There are some victories that come easily. There are nights when earning a win can be an uphill battle.

On Tuesday night, February 28, Pequea Valley hosted the District Three Class 3A girls' basketball third-place consolation game against York Catholic. The Braves overcame an early deficit and some sloppy play to eke out a 59-58 victory, claiming third place in the district.

"At the beginning we came out a little frantic," said Shania Stoltzfus, who led Pequea Valley with 24 points. "We didn't have our spacing on offense and on defense they were getting open shots. We got our composure back."

Head coach Jason McDonald echoed those statements.

"It looked like we came out too hyper," he stated. "Once we settled in, we looked fine. But it took us that first quarter to settle in. Once we did that, we started looking like us.

"They pressured us," McDonald added. "But we were off our normal balance on offense. It took us a quarter, a quarter and a half to fix that.

The Braves (22-4) turned the ball over seven times in the first quarter, including two traveling calls. The Fighting Irish (17-8) built a 17-10 lead. The Braves did battle back to even the score at 19-19 with 5:48 remaining in the second quarter.

"We started getting a little aggressive," senior Sarah Arment said when asked about the turnaround. "Sometimes it takes a little to feel how the other team works and to analyze how they play. We can adjust after that."

Shania Stoltzfus, who led all scorers with 24 points on the night, hit three of her five three-point baskets in the second stanza. After an Amanda Reed (10 pts) basket gave York Catholic a 26-23 lead, Stoltzfus drilled her third trey of the period to tie it up again with two minutes left until halftime.

Arment helped lead the offense early in the second half, making a pair of baskets to keep Pequea close. Freshman Katie Stoltzfus made another basket while Shania Stoltzfus scored the Braves' next 10 points to give the home team its first lead of the night - 43-41 with 1:30 left to play in the third quarter. The lead came on a basket plus a foul shot.

"I just kept shooting and they kept going in," Stoltzfus said. "Everybody was saying 'Shania is hot; Shania is hot.' And my teammates kept feeding me."

"We saw she was hot, so Shania kept getting the ball," McDonald said. "You saw the confidence grow with her. Other kids also stepped up. Everybody played hard and did well."

"They just kept hitting three's," Stoltzfus said of York Catholic, who went 8-for-13 in long-range shots. "We played hard, and the shots started falling in for us. And he [McDonald] told us to limit turnovers - to be smart with the ball."

Heading into the fourth quarter, the Braves led by a 46-45 margin. Arment made three more baskets and connected on three key free throws down the stretch.

Asked about coming through in those pressure situations, the senior said, "Just like practice. I was thinking during the game, 'Just like practice.' It was form, follow-through and if I missed it, go get the rebound.

"Breathe, go through my routine," she added. "I look up and imagine it going in. Focus."

"That's what seniors do, they make the clutch foul shots," McDonald said. "She also came up with some big baskets."

The Irish still had some fight in them, grabbing two momentary one-point leads in the fourth quarter. Their final advantage was 49-48 with 4:43 left in the game. Arment's 2-for-2 free throw shooting with 1:24 to play, padded the lead to 56-52. She made one more free throw in the final minute while freshman Janae Patterson (11 pts) added a crucial basket. How crucial? Meredith Smith's three-pointer cut the lead to 59-58 - the eventual margin of victory for the Braves.

The victory means that Pequea Valley heads into the PIAA Class 3A state playoffs as the third seed out of District Three.

"It means a lot, especially doing it in my senior year," Arment said. "It's a great experience - the memories I'll have as a senior."

Realizing that the state playoff games are played at neutral sites, an emotional Arment added, "This was my last home game. Playing in this atmosphere with my family and all our fans was very special to me."

The Braves' leaders also included Katie Stoltzfus scoring eight points, Patterson dishing out eight assists and Shania Stoltzfus grabbing six rebounds.

Bre Beiler tied for the team lead with six rebounds. Arment grabbed four rebounds. Beiler, Arment and Morgan Graham each had two steals.

Paige O'Brien led York Catholic with 22 points, including four three-pointers.

The reason Pequea Valley was playing in this consolation contest was a 53-15 loss at Columbia in the district semifinals on Friday, February 24. Of the Braves' four losses this season, three were at the hands of the Lancaster-Lebanon League rival Crimson Tide, including two during the regular season.

"We struggle on their court," McDonald said. "We turned the ball over too many times.

"We played hard, but didn't shoot the ball well," he added. "Our defense did well, but we had a lot of turnovers, and our shots weren't going in for us. It was one of those things where once you hit one or two, then everybody gets going."

Columbia played Lancaster Catholic on the same night as the Braves' third-place game. The Crusaders defeated the Crimson Tide 49-34 at The Giant Center to claim the District Three 3A trophy.