Chloe Wilkinson has started on Elizabethtown’s girls basketball Team since her freshman year. She handles the ball as the Bears’ point guard.
Chloe indicates this year’s E-town team is a younger squad, and the head coach is instilling togetherness and family. The team breaks every huddle with “Together, on Three.”
Hayden Martin competes as a senior shooting guard for Lampeter Strasburg’s basketball team. He averages 20 points per game.
Hayden and another returning senior will lead LS’s younger team this year. They plan to improve their team’s successes from last year by going beyond the first round of the state tournament.
Penn Manor's girls basketball team made the district playoffs last year, and Coach Mike Glackin looks to build on that promising season. The Comets finished 13-10, and a number of key players are back, looking to improve on that mark. They talked about the upcoming season at Penn Medicine Park for the LNP | Lancaster Online winter sports media day.
Seniors Ava Luciano, Alayzha Twyman, Aliya Stanley and Joelle Kroesen are a core four in veteran leadership. They'll be counted on to lead the Comets on another playoff run.
A longtime traditional contender in Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 1, the Hempfield Black Knights are looking to bounce back from last season’s unfamiliar record (3-19 overall, 1-9 Section 1).
Spencer Troyer, a 6-4 senior, has averaged 10.2 points per game for his career and he says the Knights are coming into this year ready to compete.
“We have a new mindset,” Troyer explained. “We don’t like the look of last year. We intend to change the script.”
Colton Hegener competes as a point guard on Lancaster Catholic’s boys basketball team. He has earned 3 varsity letters going into his senior year.
His goal this year is to lead the Crusaders to improving their record from last year and to make the playoffs. He says he specifically can make the team better if he can increase his assists to “Get the Win!”
Delaney Burke, a young relative of the sports-storied Burke family in Columbia, competes as a senior forward for the Columbia girls basketball team.
Early in their preseason practicing, Delaney sees the Tide as a “defense first and gritty” basketball team. Their goal is to “get every ball and every rebound!” She anticipates low-scoring games with Columbia winning.
Kyle Brown, McCaskey Junior and small forward, eagerly is looking forward to McCaskey’s first game versus Penn Wood. He says his team has been working hard in the off-season and plans to get to the playoffs.
McCaskey’s faces some key games — especially Reading, a physically tough team; Cedar Crest, loaded with height; and rival Manheim Township, with good shooters.
Kyle Knutsen, a 5-foot-10 senior guard, is optimistic about this season for the Comets. Coming off a 6-4 Section One record, 13-11 overall, Penn Manor returns a veteran core with some youngsters coming up.
“We want to win the Section, win the league and win at least one game in districts and get to states,” said Knutsen, who averaged 5.2 points per game last season with a game-high of 14 points in a win over Lebanon.
Madelyn Sieklicki competes as a senior for the Hempfield girls basketball team. This year she is working hard to be a starter at point guard or shooting guard.
The Black Knights are building a family cohesiveness among the team and plan to improve on last year’s record. Key teams on their schedule are Cedar Crest, Manheim Township and Penn Manor. Madelyn looks to Cedar Crest as the favorite to win Section 1.
Cocalico girls basketball team is working to build on last year's 12-10 record. The Eagles lost some key scorers from last season, but have veterans returning.
Senior Corinne Fair (top photo) is back. She is one of the league's leading three-point scorers. She hit for 51 last season, averaging 9 points a game, earning second team Section 2 all-star honors.. "I've been working on my 3-point shooting in the off-season, going out and shooting with my dad." Fair's long distance shooting is expected to open some space up underneath the basket.