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No Katelyn Vanderhoff?
No problem — so far — for Lancaster Mennonite.
The reigning Lancaster-Lebanon League girls' champs are off to a rip-roaring 3-0 start — without Vanderhoff, the reigning L-L League Player of the Year, who is the starting point guard — as a true freshman — for the University of Maine.
The Blazers improved to 3-0 on Monday night after easing past Ephrata 41-22 in a non-league at Lancaster Mennonite. The Blazers jumped out to a 17-6 lead after the first quarter, held Ephrata to 1 point in the third quarter, and won going away.
Senior forward Erin LaVenice scored a game-high 16 points, plucked seven rebounds and blocked two shots, and senior sniper Steph Rheinheimer scored 9 of her 15 points in the first quarter for Lancaster Mennonite, which, for the third game in a row, turned up the defensive pressure.
In fact, the 22 points Ephrata scored Monday night were the most points Lancaster Mennonite has allowed in three games so far this season.
The Blazers beat Exeter 60-21 and Hamburg 43-12 in the Hamburg Tip-Off Tournament before holding the Mountaineers (0-3) to just 22 points on Monday night. In three games, Lancaster Mennonite is allowing just 18.3 points per game.
"I think we're doing pretty well at the start here — but we have some things we need to keep working on," LaVenice said. "One of our strong points has been our defense — we work a lot on defense on the floor."
Sarah Shearer came off the bench to score a team-high 11 points for Ephrata, the reigning L-L League Section 2 champ.
The Mounts had lost to Schuylkill Valley (49-35) and Owen J. Roberts (54-49) in the Daniel Boone Tip-Off Tournament last weekend — and have now dropped their first three games in a row after winning the section crown, reaching the league semifinals and the District 3 playoffs last season.
In fact, this was a rematch of an L-L League semifinal game last season. Lancaster Mennonite won that game 62-30 on the way to winning its first league championship with a victory over Manheim Township.
Lancaster Mennonite returned just two starters from that team — LaVenice and Rheinheimer. The three new starters are a pair of key reserves from last season — Jess Rheinheimer and Val Heisey — and Lampeter-Strasburg transfer Katie Andrews.
"When you look at our team, we don't have a lot of kids who have played major varsity minutes," Lancaster Mennonite coach Sherri Gorman said. "We have some, but we lost some people. But I'm excited about our kids. I think we have a lot of potential. It just might take a little time."
So far so good for the Blazers, who open L-L League play with crossover game against Manheim Central on Thursday in Manheim. That game was bumped up a day because the Barons' football team will play in the PIAA Triple-A state championship game Friday night in Hersheypark Stadium against Selinsgrove.
"Our kids get along so well on and off the court, and that's something we always strive for," Gorman said. "And they're already meshing so well. Now it's a matter of getting our timing and execution down on the court."
NOTABLE: Jess Rheinheimer grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds for Lancaster Mennonite — five in the fourth quarter, when Ephrata closed the game on an 11-6 run after trailing 35-11 through three quarters. … Ephrata senior forward Ali Weaver hit her head on the floor during a scrum for a loose ball with 7:12 to play in the fourth quarter. She left the game and did not return. … Ephrata had more turnovers (26) than points (22). … Lancaster Mennonite turned the ball over 15 times. … The Blazers out-rebounded the Mounts 33-30; Weaver had a team-high six boards before exiting with the head injury. … Ephrata hosts backyard rival Cocalico in a non-league game on Wednesday.
Also Monday night …
McCaskey 47, Wilson 43
In West Lawn, Porscha Hunter scored a career-high 14 points, T'Onna Johnson chipped in with 13 points, and the Red Tornado closed the game on a 20-11 run and knocked off the reigning District 3 Quad-A runners-up on their home floor.
McCaskey trailed 32-24 heading into the fourth quarter before rallying, and evening their record at 1-1 this season; the Tornado fell to West York 69-34 in a non-league game last Friday.
Hempfield 55, Columbia 10
Elle Larsen scored 12 points to pace a balanced attack for the Black Knights, who led 28-0 at the half on the way to a 45-point win over the Crimson Tide in Columbia.
Hempfield won via blowout for the second game in a row; the Knights rolled over reigning state Triple-A runner-up Lampeter-Strasburg 57-27 last Friday, and Hempfield is now 2-0 and has outscored its opposition 112-37.
Thus ends what was supposed to be the Columbia Tip-Off Tournament, which was shelved when Central Dauphin East backed out late. Hempfield, L-S and host Columbia played two games each, with no trophy up for grabs.
Columbia dropped to 0-2.
Pequea Valley 52, Lancaster Country Day 50
Amber Stoltzfus pumped in a career-high 28 points for the Braves, who withstood LCD and improved to 2-1 overall.
Marissa Ferris, who scored 36 points in Pequea Valley's first two games, was held to 9 points. But she drilled her league-leading ninth 3-pointer in the Braves' win.
Elizabethtown 63, Mount Calvary 5
Sarah Fairbanks and Samantha Sallade scored 12 points apiece, and the host Bears opened the game on a 33-0 spree, led 49-3 at the half and cruised past Mount Calvary, which scored all 5 of its points in the middle two quarters.
It was the season opener for E-town, which held Mount Calvary to two field goals and a free throw.
Sports writer Jeffrey Reinhart can be reached at jreinhart@LNPnews.com or 291-8777.
