RECAP
Danielle Atkinson pumped in 14 of her game-high 22 points in the first quarter, Erin Holt splashed four 3-pointers, and host Lancaster Catholic feasted on 30 turnovers on Wednesday night in the Crusaders’ 66-38 win over Susquenita in a District 3-AAA playoff game in Lancaster.
It was Susquenita’s final game as a member of the Mid-Penn Conference; the Blackhawks are off to the Tri-Valley League at the start of the next school year.
UP NEXT
Lancaster Catholic, the L-L Section 4 champ and No. 6 seed, will take on Mid-Penn Colonial champ Greencastle-Antrim, the No. 3 seed, which improved to 22-1 Wednesday night with a 61-35 win over Colonial neighbor Gettysburg — which also played its final game as a member of the Mid-Penn; the Warriors are off to join the York/Adams League at the start of the next school year.
KEY SEQUENCE
Lancaster Catholic got off to a blistering start, zooming to a 25-11 lead in the first quarter when the Crusaders forced seven turnovers and Atkinson, Holt and Emily Colon made shots.
Atkinson drilled a pair of 3s, Holt hit a pair of 3s and Colon coaxed in a 3 as Lancaster Catholic set the tone early.
INSIDE THE GAME
Susquenita upped its defense presence in the second quarter, as Lancaster Catholic couldn’t buy a bucket. The Crusaders didn’t score in the quarter until Atkinson’s bucket with 3:36 to go in the first half.
Despite the funk, Lancaster Catholic led 37-19 at the half.
A 19-10 third-quarter run — keyed by two more buckets from Atkinson, two paint hoops from Hannah Knowlton and 3s by Holt and Colon — gave the Crusaders a commanding 56-29 lead heading into the fourth.
WHAT AN EFFORT
Susquenita point guard Vanessa Hoffman, out since late January while battling a case of pneumonia, returned to the lineup for the Blackhawks.
It’s never an easy chore dealing with Lancaster Catholic’s press, but Hoffman really hung in there. Coach Shannon Dyer watched Hoffman’s minutes, and gave her quick rests throughout the game.
Hoffman scored a team-high 12 points for Susquenita, including 8-of-10 free throws.
NUMBERS CRUNCHER
Lancaster Catholic out-rebounded Susquenita 33-28; Colon yanked down a team-high 6 boards for the Crusaders, while Miranda Hoover had a game-high 7 rebounds for the Blackhawks. … Lancaster Catholic turned the ball over just 9 times. … Holt had 14 points and Colon chipped in with 12 points for Lancaster Catholic, which has won 23 of its last 24 games.
QUOTABLE
Lancaster Catholic’s Erin Holt wraps up the win — “We wanted to come out early and put the clamps on and then continue that the rest of the game, and I thought we did that. We were getting a lot of steals and we were getting our traps — maybe not as many traps as we could have, but we had a decent amount. … We came into this game with the mindset that we had to play our A-plus game. We’re really happy with how we played.”
Lancaster Catholic coach Lamar Kauffman — “I’m really pleased with how this group has come together. Really pleased. I mean, we don’t have a lot of outstanding talent, but the kids play so well together.”
Susquenita coach Shannon Dyer on moving forward and looking ahead to joining the Tri-Valley League — “This was a good thing for our school getting to play in a big game like this. We need this for our school; to keep building a winning program and keeping things going. This was a good step for our kids to play in a game like this and hopefully we can try and find our way back. … The East Penns, the West Perrys, the Camp Hills, it’s sad that we won’t be playing those schools. It’s going to be weird for us going to unfamiliar league. It will be a new thing and we’ll miss the Mid-Penn.”