The Pequea Valley girls' basketball team rebounded from a loss to Lancaster Mennonite by fending off Lancaster Country Day on Tuesday evening, January 26 at home.

The split with these two opponents gave the Braves a 1-3 record in the Lancaster-Lebanon League.

Mennonite's offense was led by the outside shooting of Jayla Rivera, who connected on four three-point field goals on a 16-point night as the Blazer beat the Braves 57-33. They gained command of the contest in the second quarter with a 22-9 run, also taking advantage of missed scoring chances by the Braves.

"We played hard, but we just couldn't put the ball in the basket," Jason McDonald, the Braves head coach, explained. "We missed layups and a few 15-foot jumpers. We were forcing turnovers in a fast-paced game. We had trouble scoring."

Rebecca Cox led the Braves in scoring with 12 points. Sarah Arment finished with seven points. Cox and Brooke Liney (5 points) each connected on a three-point basket.

The Section Five battle with Lancaster Country Day was a close one from start to finish. The PV girls triumphed 53-49, outscoring the visitors by a single point (32-31) in the second half.

One of the keys to the game was winning the boards.

Cox scored a game-high 19 points and grabbed 17 rebounds while Arment poured in 11 points to go with seven boards.

"We out-rebounded them by 12," said McDonald. "We took advantage of Rebecca's height."

The Cougars were led by Genesis Meadows, who tallied 17 points, including a 5-for-5 night at the foul line. Kiana Wakefield scored 12.

"It was us pressuring and getting out on the fast break, getting steals and jump shots," McDonald added. "Brooke Graham played amazing defense on Country Day's leading scorer Meadows. Brooke also had two key jump shots late in the fourth quarter."

BOYS' BASKETBALL

The week culminated with Pequea Valley losing a 74-52 Section Five contest at Lancaster Mennonite on Friday evening, January 22. The Braves were playing their fourth basketball game in five nights. The loss dropped the Braves to 1-3 overall (1-2 league).

"It was a tough week because we were off the week before then played four games in five nights," said Pequea head coach Thad Rittenhouse. "Due to the COVID situation, we're just not able to get in the gym. It is difficult to work on our offense with the lack of practice.

"By Friday, our guys were just running out of gas," Rittenhouse added. "Mennonite is a very good team and I'm not taking anything away from them. We were with them in the first quarter."

The Blazers only led by six points going into the second stanza. That was when they took control with a 22-10 run, earning a 43-25 advantage at intermission.

Leading all scorers on the night were Pequea's Devon Colyer and Mennonite's Cole Fisher, each of whom scored 16 points. Colyer connected on a three-point shot as did teammate Nevin Stoltzfus, who tallied eight points in the game.

"Nevin is the best outside shooter on our team," Rittenhouse remarked. "He's only a junior on our starting squad while the other four are seniors. The future looks big for him.

"He has been placed into the spotlight to score for us," Rittenhouse added. "He has worked hard in the off-season."

Luke Peifer and Antonio Lazar each finished with seven.

"Lazar is our best defensive player," said Rittenhouse. "He helps on that end of the court - probably one of the best in our section defensively."

WRESTLING

Returning seniors Dustin Huber, Luke Brown and Jace Beegle each registered a pin as did junior Liam McGinley in an L-L League wrestling match at Elco on Wednesday, January 20. Their efforts were not enough as the Braves' fell to the Raiders 39-36 in their first meet of the season.

It was a back-and-forth tussle that saw the Braves take an 18-6 lead in the first four weight classes thanks to the pins by McGinley and Beagle as well as the two teams' exchange of forfeits. McGinley earned a first-period pin in the 106-pound weight class and Beegle did the same at the 126-pound bout. Sandwiched in between were six uncontested points per side.

Two straight Elco pins and Tyler Anderson coming up just short in an 8-7 decision at 145 gave the Raiders a 21-18 lead.

A Pequea forfeit at 152 was offset by consecutive pins - Huber at 160 and Brown at 172. Having to forfeit the 189-pound match relinquished Pequea's three-point lead. The Raiders went up 33-30 and registered a pin in the 215-pound bout.