Changes aplenty as section races take shape: L-L League girls basketball news, notables | Girls’ basketball

It’s been a dizzying first month-plus of Lancaster-Lebanon League girls basketball action.

Up is down. Black is white. Day is night. 

Seriously; the usual suspects are not dominating in their respective section chases. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing, as some fresh faces have broken through. 

As the calendar flipped to 2026, just one team — Pequea Valley in Section 4 — was in position to defend its section championship from last season. 

The way things are sitting right now, there could — could — be three new section champs come the first week of February. Which will be here before we know it. 

TOPSY-TURVY SECTION RACES

It looks like Lebanon’s three-year reign in Section 1 is coming to a close, with Cedar Crest (3-0 L-L, 6-5 overall) and Manheim Township (3-0, 9-1) knotted up for the top spot.

The Falcons and the Blue Streaks — who have rattled off nine wins in a row — will duke it out for sole possession of first place on Wednesday in Neffsville.

Penn Manor (2-1, 8-5) is also hanging around with the lead pack, and the Comets — one of those fresh-faced teams doing damage in the early going — will host Cedar Crest on Friday. 

Cedar Crest is angling for its first section title since 2019; Manheim Township, the reigning league runner-up, hasn’t pocketed one since 2018. Lebanon (1-2, 5-7) has won four in a row; three in Section 1 and one in Section 2 to start its run of titles. 

Ephrata has secured back-to-back Section 2 crowns, and five in the last six years, but there’s a new sheriff in town: Warwick, which hits the week riding a five-game winning streak, finds itself alone atop the section chart. 

The Warriors (4-0, 6-4) haven’t won a section championship since — wait for it — 1991, when George H.W. Bush was in the White House. Warwick went on to win the L-L title that winter, by the way. 

It’s been a hot minute since the Warriors have put up some girls basketball banners. But things are definitely percolating in Lititz. 

Cocalico (3-1, 8-2) and Ephrata (3-1, 8-3) are on Warwick’s heels. The Mountaineers will welcome the Eagles on Wednesday. 

Lancaster Catholic owns eight section titles in a row — the last time it didn’t raise a section banner was in 2017, which seems like an eternity ago — but the Crusaders, who have a league-record 28 section crowns in the case, are looking up at the lead pack in Section 3, where Lampeter-Strasburg (3-0, 8-3) and Manheim Central (3-0, 7-3) share the lead.

The Barons will host the Pioneers on Monday — circle that one — and that winner gets sole possession of the top spot. Manheim Central won Section 2 in 2023; L-S is looking for its first title since claiming Section 2 gold in 2018.

The Section 3 chase pack features Lancaster Catholic (1-2, 5-5), Elco (1-2, 7-4) and Northern Lebanon (1-2, 8-2). 

NL is at L-S on Friday. Not even going to hazard a guess as to what the standings will look like at that point. Stay tuned. 

Pequea Valley, which won its first section championship last season, is out front in Section 4, looking for the repeat. The Braves (3-0, 8-1) get a rematch against Columbia (2-1, 4-3) on Jan. 20 up on the hill. 

AND THIS: Believe it or not, there are no games — zero — on Tuesday’s L-L League schedule. 

KICKING OFF THE RUST

Lancaster Country Day and Lancaster Mennonite haven’t played since Dec. 18. Octorara hasn’t played since Dec. 19. Pequea Valley hasn’t played since Dec. 22. 

Mennonite will visit PV and Octorara will host Kennett on Monday. Country Day won’t be back until Wednesday Changes aplenty as section races take shape: L-L League girls basketball news, notables ending its 20-day layoff — when the Cougars host PV. Country Day has played four games, fewest in the league. 

RAREFIED AIR

Lancaster Catholic will try and snap a three-game losing streak on Monday when the Crusaders unpack the bus at Donegal. Lancaster Catholic dropped nonleague games at undefeated Trinity — the reigning D3-3A champ — and at District 1 contender Coatesville in late December, before being tripped up by Manheim Central in a Section 3 showdown on Friday. 

I have L-L League girls basketball stats going back to 1995 at my fingertips. And yes, that is indeed a really big stack of papers. And after thumbing through those, I couldn’t find a single three-game losing streak for Lancaster Catholic. Not once — in 30 years. 

So yeah, the Crusaders are trying to dig themselves out of a very rare hole. 

INJURY BUG

Make that three standout seniors who will now miss the rest of the season with dreaded knee injuries: Ephrata’s Marie McCracken, Elco’s Maddie Stout, and Manheim Township multi-sport athlete Liv Parmer.

McCracken is heading to Penn State to play field hockey. Stout will continue her hoops career at St. Thomas Aquinas. Parmer is ticketed to play lacrosse at North Carolina. 

It’s been a rough season already for injuries. 

MAKING BUCKETS

L-L League leading scorers: Lebanon’s Olive Brandt (24.8 points a game), Pequea Valley’s Janae Patterson (19.2), Manheim Township’s Ciniya Robinson (18.3), Garden Spot’s Laina Steiner (14.9), Elco’s Kenzie Eckhart (14.5), Cocalico’s Kira Lehman (14.3), Warwick’s Mia Warfel (13.7), Cedar Crest’s Elli Malinoski (13.6), Columbia’s Lexie Droege (13.3), Cocalico’s Corrine Fair (13.3).

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TRES BIEN

L-L League leading 3-point shooters: Lebanon’s Olive Brandt (37 treys), Cocalico’s Corrine Fair (35), Warwick’s Mia Warfel (30), Hempfield’s Asheion Burgess (21), Cedar Crest’s Elli Malinoski (21), Manheim Central’s Gianna Walters (21), Lampeter-Strasburg’s Elaina Hostetter (19), Manheim Township’s Ciniya Robinson (19), Lancaster Catholic’s Nevaeh Kennedy (17), Manheim Central’s Lilah Walters (17). 

MILESTONES 

Current active career scoring leaders: Pequea Valley senior Janae Patterson (1,415 points; 33 shy of snapping Alyssa Hershey’s program record of 1,447) …  Lebanon senior Olive Brandt (1,228) … Ephrata senior Leah Caldwell (904; must average 8.7 points in 11 remaining regular season games to reach 1K) … Cedar Crest senior Kaila Francis (875; must average 11.4 points in 11 remaining regular season games to reach 1K) … Elco senior Kenzie Eckhart (858; must average 12.9 points in 11 remaining regular season games to reach 1K) … Northern Lebanon senior Kasey Weimer (838; must average 13.5 points in 12 remaining regular season games to reach 1K) … Northern Lebanon senior Hayley Sheroky (765; must average 19.6 points in 12 remaining regular season games to reach 1K) … Cocalico junior Kira Lehman (706). 

NEWS AND NOTABLES

* Still a long way to go, but Cedar Crest is sitting directly on the bubble line — No. 16 and the last team in — in the D3-6A power ratings. Red Lion (11-1) sits atop those ratings, which also include No. 7 Manheim Township, No. 10 Ephrata and No. 15 Penn Manor. … Last five games for Cedar Crest’s Kaila Francis, a Colgate commit: 14.8 points, including back-to-back 18-point nights in wins over McCaskey and Lebanon. … Hempfield is itching to break out; Black Knights will open the week trying to snap a 3-game slide, and they’re averaging just 20 points a game over that clip. … Hempfield sniper Asheion Burgess has 11 treys in the last four games, with a 17-point, 5-trey effort in a win over Northeastern York. … Lebanon’s Olive Brandt, an Elizabethtown College commit, continues to sizzle. Her last two games: 31 points and five 3-pointers in a win over Bishop McDevitt, and 33 points and three treys in a victory over Donegal. That’s four games with 30-plus points already this season for Brandt. … Last three games for Lebanon’s Tayana Camuy: 11.3 points with three 3-pointers. … Here’s a name to know: Manheim Township freshman post Emiline Brandt is coming on like gangbusters; she has 34 points in the last four games, including a career-high 16 points in a win over Conestoga Valley. … A hiccup for McCaskey, which is out to snap a 6-game slide after a promising 3-1 start. … Last three games for Penn Manor lefty sniper Yirvic Otero: 11.0 points with five 3-pointers, as the Comets continue to give everyone fits — minus starters Kendall Burger and Emma Eckert, who are out with dreaded knee injuries after breakout ninth-grade campaigns last season. 

* Cocalico is 8-1 in its last nine games — another fresh-faced team making waves early on — and the Eagles are at backyard rival Ephrata for a key Section 2 tussle on Wednesday. Never any love lost there. … Last four games for Cocalico sharpshooter Corrine Fair: 13.0 points with 14 treys; she’s been unstoppable from the arc, as the Eagles are at No. 4 in the D3-5A power ratings. … Two setbacks in a row for Conestoga Valley, but against some top-shelf competition; Buckskins fell to Susquehanna Township (No. 3 in D3-4A power ratings) and to bubbling-hot Manheim Township in its last two outings. CV is at No. 19 in the D3-6A power ratings, and has a lot of work to do to makeup some ground. … Bianca Henry has 28 points and three treys in CV’s last two games, including a season-best 20-point night vs. Hanna. … Last three games for Elizabethtown vet Chloe Wilkinson: 12.3 points with four treys, including a season-high 22-point night in a victory over Garden Spot. … A 1-2 stretch for Ephrata; losses were by a single point at Penn Manor and by five points at Warwick. Foul trouble has been a bugaboo for the Mountaineers, who have been adapting to life without Marie McCracken steering the ship. … Laina Steiner is having an all-star season for Garden Spot. She has scored in double-digits in all eight games. Teammate Leah Kurtz — who transferred in after helping Linville Hill Christian go to the PIAA-1A finale last March — had her breakout game for the Spartans last week when she drained four treys and scored 15 points in a win over Fleetwood. … Solanco is 4-1 in its last five games and has everyone’s attention in the Section 2 hunt. Jackrabbit guard Jaelyn Gonzalez has 33 points in the last two games, including a season-high 18 points in a win over Garden Spot. And sniper Layne Dawley is at 14.8 points with seven 3-pointers in the last five games for the Golden Mules, who are just outside the bubble — No. 15 in a 14-team bracket — in the D3-5A power ratings. … There is just one game on Thursday’s L-L schedule, and it’s an intriguing one: Solanco at Columbia for a non-con clash. … Best story in the L-L to date? You could make a heck of an argument for Warwick, which has won five in a row and finds itself atop the Section 2 standings — and at No. 11 in the D3-5A power ratings. … During Warwick’s five-game tear, sniper Mia Warfel is at 15.4 points with 17 treys, including a whopper 7-trey, 25-point night in a win over Twin Valley. 

* Donegal is still looking for some traction. The Indians are in a loaded section, and they haven’t ducked anyone in the nonleague portion; Donegal has played Eastern York (No. 1 in D3-4A power ratings), 6A Conestoga Valley, Trinity (No. 1 in D3-3A power ratings), 6A Hempfield, 5A Solanco and reigning L-L champ Lebanon — with games on the horizon against Warwick and Ephrata. … Bit of a speed bump for Elco, which is 1-3 in its last four games. In that victory, Kenzie Eckhart dropped a career-high 31 points and drilled five 3-pointers against Fleetwood. … Lampeter-Strasburg — another refreshing story so far — continues to turn heads, as the Pioneers prep for Monday’s first-place showdown at Manheim Central. Last three games for L-S shooter Elaina Hostetter: 12.0 points with six treys, including three triples in a win over Oxford, as the Pioneers are at No. 6 in the D3-5A power ratings. … As mentioned, an odd stretch for Lancaster Catholic, which has dipped from No. 1 to No. 5 in the D3-4A power ratings. Only eight teams — down from 10 — make that bracket this season. … Manheim Central topped Lancaster Catholic for the second year in a row in a Section 3 game, and Friday’s win put the Barons on the 1-line alongside L-S; that tie will be snapped when the Pioneers touch down at Derbyshire Gym on Monday. Be there. … Last four games for Manheim Central wing Maddie Gehman: 12.0 points with a couple of treys, including a team-best 12 points in the win at Lancaster Catholic. … Gehman (629 career points), Gianna Walters (637 points) and Lilah Walters (507 points) are all juniors, and they’re all chasing 1,000 points for the Barons — who go back up to Section 2 next season, by the way. They’re at No. 8 in the D3-5A power ratings, after going to the semifinals in that bracket last season. … Northern Lebanon is 4-1 in its last five games, but is looking up at Manheim Central and L-S in the section chase. Last three games for Vikings’ floor general Hayley Sheroky, a PSU-Harrisburg commit: 15.0 points with seven treys, including a dandy 26-point, five-3 night in a win over Bishop McDevitt. 

* A two-game winning streak for Annville-Cleona, which gave the Dutchmen the Schuylkill Valley holiday tourney title, with dubs over Tulpehocken and Littlestown. That put A-C at No. 8 in the D3-3A power ratings — in a 6-team bracket, so the Dutchmen have some work to do. … Columbia has only played seven games, so the Crimson Tide will be busy in the coming days. They’ll host A-C for a key Section 4 game on Monday — winner hangs with Pequea Valley in the lead pack — before Solanco comes calling on Wednesday. Columbia will host Lancaster Country Day for a section game on Saturday; don’t see many section games on a Saturday. … Mentioned Country Day has played a league-low four games, so the Cougars will be busy out of their break. And remember, Country Day is playing with six kids on its roster. … Lancaster Mennonite was down to seven players when key pieces Jules Oberle and Feven Workalemahu each missed three games with nagging injuries before the holiday break. We’ll see if they’re back in there when the Blazers get back on the court Monday at Pequea Valley. … Octorara will also end its long break on Monday when Kennett comes calling for a nonleague battle. Braves’ shooter Ali Matys had a 19-point, 2-trey night in Octorara’s last game, a win over Chichester. … Last four games for Pequea Valley’s Shelyce Burke: 10.0 points with seven treys, including a career-high 17-point night, with three treys, in a win over Fleetwood. … Last five games for Pequea Valley floor general Janae Patterson: 21.0 points, including 27 points in that Fleetwood game. Patterson won the L-L scoring derby last season; she’s currently chasing Lebanon’s Olive Brandt in that department.

X: @JeffReinhart77

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