Of the four L-L League girls’ basketball section races, Section 3 — by far — had the best finish this past season.
Donegal, Elco and Lampeter-Strasburg all went into the last night of league play tied for first place.
L-S played at Northern Lebanon while Donegal hosted Elco.
While most folks were keeping Friday night open for a 1-game playoff or, at the very least, scrambling for L-L League tiebreaker criteria, the section amazingly played out that night.
It all started in Fredericksburg, where Northern Lebanon got the ball rolling, springing the upset with a win over the shell-shocked Pioneers.
Meanwhile, in Mount Joy, Donegal’s Kristen Stark drove the right basketball and kissed in a runner to give the Indians the lead with 11 seconds to go, and when Donegal survived late misses by Elco’s Cheyenne Hassler and Victoria Sweatlock, the Indians won the outright Section 3 title.
L-S, which won the tiebreaker with Elco, finished second.
The Raiders, who started the night in first place, ended up third — and out of the L-L playoffs.
Plenty of kids from all three of those teams are represented in our Section 3 all-star picks, which includes a first team, second team, honorable mention selection and three individual awards: MVP, top coaching performance and top newcomer.
SECTION 3 ALL-STARS
FIRST TEAM
Bailey Corbin, senior F, Lampeter-Strasburg — Supplied the muscle and boarding skills for the Pioneers, while popping in 9.7 points as a four-year warrior contributor to the program.
Cheyenne Hassler, senior G, Elco — Raiders’ sharpshooter capped her career in style, averaging 13.0 points with an eye-popping, net-ripping 52 3s. Hassler departs the program with 1,030 career points.
Sarah Painter, senior G, Manheim Central — Picked up right where she left off after breakout junior season, bucketing 16.0 points and canning 31 3’s for the Barons, who tried playing spoilers down the stretch. Underrated, all-around solid player who never got enough pub.
Tori Schultz, junior F, Lampeter-Strasburg — Deft baseliner and glass-crasher paced the Pioneers with 12.8 points per night.
Vitoria Sweatlock, senior F, Elco — While Hassler was taking aim from the arch, Sweatlock did a ton of board work while chipping in 11.7 points for the snake-bit Raiders.
SECOND TEAM
Olivia Musser, sophomore G, Donegal — Scrappy 2-guard excelled on D and in the Indians’ transition game, pitching in with 4.9 points for the section champs.
Rachel Robinson, freshman G, Donegal — Known more — for now — for her field hockey prowess, Robinson had an incredible frosh season, coming off the bench to score a team-best 11.5 points per. She’s got major game.
Holly Schnader, senior F, Garden Spot — Spartans’ post threat scored at a 9.8 clip and helped Garden Spot remain in the thick of the chase right down to the final week.
Kayla Walker, sophomore G, Donegal — Super speedy floor general ignites Indians’ potent transition game; added 7.3 points a night to the balanced mix.
Rebecca Yunginger, senior F, Donegal — Not many seniors on this Indians’ squad — her and Taylor Yost, who missed the second half of the season with a knee injury — so you know Yunginger, a crasher and defensive specialist who netted 6.3 points a game, absolutely, positively loved Donegal’s crazy ride to the section crown.
HONORABLE MENTION
Hailey Fricke, senior F, Garden Spot — After missing the first 10 games this season because of a broken hand, Fricke made up for lost time by scoring 11.1 points in 12 games. She was instant offense for the Spartans.
Sydnie Parker, senior G, Elco — Raiders’ combo guard can handle and play off the ball. Popped in 7.0 points while helping out Hassler and Sweatlock in the scoring department.
Kristen Stark, junior F, Donegal — Everything she does — including going to the rim, which she does quite often — she goes 110 percent. Scored at a 7.0 clip for the section champs, and her bank shot with time running out vs. Elco will live on for a long, long time in Mount Joy.
Brandi Styer, senior G, Garden Spot — Steered the Spartans’ ship while chipping in with 6.5 points. Garden Spot was in the thick of the chase, with Styer showing the way.
Zoe Zerman, freshman F, Northern Lebanon — An odd season for the Vikings — including a forfeit loss for using an ineligible player — but Zerman (10.8) making a big splash as a frosh, plus the season-ending win over Lampeter-Strasburg, gives Northern Lebanon something to look forward to.
SECTION 3 MVP
Cheyenne Hassler, Elco — She helped the Raiders into the 3-way tie on the last night of league play, stretched everyone’s defense with her range from the perimeter, and exited the program as a 1,000-point scorer. Nice run for Hassler in Myerstown.
SECTION 3 TOP COACHING PERFORMANCE
Chadd Ward, Donegal — Did we mention the Indians’ championship was Donegal’s first section title since 1990? Ward was the runaway winner here.
SECTION 3 TOP NEWCOMER
Rachel Robinson, Donegal — She’s going to be beaucoup fun to watch for the next three seasons. Enjoy, Mount Joy.