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COACH: Brian Rife (3rd season; 26-24 overall).
ASSISTANT COACHES: Mindi Bell, Scott Young.
LAST SEASON: 10-6 Section 1, 14-12 overall; Lost to Lancaster Mennonite 43-42 in an L-L League semifinal game; lost to Wilson 42-25 in a District 3 AAAA first-round game).
KEY PLAYERS LOST TO GRADUATION: Taylor Denlinger (4.9 points per game, 17 3-pointers), Kaitlin Lefever (7.0), Brianna Neal (10.3, 35 3-pointers), Lexi Scott (4.2, 8 3-pointers), Lauren Trower (3.2).
KEY PLAYERS RETURNING: G Danielle Bland (So., 0.7), F Becky Danz (Sr., 1.0, 5 3-pointers), F Blair Duscha (Jr.), G Hailey Eager (Jr., 0.3), G Anne Gallagher (Jr.), G Annie Hartman (Sr., 0.8, 2 3-pointers), G Sarah Helgeson (Jr., 3.8), G Hannah Kelly (Sr., 5.3, 7 3-pointers; missed final 13 games with concussion injury), G Courtney Nixdorf (So.), G Nikki Rhoads (So.), F Alecia Rohrer (So., 0.9).
PROBABLE STARTERS
G - Hannah Kelly
G - Sarah Helgeson
G - Nikki Rhoads
F - Becky Danz
F - Alecia Rohrer
STRENGTHS: Team defense and depth.
WEAKNESSES: Lack of varsity experience and, according to Coach Rife, rebounding and post play.
QUOTABLE: Brian Rife - “With our lack of experience it’ll be interesting to see how we develop as the season progresses. Hopefully we’ll be much better in late January than we are in December. … Lancaster Catholic and Manheim Township are the league’s two clear front-runners. After that I think things are pretty wide open.”
NOTABLE: Knights lost a pretty solid crop of seniors from last winter - a solid crop of seniors that helped Hempfield win six of seven games down the stretch and clinch second place in Section 1 - and the league playoff spot that came with it. Knights stayed hot in the postseason, winning a league quarterfinal and a District 3 prelim game. Not bad for a team that was 5-8 on January 13. … This group will benefit from the return of Hannah Kelly, a floor general and catalyst, who missed the last 13 games last season because of a concussion. She’ll steady the ship. … Burner Sarah Helgeson - you might know her from her track prowess - can score from the wing and penetrate and dish. And she, like all the Knights, will play lockdown D. That’s Hempfield’s calling card. Knights have always truly believed that if they score 40 points first, they‘re going to win. That won‘t change this winter. … New starters Nikki Rhoads, Becky Danz and Alecia Rohrer have limited varsity time, likewise for Annie Hartman, who will be a key sub. There will be some kids learning on the fly here.
REINHART SAYS: Despite some big losses to graduation - check the stats above; Hempfield lost some firepower - the cupboard is hardly bare in Landisville. And since the Knights are always so committed to defense, they’re always a threat. Probably not quite enough ammo to challenge Manheim Township for the top spot. But I fully expect Hempfield to be right there battling for the second spot come the first week of February.
JEFF REINHART: jreinhart@pnco.com
ON TWITTER: @JeffReinhartPN