First-place Cedar Crest turns back the WHS girls

Warwick senior guard Kate Martin cuts between two Bishop McDevitt players on her way to the basket in the Lady Warriors’ win last Wednesday. (Photo by Stan Hall)

The Cedar Crest girls kept pace with Manheim Township atop the Section One standings on Tuesday night, beating Warwick 58-34 in Cornwall.

The win improved the first-place Lady Falcons to 6-1 L-L, two games ahead of Warwick, who fell to 4-3 league (6-7 overall). Rylee Derr led the Lady Warriors with 19 points, vaulting her ahead of Betty Emmerich into fourth place on Warwick’s all-time scoring list with 1,028 points.

Alyssa Austin finished with a game-high 22 points to lead Cedar Crest, who capitalized on an 11-2 run in the second quarter to open up a commanding 29-14 advantage at the half.

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True to their history this season, the Warwick girls came out strong in the third quarter last Wednesday.

A 13-2 run gave the Lady Warriors a 32-28 lead against Bishop McDevitt with 2:12 left in the period.

And suddenly, beating a McDevitt squad which entered the game with a 7-2 record seemed like a real possibility.

The Lady Crusaders regained the advantage and led by five points, 47-42, as late as 40 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. Still, Warwick clawed back to 47-46 and had possession with an opportunity to claim the lead.

In the end, Bishop McDevitt survived, capitalizing on two late free throws by Olivia Fasick and escaping with a 49-46 victory in the finals of the Warwick Holiday Tournament. Fasick and Mikayla Ruth paced the Lady Crusaders with 13 and 11 points, respectively, while Warwick junior Rylee Derr finished with a game-high 29 points, including the 1,000th of her career, in a losing cause.

Both Derr and junior Kasie Sheaffer were named to the All-Tournament Team.

“They played well,” Warwick coach Janelle Garber said of her players. “We didn’t really talk about how good of a team Bishop McDevitt was prior (to the game), but they are a very good team and we stepped up to the plate and played well.”

With a better showing at the foul line, the final outcome could have been a different story. The Warwick girls finished 17-of-27 from the stripe.

“Make five of those and it’s a different story,” Garber said. “We’ve been struggling from the foul line and we’ve been working on it and working on it. It does make a difference in games.”

McDevitt’s press was making a difference for them in the first half, when they forced nine of Warwick’s 15 turnovers. Plus, the Lady Warriors were just 6-of-28 from the floor in the opening two quarters, but managed to stay within reach, 26-19, going to the break. Ruth scored seven of her 11 points in the first half to lead the Lady Crusaders.

In the second half, Derr and Jamie Kolp scored on putbacks and Sheaffer connected beyond the arc on a 13-2 run which was capped by Katie Hipple’s inside bucket, putting the Lady Warriors up 32-28 with 2:12 left in the third. Overall, Warwick outrebounded McDevitt 40-32.

Sam Earle was injured in the opening half, but Derr (11), Hipple (9), Kolp (7) and Sheaffer (5) all did their part on the boards.

“They really stepped up,” Derr said. “Kasie’s little in there, but she gets those rebounds. She’s aggressive.”

McDevitt ended the quarter on a 7-0 surge and then went up 39-34 after Cheyanne Collins sank both ends of a 1-and-1 early in the fourth.

Derr then notched her 1,000th career point on a drive and pull-up J, cutting the Lady Crusaders’ lead to 39-36 with 6:36 remaining.

“I’m extremely happy for her,” Garber said. “She works hard, she sees the floor, and her IQ of basketball is very, very high, so it’s been fun to play her, and she is a tough girl.”

Sheaffer’s mid-range J got Warwick within one, 43-42, with 1:17 left, but then Fasick and Morrow went a combined 4-of-4 from the foul line, putting the Lady Crusaders up 47-42. McDevitt was 10-of-11 at the line in the fourth and 20-of-23 in the game.

From there, Derr converted a three-point play on a putback, then hit one of two at the stripe on a McDevitt technical, making it 47-46 with :19.2 left.

Moments later, Derr attempted a three-pointer to put the Warwick girls up, but the ball rimmed out.

Fasick’s two free throws with :6.1 left made it a three-point game, 49-46, leaving the Lady Warriors with little time to respond. Inbounding against McDevitt’s press, the ball was knocked loose near midcourt and Kolp attempted a desperation shot at the buzzer which was off the mark.

Last Tuesday, Dec. 29, Derr finished with 18 points and Hipple chipped in with 11, leading the WHS girls to a 43-38 win over Wilson West Lawn in the first-round of the Warwick Holiday Tourney.

Leading 21-15 at the half, the Lady Warriors found themselves tied 25-all heading to the fourth.

There, they outscored Wilson 18-13 to hold on.