When can a team lose the reigning section player of the year to graduation and still be the favorite to win the championship?
When that team is Lampeter-Strasburg.
The Pioneers, who went 15-1 in league games and ran away with the Section 3 title last winter, lost 1,300-point scorer Lexie Lantz to graduation.
But coach Tony Fink, back for his second season in the saddle, returns four starters — plus his top reserve from last season — making L-S a big favorite to repeat as Section 3 champ.
The Pioneers’ lone league loss last season was to Lancaster Catholic in a Section 3-4 crossover game. The Crusaders picked off L-S a second time, 49-37, in the L-L championship game.
Fink and his crew begin their climb back to repeating as section champs with plenty of familiar faces in the line-up, like athletic point guard Krista Mellinger, 3-point ace Taylor Lininger, rebounder and low-post threat Bailey Corbin, and wily vet Bella Miranda.
Tack on last year’s sixth-man, Tori Schultz, who will help out Corbin in the paint, and L-S has weapons galore — maybe even enough weapons to make a return trip to the league finale. Stay tuned.
So who will chase them?
Elco was the runner-up last winter, capturing second place on the last night of the league play when Northern Lebanon was tripped up, giving the tiebreaker to the Raiders, who return one of the top players in the L-L, sharpshooter Cheyenne Hassler.
Speaking of Northern Lebanon, coach Ken Battistelli’s Vikings suffered some major graduation hits and will have a new look about them when the basketball goes up Friday night.
Sleepers?
How about Manheim Central. Coach Dan Cotchen begins his second season on the Barons’ bench, and Sarah Painter, a first-team all-star last winter, returns.
And Garden Spot, where coach Kevin Gensemer is keeping his fingers crossed for an injury-free campaign. If the Spartans can stay healthy, they’ll push.
L-L LEAGUE GIRLS' BASKETBALL 1,000-POINT LIST
Here’s a look at all the Section 3 combatants, in predicted order of finish.
Lampeter-Strasburg Pioneers
District 3-AAAA
Coach: Tony Fink (2nd season; 23-5).
Last season: 15-1 L-L; 23-5 overall (lost to Lancaster Catholic 49-37 in L-L championship game; lost to eventual champ Wilson 55-34 in District 3-AAAA quarterfinals; lost to Hershey 57-35 in District 3-AAAA seventh-place game).
Goodbye: G Ashley Braungard (1.3), F Lexie Lantz (15.4; PennLive Section 3 Player of the Year; PennLive first-team Section 3 all-star).
Hello: F Hunter Bradley (0.6), F Bailey Corbin (7.8; PennLive first-team Section 3 all-star), G Taylor Lininger (6.5, 31 3s; PennLive second-team Section 3 all-star), G-F Haley Maser (1.8, 6 3s), G Krista Mellinger (6.9; PennLive first-team Section 3 all-star), G Bella Miranda (5.0, 11 3s), F Tori Schultz (4.6).
Putbacks: Wow. Plenty to like in Lampeter, where the Pioneers, fresh off a Section 3 title, return four starters — Corbin, Lininger, Mellinger, Miranda — from last season, when L-S opened up 14-0 and went to the league finale. … Corbin is terrific in the post, where she’ll be joined by newbie starter Schultz, last year’s first sub and paint threat. … Backcourt is in the super-experienced hands of Mellinger, the athletic point, Lininger, a 3-point sniper, and Miranda, a 2-year starter and wing threat. … Lantz took 1,300 career points with her to Lebanon Valley College. … Pioneers’ JV team was undefeated last season, so there should be plenty of optimism for another deep run this winter; L-S missed out on a PIAA bid by falling in the district seventh-place game — that should also provide plenty of motivation once March rolls around. … Fink is the reigning PennLive Section 3 Coach of the Year.
Opener: Dec. 6 vs. neighbor Conestoga Valley in a nonleague game, pitting West Lampeter (L-S) against East Lampeter (CV).
Elco Raiders
District 3-AAA
Coach: Ashli Shay (4th season; 30-39).
Last season: 11-5 L-L; 15-10 overall (lost to eventual champ Lancaster Catholic 53-32 in L-L semifinals; lost to Gettysburg 46-37 in District 3-AAA first-round game).
Goodbye: G Halie Parker (6.7; PennLive second-team Section 3 all-star), F Celeste Shimp (2.3), G-F Kady Yoders (8.6 before missing final 8 games with ACL knee injury).
Hello: G Cheyenne Hassler (15.6, 55 3s; PennLive first-team Section 3 all-star), G Sydnie Parker (4.8), F Victoria Sweatlock (7.8; PennLive second-team Section 3 all-star).
Putbacks: Elco was firmly back in the league hunt last winter and should once again be a prime contender to challenge Lampeter-Strasburg for the Section 3 title, especially with Hassler back in tow. She led the L-L with 55 treys last winter and she’s deadly from the arc and in transition. … Parker is a sparkplug in the backcourt, and Sweatlock is one of the top paint threats in the section. But that trio is going to need help. If Shay finds the newbies to get the job done, the Raiders will be right there — one year after going to the L-L Final Four.
Opener: Dec. 7 at Conestoga Valley in a nonleague battle.
Garden Spot Spartans
District 3-AAAA
Coach: Kevin Gensemer (7th season; 55-75).
Last season: 7-9 L-L; 9-12 overall.
Goodbye: Molly Ammons (2.8), Alison Smith (2.0).
Hello: G Ellie Fisher (2.0), F Hailey Fricke (9.7, 3 3s; PennLive third-team Section 3 all-star), F Alex Kohl-Henry (3.3), F Holly Schnader (7.0), G Kate Snader (6.1), G Brandi Styer (9.4, 10 3s).
Putbacks: Everyone on the ‘hello’ list is a senior, so the Spartans have plenty of leadership and experience. They’ve also dealt with injuries perhaps more than anyone else in the L-L the last couple of seasons. And Gensemer said he already has some walking wounded before the season tips. … Styer makes Garden Spot go out front and Schnader can do damage in the post. If the Spartans can (gulp) stay healthy, they have the goods to push their way into the lead pack. Don’t sleep on Garden Spot.
Opener: Dec. 6 vs. Governor Mifflin in the first round of Berks Catholic’s tip-off tournament. L-L neighbor Warwick plays the Saints in the other opener.
Manheim Central Barons
District 3-AAAA
Coach: Dan Cotchen (2nd season; 7-15).
Last season: 5-11 L-L; 7-15 overall.
Goodbye: F Logan Newcomer (6.3), G Caroline Novak (7.7, 22 3s), G Kristen Robeson (3.5, 8 3s).
Hello: F Kelli Barber (1.8), G Olivia Novak (6.0), G Sarah Painter (11.2, 9 3s; PennLive Section 3 Newcomer of the Year; PennLive first-team Section 3 all-star), G Lauree Wiegand (3.5).
Putbacks: Barons lost some perimeter firepower and chops with the departure of Caroline Novak. But little sis Olivia returns to spearhead that group. … And more good news for Manheim Central: Painter, fresh off a breakout junior campaign, is back to roam the wing. She averaged 14.7 points in her final 10 games last season, so she’ll have everyone’s attention this time around. … Year 2 for Cotchen on the Barons’ bench; lets see if Manheim Central has a playoff push in it this winter.
Opener: Dec. 6 vs. L-L foe Ephrata in the first round of Fleetwood’s tip-off tournament.
Northern Lebanon Vikings
District 3-AAA
Coach: Ken Battistelli (7th season; 71-66).
Last season: 11-5 L-L; 14-9 overall (lost to Lancaster Catholic 79-37 in first round of District 3-AAA playoffs).
Goodbye: Emily Brandt (9.9, 8 3s before missing final 7 games with ACL knee injury; PennLive third-team Section 3 all-star), Morgan Hollis (5.0, 32 3s; PennLive third-team Section 3 all-star), Kristen Lessing (9.1; PennLive second-team Section 3 all-star), Mariah LiBrandi (9.4, 14 3s; PennLive third-team Section 3 all-star), Taylor Smith (9.0; PennLive second-team Section 3 all-star).
Hello: Ashley Lessing (1.0), Morgan Phillips (3.4 before missing final 7 games with knee injury), Hannah Reese, Marissa Yingst (0.8).
Putbacks: Which Section 3 team was hit hardest by graduation losses? Northern Lebanon — by a mile. The Vikings lost some major weapons, starting with Brandt, who had a terrific ride before seeing her senior season ripped short with a knee injury. Her backcourt running mates, Hollis, LiBrandi and Smith, also departed, as well as Northern Lebanon’s rock in the lane, Lessing. Safe to say things will look a tad different in Fredericksburg this winter. … Phillips has the most experience of any of the returnees, but she’s coming off a knee injury. … Lost to Lampeter-Strasburg on the last night of league play to get bumped out of the L-L playoffs; Elco got in on the tiebreaker. We’ll see if that motivates the new-look Vikings this season.
Opener: Dec. 6 vs. reigning District 3-AAA champ Palmyra in the first round of Northern Lebanon’s tip-off tournament. The Vikings will certainly see what they have right out of the chute; Palmyra is loaded.
Donegal Indians
District 3-AAA
Coach: Chadd Ward (4th season; 6-56).
Last season: 2-14 L-L; 5-15 overall.
Goodbye: G Claudia Montealegre (0.3), G Melanie Pritt (1.5, 5 3s).
Hello: F Meghan Diffenderfer (1.4), G Olivia Musser (1.4), F Kristen Stark (6.3), G Kayla Walker (4.8), G Taylor Yost (8.1, 13 3s; PennLive third-team Section 3 all-star), F Rebecca Yunginger (5.0, 2 3s).
Putbacks: Indians continuing to chip away after a couple of tough seasons; five wins last year should kick-start this group and give them some good mojo at the outset. … Keep an eye on Yost; she can shoot it from the arc and should keep defenses honest — opening up some scoring lanes, perhaps, for the trio of Stark, Walker and Yunginger, who all have ample varsity time under their belts. … Could be tough to break into the lead pack in Section 3, but Donegal should keep everyone honest — while building more stability in the program.
Opener: Dec. 13 vs. Lancaster Catholic in an L-L Section 3-4 crossover tilt. Odd that the Indians don’t play before then; they only have 20 regular-season games scheduled out of 22 max dates, including two games in Pine Grove’s holiday tournament.