Crusaders top Lady Mounts
- 09 December 2008
Katelyn Vanderhoff continued her torrid start, and Lancaster Mennonite forced 31 turnovers Monday night in the Blazers’ 56-39 non-league triumph at Ephrata.It was Ephrata’s first home game in the newly refurbished middle school gym – and let me tell you, it’s pretty nice in there. Very bright and spacious. Cool place. The rims are a tad on the tight side, but everything else is A-OK.
Ephrata, which slipped to 1-2 overall, actually led the game 6-2 early on, with all six points coming on three field goals by senior Aly Goodman.
But Mennonite, which improved to 3-0 overall, closed the first quarter on a 12-0 run, went ahead 33-22 at the half and slipped it into cruise control after the break.
The difference?
Goodman, an excellent slasher who can also step back and shoot the jumper, scored 15 first-half points, many on the dribble-drive, get-to-the-glass variety.
So Mennonite, which allowed just 23.5 points per game in its first two games, switched to a 2-3 zone in the second half, and the swarming look gave Goodman some problems. She scored just three points after the break, and her loan field goal came very early in the third quarter.
“In the first half (Goodman) was getting a lot of dribble-penetration, and to her credit, she’s very, very good at that,” Mennonite coach Sherri Gorman said. “So we switched to a 2-3 zone and I thought that helped us out tremendously. I thought that helped stop their dribble-penetration, which is what we had to do. Our goal was to stop the dribble-penetration, maybe make them force a couple of things and get (Goodman) out of her rhythm. I thought we did a good job with that.”
Ephrata scored just six third-quarter points as Mennonite built a cozy 46-28 lead heading into the final quarter. The Mountaineers, who reached the finals of the Daniel Boone Tip-Off Tournament before falling to the host Blazers in the title game, turned the ball over 18 times in the first half and 31 in all.
Ephrata outrebounded the Blazers 30-22, and Mennonite, the reigning Section 4 champ, L-L League runner-up and District 3 Triple-A titlist, survived 22 turnovers.
Meanwhile, Vanderhoff, the University of Maine recruit, pumped in a career-high 28 points for the Blazers, who broke the game open with a 13-6 third-quarter run.
Vanderhoff scored 12 second-quarter points and had 18 points at the half. She hit a couple of quick jumpers early in the third to spark the 13-6, back-breaking run to open the second half.
What a start for Vanderhoff: 27 points against Milton Hershey; 22 points against Exeter; and now 28 points against Ephrata. That’s 77 points in three games – a 25.6 per-game average.
Vanderhoff also pushed her career total to 973 points – so she’ll need 27 points at home on Friday against Manheim Central to join the 1,000-career-point club.
“We’re off to a good start,” Vanderhoff said of Mennonite’s 3-0 getaway. “We’re a totally different team this year with four new starters, but we’re making some adjustments and getting in the flow of things.”
Junior forward Erin LaVenice, who started a few games down the stretch for Mennonite last season, chipped in with 12 points, 9 rebounds and a pair of blocked shots against Ephrata.
Steph Reinheimer added 8 points and Sarah Mentzer grabbed 7 boards – 4 in the third quarter – for Mennonite, which won the Hamburg Tip-Off Tournament last weekend.
Goodman finished with 18 points and 8 rebounds and Alison Weaver added 6 points and 4 rebounds for Ephrata.
We here at www.ephratamounts.com are proud sponsors of the Dodgeball for Diabetes tournament.