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The Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 3 race is tied.
Down by two games in the standings two different times this season, Elco came all the way back and forced a tie for the top spot Monday, knocking off Manheim Central 40-29 to join the Barons atop the Section 3 race with two games to go.
And when those games will be played is anyone's best guess, with another snowstorm approaching the area Tuesday afternoon.
Kala Yoders scored 15 points and Taylor Shaak had 14 points for Elco, which is now deadlocked with Manheim Central with identical 10-4 league marks.
The Barons beat the Raiders 55-41 on Jan. 13 in Manheim.
Elco returned the favor Monday in Myerstown, knotting up the race with two games to go — and another snowstorm approaching.
"We were buried a month ago," Elco coach Dave Meyer said. "We were working our way through some internal issues with the team and boy, they're really enjoying themselves now.
"You hate to call it a must-win game in high school, but this was pretty much a must-win game for us — no two ways about it."
Manheim Central (13-7 overall) would have clinched at least a tie for the section championship with a win.
Instead, Elco (12-8 overall) outscored the Barons 25-15 in the second half Monday and forced a tie for first place.
Northern Lebanon, which topped Donegal 43-30 Monday, is 8-6 in league games and is mathematically alive.
Tuesday's slate — weather permitting — features Elco at Donegal, Manheim Central at home against Cocalico and Northern Lebanon at Lampeter-Strasburg
And in Wednesday's regular-season finales, Elco is at Northern Lebanon and Manheim Central hosts Lampeter-Strasburg.
With more snow in the immediate forecast, those games could get pushed back even further in the week.
And should the Barons and the Raiders be tied after those two games, they'd have to play a one-game playoff to decide the section champ.
There was talk after Monday's game that if another snowstorm pushes the final two games back too far in the week, co-champs could — could — be declared in any of the section races.
The L-L League playoffs are set to start next Monday night.
A couple of Tuesday's games have already been pushed up to a 4 p.m. tip. If game officials can get to gyms on time, that could be an option for a lot of Tuesday's games.
Stay tuned.
"It's going to be a nightmare no matter how you look at it," Meyer said. "I doubt anybody will play Wednesday, and we might not play Thursday, either. There is talk of declaring co-champs if we're tied to avoid a one-game playoff."
Manheim Central coach Jason Coletti, whose Barons were in sole possession of first place since Day 1 before Elco tied them Monday, hopes the race is settled on the court.
"Co-champs is like kissing your sister, and we don't want that," Coletti said, smiling. "Personally, I'd rather play it off than have co-champs. Our girls worked so hard … I don't think they want to be co-champs because of a snowstorm.
"We could probably scramble around and get the games in … we don't want to cheat the girls for working hard all season to be co-champs. We'd love an outright champ — whether its us or Elco or anybody else. I think we should have the girls settle it on the court."
Of course, in order for there to even be a one-game playoff, Elco and Manheim Central would both have to win out — whenever those games are.
Bottom line: The next several days are going to be very, very messy.
"It's a tough situation, but I don't think we'll panic," Coletti said. "Hopefully we'll have our game Tuesday and we'll go from there. We have some good senior leaders who would love to win a section championship — and we're still tied here."
Tied in large part because Elco had a hot-shooting second half, and because Raiders' defensive whiz Lexi Shaffer did an outstanding job marking Barons' sniper Carly Leitzel, who was held to a season-low 2 points.
Leitzel was averaging 14 points a game coming in.
Against Elco, she shot 1-for-6 from the field.
"We played a diamond-and-one defense on her," said Yoders, who scored 8 of her 15 points in the second half and grabbed a game-high 9 rebounds.
"(Leitzel) is their most consistent shooter and she scores a lot of points. With Lexi on her, she wasn't even really looking to shoot. That was our goal."
Renee Wiegand (13 points, 8 rebounds) and Rachelle Wiegand (6 points, 7 rebounds) had some success in the paint for the Barons.
But Leitzel seemingly never shook free to get any good looks off picks, and Morgan Mummau was just 1-for-5 from 3-point range for Manheim Central.
"Diamond-and-one … that's what it looked like to me," Coletti said. "They were chasing Carly all over the place."
Elco employed the same defense against Lebanon Catholic standout Hailey Carangelo on Jan. 21.
The Raiders had Shaffer and Brittany Hartman in a diamond-and-one look chase Carangelo, who was held to a season-low 10 points, and Elco won that game 55-44 to remain on the Barons' heels.
"I don't like having to play some of the defenses we've been playing lately," Meyer said, "but we've been getting great results."
Elco also got some clutch buckets in the second half Monday, with Shaak and Heather Kahl knocking down large fourth-quarter 3-pointers to help the Raiders pull away.
"We knew this game could be a deciding factor (in the race)," Yoders said. "I'm glad we're playing well as a team right now because this is when it matters most … the league playoffs and Districts are coming, and we're playing well together and we're winning games."
And the race is tied.
"I don't think it's panic time," Coletti said. "We really didn't lose anything tonight … other than a little bit of pride maybe. The girls are disappointed because they know they can play better. So I'm not panicking."
Unlike the L-L League athletic directors who could have some serious schedule flip-flopping to do in the next 48 hours.
NOTES - The Barons out-rebounded the Raiders 27-25. … Elco turned the ball over 16 times; Manheim Central just 10 times. … Shaak's previous season-high for points was 15 against Cocalico on Jan. 8. She also hit a first-half 3-pointer against the Barons, who led 7-6 after the first quarter. … Elco used a 12-5 third-quarter run and grabbed a 27-19 lead heading into the fourth quarter. The Raiders' largest lead was 13 points down the stretch, on Shaak's 3-pointer. … Elco has won three games in a row, and the Raiders are 6-2 since their last meeting with Manheim Central. … The Barons have lost two games in a row. … It was Senior Night in Myerstown Monday: Hartman, Kahl, Yoders and the Raiders' scorebook keeper were honored before the game.
Sports writer Jeffrey Reinhart can be reached at jreinhart@LNPnews.com or 291-8777.
