Don't look now, but a Cedar Crest girls' basketball program that has struggled in recent years is beginning to show some signs of life.

The Falcons won their third straight after a 2-7 start to the season on Wednesday night, using an 18-3 run through the first quarter to propel them to a 55-45 road win against Penn Manor in a Section One battle Millersville.

Emerging sophomore Alex Rich paced Jim Donmoyer's club, now 4-4 in Section One, with 15 points and twin sisters Nichole and Emily Wagner added 11 and 10, respectively.

Cedar Crest helped its cause immensely at the foul line, converting 20 of 27 attempts led by Nichole Wagner's 9 for 11 effort.

Elsewhere Wednesday night:

Girls'

basketball

roundup

  • Annville-Cleona 52, Columbia 37: In Annville, the Little Dutchmen bounced back impressively from Monday's disappointing loss to Lebanon Catholic to roll the Crimson Tide behind 20 points from Elaina Wanamaker.

    Now 8-5 overall and 5-3 in Section Four, A-C rolled to a 28-11 halftime lead while holding Columbia (2-6 in Section Four) to just two second-quarter points and cruised home from there.

    Alex Siebecker chipped in with 10 points for A-C, which maintained a one-game lead over Lebanon Catholic for second place in Section Four.

  • Lebanon Catholic 51, Pequea Valley 36: In Kinzers, the Beavers continued their resurgence, notching their third straight "W" behind an 18-point outing from junior
    Advertisement
    point guard Helene Reist.

    Abby Shay added 15 points for Catholic (8-5, 4-4 Section Four), and Holly Marinkov pitched in with 14 for the Beavers, who took control of the contest with a 17-8 second-quarter burst.

  • Elco 53, Donegal 33: In Mount Joy, the Raiders continued to stay in the thick of the Section Three fight by blasting the Indians on their home floor.

    Elco's third straight win left it 8-5 overall and 5-3 in Section Three and was led by Kady Yoders' 19-point outburst that included sizzling 9-for-10 foul shooting.

    Cheyenne Hassler added 17 to the win, and Halie Parker chipped in with nine.

  • Lampeter-Strasburg 48, Northern Lebanon 39: In Fredericksburg, the Vikings put up a valiant fight against the unbeaten Pioneers before fading late.

    Now 8-5 overall and 5-3 in Section Three, Northern Lebanon led 33-30 heading into the fourth quarter but was outscored from there 18-6 as the Pioneers (8-0 Section Three) took control behind 14 points from post presence Lexie Lantz.

    Taylor Smith had another strong game in defeat for the Vikes, tallying a team-high 15 points.

  • Ephrata 51, Lebanon 34: At LHS, the Cedars dropped their third straight, routed by the Mounts on the heels of a pair of narrow defeats to Cocalico and Elizabethtown.

    The setback left Lebanon 5-8 overall and 3-5 in Section Two. Lauren Chambers was a bright spot in defeat with 12 points, and Alicia Haitos added 10.