Pequea Valley nabs second place, playoff bid in Section 4: L-L League girls basketball roundup for Feb. 5 games (2024)

There were seven games on Monday’s L-L League girls basketball docket, as the final full week of the regular season tipped off in a gym near you. Here’s the roundup, plus some news and notables with the postseason kicking off at the end of the week …

SECTION 4

Pequea Valley 46, Annville-Cleona 40 — On the same night Columbia topped Octorara to clinch the outright section title, the host Braves edged the Dutchmen to lock up second place and the other league playoff bid. Janae Patterson (16 points), Shania Stoltzfus (three 3-pointers, 11 points) and Katie Stoltzfus (10 points) all scored in double-digits, and PV made its 25-21 halftime lead stand up and eliminate A-C from the section race — and perhaps deal the Dutchmen a serious blow in their D3-3A playoff hopes. A-C started the day two spots out of the final bracket invite; the Dutchmen finish up Wednesday at Linden Hall. Ava Hoover scored 13 points for A-C on Monday. PV finishes up Wednesday at backyard rival Octorara, before the Braves play at the Section 2 champ in the league quarterfinals on Saturday.

Lancaster Country Day 39, Linden Hall 11 — The Cougars outscored the host Lions 23-7 over the middle two quarters, and then closed the game on a 10-0 clip to pick up the win. Sophia Sanchez drilled five 3-pointers and poured in 25 points and Bella Lewis chipped in with 10 points for Country Day, which started the week at No. 4 — and in — in the D3-2A playoff chase. Leni Brandhoff scored 4 points for the Lions. FYI: Sanchez is up to a league-best 56 treys.

NONLEAGUE

Lancaster Catholic 63, Eastern York 27 — The Section 3 champs took a bus spin over to Wrightsville, and picked up some more momentum heading into the playoffs. Mary Bolesky (17 points) and Lily Lehman (11 points) sparked the offense, and the Crusaders cruised to an early 20-5 lead, and opened up a commanding 42-17 lead at the half and never looked back. One more regular-season game to go for Catholic, and that’s Wednesday at home vs. Bishop Shanahan out of District 1. After that, the Crusaders will host the Section 1 runner-up in the league quarterfinals on Saturday.

Cedar Cliff 50, McCaskey 46 (OT) — The host Red Tornado had a shot to play spoiler against the D3-6A bubble Colts. But Cedar Cliff outscored McCaskey 6-2 in OT and won it. The Tornado trailed 23-15 at the break, but had a 23-point third-quarter outburst to grab a 38-36 lead. The Colts went 8-6 in the fourth to force OT. Cedar Cliff, the reigning D3-6A champ, is at No. 13 — and the first team out — in the 6A power ratings. Cedar Crest, which is at McCaskey on Tuesday, is currently the last team in at No. 12. Monday, Elaina Foley (three 3-pointers, season-high 19 points) and JoJo Mills (13 points) paced the Tornado in the scoring column.

Northeastern York 69, Donegal 43 — The host Indians welcomed the D3-6A No. 5 Bobcats to Mount Joy, and Northeastern jumped out to a 28-20 halftime cushion, and then had a 24-point third-quarter binge to drop Donegal. Mia Wissler scored 11 points for the Indians.

Lower Dauphin 47, Elco 34 — The Raiders were making one last-gasp effort for a D3-4A playoff bid, but came up short. The host Falcons used an 11-2 third-quarter spree to break open a close game, and hand Elco a critical loss in the playoff chase. The Raiders are at No. 13 in a 10-team bracket, and finish up Thursday at Donegal. Makenna Seifert scored 15 points and Kenzie Eckhart added 10 points against LD.

L-L LEAGUE GIRLS BASKETBALL STANDINGS, STATS, SCHEDULES

Also Monday, Columbia made it back-to-back Section 4 championships — and three straight section titles overall — with a win at Octorara. Here’s the story, plus a photo gallery …

TUESDAY’S GAMES

SECTION 1

Cedar Crest at McCaskey, 7:30 p.m.

Lebanon at Hempfield, 7:30 p.m. (LNP coverage)

Manheim Township at Penn Manor, 7:30 p.m.

SECTION 2

Conestoga Valley at Elizabethtown, 7:30 p.m.

Warwick at Ephrata, 7:30 p.m.

Solanco at Garden Spot, 7:30 p.m.

SECTION 3

Donegal at Cocalico, 7:30 p.m.

Lampeter-Strasburg at Northern Lebanon, 7:30 p.m.

* Lebanon clinches the outright Section 1 championship with a victory at Hempfield; the Cedars and Manheim Township will rep Section 1 in the league playoffs, starting Saturday. … Township needs a win at Penn Manor and for Hempfield to knock off Lebanon for a co-crown in Section 1. … Ephrata clinches no worse than a tie for the Section 2 championship with a victory over Warwick — which is a D3-5A bubble team, and needs a win to remain in that race. The Mountaineers and Manheim Central will rep Section 2 in the league playoffs, starting Saturday. … Cedar Crest could use a win at McCaskey to remain inside the D3-6A playoff bubble. It’s going to be close in the big-school category.

TWITTER-X: @JeffReinhart77

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