entering the fourth quarter. Erin Haggard was 11-for-13 from the line and finished with a team-high 15 points for New Covenant.

    Boys'

    basketball

    roundup

  • Cedar Crest 60, Conrad Weiser 48: In South Lebanon in the first round of the Falcons' Holiday Tournament, the hosts outscored the Scouts 23-10 in the fourth quarter to win going away. The victory puts Crest (5-3) into today's 7:30 p.m. final opposite Carlisle, which took care of Hershey, 55-41.

    Conrad Weiser led 38-37 entering the final quarter when the Falcons took control of the game. Killian Klopp (three 3-pointers) and Andrew Eudy paced the offense by scoring 13 points apiece, while Clay Penchard added 11 and Evan Horn tossed in 10.

  • Shippensburg 56, Annville-Cleona 40:In the opening round of the Shippensburg holiday event, A-C was no match for the hosts, falling behind 27-12 at the half and never recovering.

    Casey Smith and Paxson Hayes were bright spots in defeat for the Little Dutchmen with 12 points apiece. A-C will meet Greater Johnstown, an 82-35 loser to Susquehanna Township, in tonight's 6 p.m. consolation game.

  • New Covenant 46, Veritas Academy 41: In Leola, Nate Dawson scored his 1,000th career point and finished with 24 points, helping the Flames (1-4) record their first victory of the season. Needing seven points to eclipse the plateau, the 6-foot-9 Dawson made a shot under the basket in the first quarter to reach the milestone.

    C.J. Kornhaus added 14 points for the Flames, who used a 15-6 third-quarter run to turn a 25-23 halftime lead into a comfortable 40-29 advantage entering the final period. Dawson joins Shane Seibert as the only members of the 1,000-point club at New Covenant.