A couple of midstate girls’ basketball notables …
HARD-LUCK SHAMROCKS — So who is the best .500 team in District 3? You can make a heck of a case for Trinity.
The Shamrocks slipped to 8-8 on Wednesday, but not before taking Mid-Penn Keystone outright leader Mechanicsburg down to the wire before falling, 37-34.
Trinity’s first three games this season: York Catholic, West York and Berks Catholic, three teams with 10-plus wins that will all push for District 3 titles.
Coach Kristi Britten’s Shamrocks have gone to OT twice — and dropped both of those games: 53-49 to Mechanicsburg on Dec. 20 and 55-52 to Hershey on Jan. 14.
Trinity’s eight losses are by a combined 37 points; that’s it. That includes a 42-40 setback to reigning District 3-AAA champ Palmyra; a 30-27 setback to Lower Dauphin; and a 42-38 setback to York/Adams power Red Lion.
Trinity hit the week No. 13 in the District 3-AAA power rankings. Safe to say that if the Shamrocks make the bracket, nobody in these parts will be more battle-tested come playoff time.
WINNING — Mechanicsburg owns the longest current winning streak in the Mid-Penn; Wildcats upped their string to 11 in a row on Wednesday after rallying past Trinity late for a 37-34 victory.
Mechanicsburg’s last loss: Dec. 16 at Palmyra. Since that L, the Wildcats overtook the Cougars for sole possession of first place in the Keystone.
STREAK BUSTERS — Cumberland Valley snapped a skid on Wednesday. The Eagles toppled CD East 56-28 in a Mid-Penn Commonwealth contest, breaking a 7-game losing streak against the Panthers. That includes postseason games.
Make that six wins in a row for Cumberland Valley, the new No. 1 team in our PennLive girls’ basketball Class AAAA state rankings.
After a division date with Carlisle on Friday, Cumberland Valley welcomes Class AAAA No. 5 and WPIAL power Mt. Lebanon on Saturday for a much-anticipated nonleague battle royale.
RIPPING CORD — Five midstate players are working impressive shooting streaks. This group has multiple 3-pointers in multiple games in a row: East Pennsboro’s Sam Marino (9), Penn Manor’s Brittany Imel (6), CD East’s Michaela Gelbaugh (5), Red Land’s Rileigh Devine (4) and Hershey’s Bridget Kilgallen (3).
SPEAKING OF MARINO — East Pennsboro’s sniper splashed her 39th 3-pointer on Wednesday vs. Middletown, setting the program’s all-time single-season record.
ONE MORE TREY NOTE — Two midstate shooters went off on Wednesday: Juniata’s Victoria Varner splashed eight 3s and scored 32 points in a win over Millersburg, and Susquenita’s Amber Turpin drilled seven 3s and scored 25 points in a win over Milton Hershey.
POINT-GETTERS — Cocalico senior Marissa Gingrich scored 20 points on Wednesday in the Eagles’ 57-30 L-L Section 1-2 crossover win against Penn Manor, giving her 915 career points.
She joined Lancaster Catholic’s Danielle Atkinson (940), Columbia’s Megan Seibert (921) and Elco’s Cheyenne Hassler (900) in the 900-point club.
Trinity’s Briana Betz-White is sitting on 899 points after scoring 15 on Wednesday at Mechanicsburg.
L-L LEAGUE GIRLS' BASKETBALL 1,000-POINT LIST
MILESTONES — Lancaster Catholic coach Lamar Kauffman recently joined the 750-win club; he’s 752-180 in his 32nd season as the Crusaders’ coach. And Lebanon Catholic coach Patti Hower, in her 36th season on the Beavers' bench, needs two more wins for 650. She’s going at it with six varsity players this season.
DOPPLER RADAR — Seems like we’ve spent more time watching weather forecasts than actual basketball games here lately. Hate to be the bearer of bad news gang, but there’s more snow due Thursday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
I pity athletic directors these days, trying to get all these games rescheduled. Good luck with that. Unfortunately, methinks more snow days are coming.