Pioneers slip past Mounts

The Lampeter-Strasburg girls’ basketball team rallied from a nine point fourth-quarter deficit to force overtime and knock off Ephrata, 61-60, in double-overtime in the first round of the Ephrata Holiday Tournament on Monday.

After rallying to tie the game at 44 in regulation, Hanna Garber paced the Pioneers with six of her eight points in overtime while Laura Horner also tallied six of her 14-points in extra time.

The Pioneers went 11 for 13 at the free-throw line, while the Mountaineers were just 3 for 9 in overtime.

The Pioneers held a 14-12 lead after the first quarter before the Mountaineers took their first lead of the game with just 33 seconds left in the first half on a dribble-drive bucket from Kenzie Horst.

The Mounts led throughout the second half, extending the lead to 41-32 behind a 9-4 run early in the fourth quarter. Horst scored six-points during the run, while Caroline Stauffer (11 points) added a 3-pointer. Kasey Umana added 13 points for Ephrata.

Turning point: The Pioneers outscored the Mountaineers 12-3 over the final 3:30 of regulation, with five players tallying at least two points during the run. Nevin Hoenninger (team-high 17 points) hit the game-tying 3-pointer with 20 seconds left.

Star of the game: Horst scored a game-high 22 points on 9-for16 shooting from the field to lead Ephrata.

Key statistic: The Mountaineers shot just 10 for 26 (38 percent) from the free-throw line, including a dismal 5 for 15 (33 percent) in the fourth quarter and overtime.

Up next: Ephrata will host McCaskey in the tournament consolation game at 4 p.m., while Lampeter-Strasburg will face Palmyra in the championship game.

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