Following two straight losses, hosting a holiday tournament proved to be the cure for what had been ailing Lower Dauphin.
The Falcons punched their ticket to the title game by routing Carlisle 64-34 in Thursday nights second semifinal.
"We lost our last two games, which is a really big deal," point guard Taryn Messick said. "We had a team meeting before the game. Our only senior Hunter Bracale gives us a lot of pep talks. Today we really talked about how we needed to win this game."
After a tight opening frame, Lower Dauphin ran over the Herd with a 24-9 second quarter to open up an 18-point halftime lead. LD ended the period on an 18-3 run in the final 5:30. The Falcons forced five turnovers during the surge.
Messick led the offensive outburst with eight of her 16 points coming in the second quarter.
"We moved really hard and we had to keep our head up. A lot was back cuts and whatever I saw, my teammates also saw. I just through them the ball and they were right their to put it in," she explained.
Fellow junior Maggie Mostoller chipped in with eight points off the bench while Bracale and Stacy Roman picked up seven.
"We had some pretty good practices lately and I thought our execution was better. When you make shots its a lot simpler offensively," Falcon coach Bob Heusser said.
The home teams blowout win was the second such victory of the day. In the opening semifinal CD East routed Greencastle-Antrim 65-44.
The Panthers win also came on the strength of a monster second quarter. Behind 12 points from CaLee Gelbaugh, CD East outscored the Blue Devils 26-13 in the quarter. Gelbaugh finished with 17 on the night to lead all scorers.
"I just found open spots and my teammates gave me the ball. We started pressuring them and we got turnovers," she said.
The Gelbaugh-led push came on the heels of a sloppy first quarter. The Panthers looked sluggish, much to the chagrin of bench boss Charlie Harvey who pulled all five starters late in the first quarter.
"The second group wanted to play and they did much better than the first group," he said. "I told the first group when they went in in the second quarter that if they played like that the next two minutes they were going to be back on the sideline."
Alaysia Khan led a number of productive reserves with ten points, while starter Brittany Robinson tallied 12.
The Panthers will lock horns with Lower Dauphin at 7:30 this evening for the championship.
Annville: Malia Tate-DeFreitas racked up 39 points and 10 boards to lead Steel-High to a 67-46 victory over Northern Lebanon. The girls of Annville-Cleona also advanced to the championship after downing Halifax 49-39. The Little Dutchmen were led by Alex Siebecker with 18 and Elaina Wanamaker with 13.
Bermudian Springs: Boiling Springs built a 21-point lead after three quarters and held on to beat the hosts 40-34 and advance to todays final. Shannon Piccolo led the winners with eight points; Shannon Kuhn had 15 in a losing cause. ... Addie Guyer scored 15 and Leah Springer added 10 as Camp Hill beat Greenwood 49-36.
East Juniata: Juniata ran over Midd-West 55-26 to book a date with East Juniata in the title game. Victoria Varner led the Indians with 21 while Joelle Winney scored 16 points.
Eastern York: A 21-point first quarter led Eastern York to a 51-35 win over Cedar Crest. Elizabeth Myers scored 20 in the win while Rachel Miller was the lone Falcon in double-digits with ten points. Eastern York will take on Susquehannock in the championship.
Hanover: Red Land routed Bible Baptist on the road Thursday 71-20. The Patriots were led by Riley Devine with 16 and Danielle June with 12. They are set to face Hanover, who bested York County Day 49-24, Friday in the tournaments championship game.
Hershey: Cami Bohner fired in 28 points, 12 of which came from beyond the arc, to lead Gettysburg to a 61-32 win over Middletown. Arianna Camel (12) and Caitlin Wood (10) also hit double figures in the victory...Libby Nolan scored 13 of her 15 points in the first half, to lead Hershey into the title game with a 62-36 win over Penn Manor. Victoria Blackburn led all scorers with 19 points and Emily Bruggemeir (10) also hit double figures for the Trojans.
Lebanon: Alicia Haitos socred 12 while Maddi Rakow put up 11 to lead Lebanon to an easy 55-32 win over Twin Valley. They will take on Elco in the title game, who downed Lebanon Catholic 53-36. Cheyenne Hassler led the way with 20 points.
West Chester: Tanner Turner-Rush's ten points werent enough for Susquehanna Twp. as they dropped a tough 49-48 decision to Philadelphia Central...Bishop McDevitt fell in the second semifinal 54-38 at the hands of Abington Heights. Chanel Brooks and Sierra DaCosta each had 12 in the loss.
WQLV 98.9: McKenzie Miller scored 12 points and swiped five steals in Upper Dauphins 48-32 win over Lincon Leadership Academy. Taylor Brown led the Trojan offense to the championship with 13 points...Millersburg punched their ticket into the title game with a 43-36 win over Williams Valley. Kayla Snyder fueled the offense with 11 points while Carly Ziegler controlled the glass with ten boards.
Other: Central Dauphin rolled over Northampton 59-34 behind Shatara Parsons (15) and Jayneisha Davis (13)...Powered by Carly Richardsons 23 points, Palmyra cruised past Manheim Central 63-19.