Notebook: Lebanon County girls teams start fast
Looking back at a highly successful first weekend of the season for Lebanon County girls basketball teams in the (hopefully) weekly Double Dribbles notebook...
They were the champions
County teams hit the ground running, with four of the seven teams in action taking home tip-off tournament titles.
Congrats to Northern Lebanon (Lady Viking), Cedar Crest (Cedar Cliff), Annville-Cleona (Hamburg) and Elco (Middletown) for adding some hardware to their respective trophy cases.
Based on this weekend, there could be a lot more where that came from.
Honor Roll
There were numerous standout performances by county players this weekend, but just like in school, not everyone makes the honor roll.
But the ones that do/did certainly earn their way there.
Taylor Bossert, Elco
Bossert went crazy from 3-point land in the Raiders' 62-59 championship win over Middletown, tying the school record for 3-pointers in a game with 7 while popping in a game-high 28 points.
The junior point guard hit some of those shots when Elco needed them most, according to head coach Ashli Shay.
"Taylor shot the lights out from 3 and was 7 of 8 from the foul line," Shay reported. "We were up 12 at halftime but then hit a huge wall and couldn’t score in the 3rd quarter. We were losing with about two minutes to go in the game and she came down and hit some big 3’s to put us in the lead. She also nailed two foul shots on a technical called against their coach and she hit some other big foul shots down the stretch to seal it for us. Definitely an impressive shooting performance!"
Ariel Jones, Cedar Crest
The fastest player in county girls hoops, Jones was again a blur with the ball in her hands over the weekend, averaging 23 points per game to help the Falcons wear the Cedar Cliff tourney crown.
Jones did her best work on Friday, erupting for 28 points and four 3-pointers in a win over East Pennsboro, before adding 18 points and a trio of 3-pointers in championship defeat of the host Colts.
Looks like the senior point guard is headed for another season of tormenting opposing defenses.
Liz Voight, Northern Lebanon
Lots of top-notch efforts from the Vikings this weekend, but Voight was the difference in NL's title game win over Palmyra on Saturday, pumping in a game-high 20 points and leading a ferocious Viking performance on the offensive boards.
With team leaders and go-to scorers Zoe Zerman and Megan Brandt fronting the NL attack, Voight is often the Vikings' third option on offense. But as she proved again on Saturday, Voight is more than capable of putting her team on her back when needed.
Michaela Singer, Annville-Cleona
It was a tall order to keep Singer from scoring on the field hockey field in the fall, and it wasn't much easier on Saturday in A-C's tournament championship win over Hamburg.
A-C's all-time leader in field hockey goals, Singer torched Hamburg for five 3-pointers and 21 points in a 47-36 win.
Fabulous Freshmen
They're bound to experience some trials and tribulations in their first season of varsity ball, but freshmen Annabelle Copeland and Zara Zerman got out of the blocks quite nicely this weekend.
Palmyra frosh Copeland hit for 13 points in a first round win over Kennard-Dale in the Northern Lebanon tourney, while NL 9th-grader Zerman averaged 7 points per contest in the Vikings' two wins.
You'll be hearing those names quite a bit in the future, we suspect.
Polling Place
Truth be told, I'm not a big fan of weekly polls and rankings, because they're simply subjective opinions that ultimately don't mean a lot.
But they can be fun, too. So hey, why not? And relax, this is all subject to change.
1. Northern Lebanon (2-0) - The Vikes looked pretty darn tough over the weekend. They're gonna be in contention for just about any championship you can name. Enjoy the ride, Fredericksburg.
2. Cedar Crest (2-0) - The Falcons can beat you a lot of ways - Jones driving the lane, Alyssa Austin protecting the paint, Rachel WItherite knocking down 3's - and they'll probably be doing so rather consistently this season.
3. Lebanon Catholic (0-0) - The Beavers have yet to hit the court - their season opener at Mahanoy Area was postponed from Monday to Tuesday - but when they do they'll be trouble, with Alexis Hill and Neesha Pierre leading the havoc.
4. Palmyra (1-1): The Cougars are blessed with a generous amount of young talent, led by sophomores Amelia Baldo and Olivia Richardson, and will only get better as the season goes on. They'll take some lumps, too, but this group has a bright future.
5. Elco (2-0): Would be higher if not for the ankle sprain that's going to keep go-to sophomore forward Ryelle Shuey out for two weeks. But the Raiders figure to have the chance for upward mobility, given their showing over the weekend.
Young team with a good bit of athleticism and some potent 3-point shooting courtesy of Bossert.
6. Annville-Cleona (2-0) Another team ranked lower than it should be, but props to A-C for the hot start. Definitely a good sign for a program that has struggled in recent years.
The only problem for Annville-Cleona will be navigating a minefield of a Section 3 schedule.
7. Lebanon (0-2) Rough start for the Cedars, who appear to be in for some growing pains after losing transfers Hill and Jasmine Turner to Lebanon Catholic.
But new head coach Jaime Walborn will make sure Lebanon competes on a nightly basis.