The Hempfield girls' basketball team earned the Lancaster-Lebanon League trophy with a comeback win on Saturday, February 27, defeating Lancaster Catholic. The Black Knights claimed the league championship with a dominant overtime period, beating the Crusaders 60-51 in an afternoon game played at Manheim Township.

Hempfield staged a third-quarter rally to gain momentum in this game. The Knights (14-4) trailed 29-16 at the midway point.

"When you play a team like Lancaster Catholic, they are going to play high-pressure defense," head coach Kendra Merrifield remarked. "Not that it rattled us, but they capitalized on our mistakes.

"Our girls started to find their momentum," said Merrifield. "There were two big steals that led to points for us. Also, Orianna Edmond came up huge on the boards in the second half."

Hempfield outscored LC by a 17-5 margin in the third quarter. The teams concluded regulation play tied 48-48.

"Going into overtime our kids had a lot of energy - momentum was on our side," Merrifield said. "Lauren Moffatt had fire in her eyes. She and a couple of the other girls had that passion and drive that carried the momentum into overtime."

While Jess Weinoldt led the team with 13 points, Moffatt and freshman Sophia Ott each scored 11 points to give the Knights yet another win with a balanced scoring attack.

Edmond finished with seven points - five of which came at the free throw line.

Addressing the balanced scoring, Merrifield added, "We're playing good team basketball. In the papers, there is always a lot of talk about the top scorer. It doesn't matter who's the leading scorer for us.

Two nights earlier, Hempfield played host to Lancaster Mennonite in a league semifinal game while Lancaster Catholic played host to Cocalico in the other semi.

The Knights rebounded from the Blazers' strong second quarter - a rally that put the visitors ahead 24-21 at halftime. Hempfield went on another big third-quarter run, outscoring Mennonite 16-5 en route to a 47-34 victory.

Edmond (15 pts) and Ava Baer (14 pts) topped the scoring for Hempfield while Moffatt added 11. Kira Mattes added seven points.

The Hempfield team that had won the league championship with a second-half comeback fell short to Harrisburg on Tuesday, March 2, in the first round of the District Three Class 6A playoffs. The Cougars were held to only nine points in each of the first two periods. They outscored the Knights 29-16 in the second half, ending the L-L League champs' season with a 47-43 win at Landisville.

"They aren't super big," Merrifield said of Harrisburg. "They have a lot of athleticism in their guard play - a lot of quickness."

Ah'Nae Robinson scored a game-high 17 points to help Harrisburg. Moffatt and Edmond finished with 13 and 10 points, respectively, as the Knights' season ended at 14-5.

"The beginning of this year, we talked about how this team was able to do big things," Merrifield said. "They absolutely made the best of this season - came through with extreme resilience."

BOYS' BASKETBALL

The boys' team came up one point short in the league championship game at Manheim Township Saturday, Feb. 27. Lebanon sprinted ahead to a 24-12 halftime lead and managed to hang on for a one-point margin of victory in a 41-40 final.

The Knights, who fell to 12-4 on the year, were led by Miguel Pena and Ryan Hilton, who scored 11 points each. Brandon Hagel added six points.

Three days earlier, Hempfield's 19-10 run in the fourth quarter gave the team a 58-52 victory over Lancaster Catholic in the L-L League semifinal game at Landisville.

Pena poured in 13 points to lead Hempfield while Hilton and Daivon Edmond-Green each tallied 11 points. Cole Overbaugh put up eight points.

Being the league runner up, the Knights' season continued into the District Three 6A playoffs. With Pena putting up 20 points, the Knights got their revenge on Lebanon in the first round of districts with a 62-58 victory. The four-point margin was the same advantage Hempfield held at halftime - 27-23.

Pena connected from three-point range three times. Hilton scorched the net for 16 points and Michael Hester added 12.

WRESTLING

Spring Grove was the site of the Class 3A South Central Regionals on February 27. Hempfield's Reagan Lefevre came through as the champion at the 145-pound weight class.

"It was the first time we have had a district champ since 2013," said Hempfield coach Shane Mack.

Lefevre won on an 11-3 major decision over Noah Rice of York Suburban in his first match of the day. He did not take his foot off the accelerator as he majored Alex Sensenig of Wilson, 9-1. He concluded with a tough 8-6 decision against Ryan Garvick of Central Dauphin.

"The kid Reagan beat he had lost to twice during the regular season," Mack noted.

As a team, the Knights finished 11th with 35 team points. Central Dauphin finished atop the team standings with 94 points.

Senior Gio Luciano finished fourth at 113. He majored Braxton Rice of Spring Grove only to suffer a heartbreaking 8-6 defeat in overtime to Carlisle senior Noah Clawson.

Following his 9-1 major in the consolations, he came up short in the third-place match to Cedar Cliff's Aiden Lewis, who won 3-0.

"Gio wrestled very well," Mack said. "He lost to the defending state champ in the third and fourth place match."

Seamus Mack posted a 3-1 victory in the consolations only to fall short to Manheim Township's Josh Hilliard - the eventual third-place finisher at 120.

Dylan Bard was winless on the day - uncharacteristic for the dominant Knight. He lost 6-2 to Gettysburg's Jacob Cherry and bowed out in the consis after a 9-5 loss.

"Dylan was just off this weekend," said the coach. "He would like to have those back."

Caleb Mussmon suffered two falls in the heavyweight class.

"It's the first time Caleb has made districts," Mack said. "Heavyweight is a tough weight for a young kid. He's a sophomore."