Lebanon girls pull away late to down Cedar Crest in front of packed house
The best rivalry games are the ones played with high emotions, high intensity and with importance.
The first of two games between the Lebanon and Cedar Crest girls' basketball teams Friday featured all of that and more as the Cedars broke away late for a 53-41 victory over the Falcons.
The game featured six lead changes and was tied early in the fourth quarter at 41-41 after a Suzie Hoffman 3-pointer from the right wing. But Lebanon (9-2 overall, 2-1 in L-L Section 1) scored the final 12 points to pull away and sink Cedar Crest (10-4 overall, 1-2 in L-L Section 1).
"I was proud of their effort," Lebanon head coach Jamie Walborn said. "One of the things we talked about at halftime was that we were gambling too much. I think the moment kinda got to us. A big game, rivals, a packed gym. We talked about just playing solid defense. ... We just needed stops."
The Cedars got plenty of stops, one of the biggest came while holding a 48-41 lead late with the Falcons in the midst of a minute-long possession. Lebanon's defense continuously swarmed, which led to no shots and eventually a jump ball that went in the Cedars direction.
"Up until the last few minutes we were toe to toe with them," Cedar Crest coach Ashli Shay said. "I'm really proud of our effort tonight. We showed up to play, we definitely showed up to play, and I think we surprised some people."
Kailah Correa was brilliant for Lebanon, pouring in a game-high 27 points. Liliana Harrison chipped in with 10 points after sitting the final six-plus minutes of the first quarter after picking up two fouls quickly. For Cedar Crest, 6-foot-3 sophomore Kaila Francis scored 16 points, including a pair of 3-point shots, and Hoffman chipped in with eight points, including a pair of 3-pointers.
The Cedars built several leads throughout the game, their largest before the closing spurt was five, which they had on three separate occasions and four on three other occasions. Each time the Falcons had an answer and either fought back to tie it, take the lead (25-23 late second) or pull within one.
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What it means
The win keeps Lebanon just a half-game behind Hempfield for the Section 1 lead while Cedar Crest fell two games off the pace.
Key play
With the Cedars holding a trim four-point lead with just over 4 minutes to play, a Correa steal followed up by a layup and a foul at the other end gave the visitors their largest lead of the night at seven.
By the numbers
Lebanon's defensive intensity was evidenced by their nine steals and seven blocked shots. The Falcons, meanwhile, were opportunistic from 3-point range, hitting seven of 12 shots from behind the arc.
Unsung heroes
Cedars junior Zariyah Whigham is a spark plug for the Cedars, bringing a quiet intensity to both ends of the floor. Whigham packs the box score on a nightly basis and this one was no different as she finished with six points, four rebounds, two assists, two steals and four blocked shots.
They said it
"This crowd was amazing. Every kid should be able to experience something like this. A crowd this size, this loud, this passionate, this into it." - Shay.
What's next
Both teams are back in action on Tuesday with Lebanon traveling to Penn Manor and Cedar Crest hosting Manheim Township.
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Lebanon basketball's Kailah Correa scores 27 points vs. Cedar Crest
