After loss to E-town, EHS girls bounce back

Ephrata’s Brooke Ludwig (left) drives against Elizabethtown Thursday
night. Photo by Travis Boyd

The Elizabethtown girls’ basketball team proved that it is head and shoulders above the rest of Section Two in the Lancaster-Lebanon League last Thursday. But coming into the game, the Bears only had a one game lead over second place Ephrata.

What the Lady Mounts ran into at Elizabethtown was a pressing, trapping defense with a front line that stood 6-2, 6-1 and 5-11. The Bears used that height and length to race out to a 21-4 lead after the first quarter.

E-town (7-2 section) never let up, increasing the lead to 38-13 at the break before running away with a 65-27 win.

The Bears were a two girl wrecking crew as seniors Marena Lonardi (28 points) and Sydney Pierson (20) came out of the game even before the fourth period. Lonardi had recently become the programs seventh girl to surpass the 1,000-point career mark.

“E-town has some very talented players…we knew that coming in,” explained Ephrata Head Coach Brian Cerullo. “We turned the ball over a lot in the first quarter and we didn’t rebound. Those were the two things we were focusing on (at half-time).”

There was no third quarter comeback, as Elizabethtown out-scored the Lady Mounts 20-5. Lonardi had 14 and Pierson six in the third frame, invoking the running clock for the remainder of the game as they cheered from the bench.

One tactic the Lady Mounts tried was to press E-town when the opportunity presented.

“When we tried to press them, they usually had a taller player in the middle,” added Cerullo. “Even when we were there, we weren’t able to get the ball because they put it in the right spot.”

Ephrata did make some headway into the paint, going to the foul line 14 times (making six).

“Unfortunately, a lot of the times, when we got to the basket, they blocked the shot,” said Cerullo. “We talked about going hard against them, trying to draw the foul. It didn’t always work out that way.”

Ten Lady Mounts cracked the scoresheet, led by juniors Jocelyn Umana and Carly Holochuck’s five points each. The lopsided score did allow Cerullo to get minutes for several underclassmen.

“Every time we can get them some experience at the varsity level it is only going to benefit them next year and the following,” he said.

The battle for the second L-L Section Two playoff spot resumes Friday when the Lady Mounts host Warwick. The winner of that game could have the inside track for that spot. Ephrata won the first meeting by a single point on January 8 in Lititz. They also get another crack at E-town on February 5 in Ephrata.

“We need to work on improving our own skills,” concluded Cerullo. “If we can work hard at practice, the games that are coming up we can certainly win. They are going to be important games.”

In addition to the game at Elizabethtown, the Lady Mounts also were in action Tuesday at Lebanon where they got back in the win column with a 44-38 victory over the Cedars.

Hannah Plowmaker led the way for the Lady Mounts with 11 points as Ephrata led 25-24 at the half before out-scoring Lebanon 11-5 in the third to take command.

Katherine Sola added nine points for the winners, who took over sole possession of second place with the win.

The Lady Mounts improved to 5-4 in section play (6-12 overall), one and a half games ahead of Warwick (4-6) heading into Friday.

Monday night at home, Ephrata squared off with Spring Grove in a non-league contest. SG came into the game considered one of the top teams in District Three, and the Rockets did not disappoint.

Spring Grove jump on Ephrata quickly, racing out to a 15-0 lead after one quarter and a 36-4 advantage by half before coasting in with an eventual 61-26 victory.

The Rockets had four players finish in double figures, led by Haley Wagman’s game-high 13 points. Addyson Wagman chipped in with 12 points while Ellie Glass and Lexi Hoffman both added 10 points apiece in the win.

Brooke Ludwig paced the Lady Mounts with six points in the loss.