The Garden Spot girls' basketball team wrapped up the regular season with three consecutive victories, posting a 5-12 mark for the year.

For a team that started 0-11, winning five out of six to end the year was a very positive takeaway for head coach Kevin Gensemer.

"It has been a great turnaround for the kids," he said. "They could have quit. Won five of their last six. I'm extremely proud of these kids."

In the non-league games to close out the season, the Spartans defeated Northern Lebanon on Friday, February 19, followed by victories over Lebanon and Donegal.

The Spartans showed resilience in their 45-42 victory over Northern Lebanon, coming back from a 35-29 deficit at the end of three quarters. The Vikings led 25-17 at the half, but the Spartans chipped away at the lead until their huge 16-7 run in the final period.

"We were losing the entire game," Gensemer recalled. "We came alive in the second half and outscored them 16-7 in the fourth quarter."

Taylor Soehner finished with a team-high 19 points for Spot while Erin Gonzalez scored seven. Soehner also grabbed eight rebounds.

"That was probably one of our most solid performances," Gensemer said.

The Vikings' Ashlyn Messinger scored a game-high 22.

"Avery Stauffer had a great game," Gensemer added. "We put her on their best player - Messinger. She did not have any points in the fourth quarter. That was a huge difference.

"Caroline Martin also did a good job for us defensively," added the coach.

Another close game followed in a mid-day Saturday clash at New Holland. And again, the Spartans put up 16 fourth-quarter points to seal a victory, this time over the Cedars.

With the score tied 32-32, the Spartans outscored the visitors 16-11 in the final period for a 48-43 win.

"We came out flat after playing the night before," Gensemer said. "We didn't have our legs early on.

"Fourth quarter again, we made some shots and some foul shots down the stretch," he added.

Soehner put up eight baskets and went 2-for-3 at the foul line for her team-high 18 points. Gonzalez poured in 15, including a three-point field goal. Caroline Martin and Nicole Zeiset each scored five points.

"Taylor had 14 of her points in the first half; Erin scored 13 of her 15 in the second half," Gensemer noted.

Coming out of the locker room to start the second half at Donegal, the Spartans outscored the Indians 38-24 enroute to a 64-51 win. Gonzalez was the leading scorer with 23 points, making 10-of-12 foul shots and hitting three jumpers from three-point range. Soehner was 11-of-12 on free throws and finished with 17 points. Morgan Pavelik scored 11.

"We made 12-of-14 foul shots in the fourth quarter," Gensemer noted. "That kind of iced it for us.

"Morgan Pavelik had nine of her 11 points in the second half. As a freshman she had a good year. She's one of the starters I'm excited to see returning next year."

WRESTLING

In the District Three Class 3A wrestling sectionals, the Spartans traveled to Governor Mifflin for the section 2 championships.

Garrett Gehr suffered his first loss of the year in the title match of the 132-pound weight class to earn second place while Dustin Swanson took the 285-pound championship with three decisive pins on the day.

In addition, Mason Casey claimed third place at 126. Adam Hahn came on strong through the brackets to take third in the 106-weight class.

Swanson pinned Noah Roehm of Twin Valley in only 35 seconds to start his day. He needed 1:01 to pin Ryan Peterson of Exeter, earning gold with a first-period pin against Colin Leahy of Daniel Boone.

Gehr entered the tournament with a 20-0 record. He pinned Tristan Mellinger of Ephrata and registered a second pin to earn a spot in the title bout.

Griffin Gonzalez of Lebanon improved his record to 26-1 with a tough 7-4 decision over Gehr.

Hahn's journey to third place began with a solid 2-0 decision against Oley Valley's Vinny Dick.

Hahn fought hard but lost a 3-0 decision to eventual 106-pound champ James Garcia of Wilson.

In the consolation rounds, Hahn pinned Eddie Nephtali of Lebanon in 34 seconds and had a second-period pin in the third-place match, defeating Dean Houser of Daniel Boone.

A close 8-7 loss was the only blemish on Casey's day at Governor Mifflin.

Following a pin in the first round, he lost the close decision to Stephen Spitko, who improved to 14-0.

In the consis, Casey claimed a first-period pin (Cocalico's Landon Eberly) and faced Taylor Gehman - his opening-round opponent - a second time. He defeated the Cedar Crest adversary in a 12-3 major decision.

Tyler Hurst had a remarkable pin in the first round of the 189-pound consolations. Following a fall with one second left in the first period of the opening round, Hurst broke out with a pin in 19 seconds. His run was stopped in the second round of the consis on a fall.

Mason Musser (215) fell to eventual champ Josh Harkness of Wilson but came back to pin Conrad Weiser's Manny Rodriguez before bowing out on a fall himself.

Aaron Martin (145) sandwiched in a pin between his two defeats on the day.

BOYS' BASKETBALL

With a heartbreaking 54-53 loss to Lampeter-Strasburg and a 47-35 loss to Cocalico, the Garden Spot boys' basketball team ended its season at 5-11 (2-6 league).

Prior to the two Section Three defeats, the Spartans had claimed that fifth victory of the year in a non-league home game with Northern Lebanon on Friday, February 19.

In the 53-42 win, Jess Martin, who scored 15 points, and Joseph Sharp (13 pts) led the Spartans' offense. Martin nailed a pair of treys.

Garden Spot led by five at halftime and poured it on in the final period with a 17-11 run.

The one-point loss at home was a Saturday afternoon league game. The Pioneers trailed 40-36 heading into the fourth quarter but pulled off the victory.

Martin and Brendan Weaver scored 13 and 10, respectively, for Garden Spot. The Spartan's top scorers combined for five treys in addition to more by Jonathan Vega, who finished with eight points. Sharp finished with eight points as well.

Cocalico kept Garden Spot's offense in check in the 47-35 win at New Holland on Monday. Sharp finished with a game-high 14, including two treys. Martin and Dylan Nolt each scored six points.