The Garden Spot girls' basketball team rebounded from a loss at Ephrata the previous week by beating Elizabethtown in overtime by a 38-35 score on Tuesday, January 24.

It was Garden Spot's second win of the season in L-L League play as the Spartans improved to 3-15 (2-6 league).

The buzzer sounded to mark the end of regulation of this contest at Garden Spot. The teams were tied at 30-30. The Spartans, who had relinquished a 27-21 lead in the fourth quarter, made the key shots in the extra period.

The Spartans' Morgan Pavelik and E-town's Jadyn Lloyd tied for the top scoring honors with 12 points each. A.J. McClain poured in 10.

Spot was coming off a 60-25 loss at Ephrata the previous Friday. In a game played at Ephrata Middle School, the Mountaineers' defense limited the Spartans to 13 points through the first three quarters.

Nikki Zeiset led the Spartans with 13 points, converting on a pair of three-point baskets.

Jasmine Griffin scored 26 points for the Mountaineers, who improved to 12-4 (6-1 league).

BOWLING

Garden Spot's bowling team improved to 37-26, with a Section Three win over Lancaster Mennonite on Tuesday, January 24 at Dutch Lanes.

Gavin Courtney rolled a 527 on the day. As a team, the Spartans tallied 2382 pins to the Blazers' 1891.

BOYS' BASKETBALL

Garden Spot was unable to hold off Ephrata's relentless comeback attempts on Friday night, January 20, in a Lancaster-Lebanon League boys' basketball game in New Holland. The Spartans came up short in a 44-40 final.

The Mountaineers, who improved to 9-6 (3-4 league) climbed out of a 10-3 hole and even managed to overtake the Spartans at halftime 16-13. And it was only a one-point game heading into the fourth quarter - Ephrata up 30-29.

Part of the reason the Mountaineers' offense caught a spark was Cooper Truskey, hitting five three-point baskets. He scored all 15 of his points from three-point range.

Jace Conrad led Spot with 14 points, going a perfect 4-for-4 at the free throw line. Dylan Nolt and Bruce Weaver each finished with six points.

The Spartans fell to 5-11 (2-6 league) following a 45-35 loss at Elizabethtown on Tuesday, January 24.

After spotting Spot a 22-13 halftime lead, the Bears, led by Braden Cummings (17 pts), mauled their way back, outscoring the Spartans 32-13 in the second half.

Conrad finished with a team-high 12. Zach Uplinger and Owen Usner scored six and five points, respectively.

WRESTLING

At the Denver Duals on Saturday, January 21, the Garden Spot wrestling team topped Annville-Cleona in a consolation match but fell to Cocalico in a close 36-30 final.

The Spartans battled to the very last match against Cocalico with the Eagles' Timothy Porter escaping with a 5-3 decision over Tomo Allen in the 133-pound bout.

There were a few other close results in the match, including Josiah Smucker coming up just short in a 6-2 decision at the 139-pound weight class.

Sean Kelch came through with the Spartans' first points of the match, taking down Gabriel Lesher in a second-period pin. That came in the 160-pound battle.

At 172, Albert Vega notched yet another pin, drawing the Spartans even closer at 15-12.

Blake Weaver suffered a tough 5-3 loss at 189. But Garden Spot ran off 18 straight points thanks to pins b Tyler Hurst (215) Mason Musser (285) and a forfeit by the Eagles at 107.

Allen's effort at 133 was commendable, given that a forfeit at 121 and an injury default at 127 helped Cocalico collect 12 points and retake the lead 33-30.

In the Annville-Cleona match, Smucker had a pin at 139 and Kelch decisioned Ayden Heilman 10-5 at 152.

The Spartans were aided by forfeits at 189 and 215 while Musser came through with a pin at 285. Two of the final three weight classes went to the Spartans with uncontested team points thanks to A-C forfeits. Garden Spot won 39-27.

AIR RIFLE

In a battle between two of the top air rifle teams in the L-L League, Garden Spot lost by one point to Manheim Township on the road, Thursday, January 19. The Blue Streaks were led by Alyssa Dunn and Alex Fehrrenbacher - both of whom shot 100's.

Jack Werner hit the century mark for Garden Spot while a quartet of marksmen finished with 99's. Leksi Bender, Matthew Sauder, Magadalene Martin and Trevor Jones all tied for the second-best score on the team. Garden Spot fell to 5-3 on the year.

The Spartans shot back with a victory over Ephrata on Tuesday, January 24. This time it was a quartet of shooters reaching the 100-point mark and leading Garden Spot to a 498-494 win.

Bender, Sauder, Werner and Jones each hit 100 on the day while Martin shot a 98.