Elk Lake faced a new challenger with the same result Friday night.

The Warriors knocked off both of the other remaining second-half unbeaten, first facing their usual test from Montrose, then taking down an improving Lackawanna Trail team. The two wins allowed Elk Lake to remain unbeaten overall and clinch a share of the second-half Lackawanna League Division 4 title.

With the first-half title in hand, Elk Lake has three shots as clinching the all-season championship – by winning one more game, taking a second-half playoff, if necessary, or winning an all-season playoff if it should happen to come up short on the first two.

Matt Woolcock helped put the Warriors in that position of strength. He connected three times from 3-point range while scoring 19 points February 4 when Elk Lake defeated Montrose, 60-52. Woolcock then hit four 3-pointers Friday while scoring 20 points in a 74-55 victory over Lackawanna Trail.

Tanner Reyan added 17 points and Nick Dudock 16 against Montrose when Elk Lake outscored the Meteors in every quarter to gradually build its margin of victory.

Cameron Dean (15), Brenton Warner (14) and Troy Ely (10) all scored in double figures for Montrose.

Reyan had 18 points and Dudock 16 against Lackawanna Trail. The Warriors opened up a 14-point halftime lead while improving to 19-0 overall going into the first of two crossover games with Mid Valley Monday night.

Elk Lake finished the week 5-0 in the division. Montrose and Lackawanna Trail were each 3-1 to maintain slim title hopes.

WEEK IN REVIEW

Montrose and Forest City went into Monday night’s girls’ basketball showdown tied for the Lackawanna League Division 4 lead after each improved to 4-0 with wins Friday night.

First-half champion Montrose knocked off the division’s other second-half unbeaten, defeating Mountain View 61-43 behind Meghan Gilhool’s 21 points.

Makenna Whitaker scored 23 points in the loss and added 26 Saturday night, but Mountain fell out of title contention when it lost to Susquehanna, 63-61.

Amber Dubanowitz led Susquehanna with 17 points.

Cassandra Bendyk scored 22 points Friday to lead Forest City past Lackawanna Trail, 59-41.

In wrestling, the Lackawanna League Division 2 season is complete. The final standings: Western Wayne 5-0, Blue Ridge 4-1, Lackawanna Trail 3-2, Scranton Prep 2-3, Montrose 1-4, Elk Lake 0-5.

In professional hockey, the Binghamton Senators and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins reached the American Hockey League all-star break 1-2 in the East Division standings.

Binghamton hit the break at 29-15-1-3 despite giving up four power-play goals in a 5-1 loss to Portland Wednesday, then dropping a 5-4 overtime decision to Hamilton Saturday.

Mike Hoffman of the Senators was named CCM/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending February 2.

Hoffman had five goals and two assists in three games, including a four-goal game to tie a franchise record in a 6-3 win over the Worcester Sharks.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton took a 28-16-1-3 record into a Sunday game in Hershey after winning back-to-back home games the previous two nights.

Andrew Ebbett had two goals and an assist and the Penguins allowed just 13 shots on goal in Friday’s 5-1 win over Portland. They defeated Adirondack, 3-2, Sunday.

COLLEGE CORNER

Alex Cardoza broke into the starting lineup on the men’s basketball team at King’s College in mid-December and has remained there for 13 straight games.

The 5-foot-7 sophomore guard from Blue Ridge had come off the bench in six of the first seven games, including a November 73-69 win over Susquehanna University in which he had seven assists in 23 minutes.

Cardoza is second on the team in assists.

In 19 games, including 13 starts, Cardoza is averaging 1.8 points, 2.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 0.6 steals in 18.1 minutes. He is shooting 18-for-44 (31.8 percent) from the floor, 1-for-8 (12.5) from 3-point range and 6-for-8 (75.0) from the foul line.

King’s is 4-4 in the Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom Conference and 11-9 overall.

As a freshman, Cardoza came off the bench in 23 games and averaged 1.0 points, 1.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists.

THE WEEK AHEAD

Weather permitting, the Lackawanna League basketball regular season is scheduled to conclude with girls’ games Wednesday and boys’ games Thursday.

Any necessary playoff games will take place between then and the start of district play the following week.

The District 2 basketball tournaments will get underway with opening round action in Class AA girls and Class AAA boys scheduled for Tuesday, February 18, along with the quarterfinals of the Class AAAA girls’ tournament that is actually a subregional, along with District 4.

In professional hockey, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and Binghamton Senators will continue their battle for the AHL East Division lead Friday night at the Broome County Arena.

TOM ROBINSON writes a weekly local sports column for the Susquehanna County Transcript. He can be reached online at RobbyTR@aol.com.

SHEPHERD TO ATTEMPT DAYTONA 500

Morgan Shepherd in August, 2003 at Bristol

The start of the 2014 Daytona 500 is fast approaching, and 72-year-old Morgan Shepherd hopes to be in the field. If he makes it through qualifying, he will be the oldest driver to ever run in a “500.”

It’s possible. He made the Sprint Cup race last summer at New Hampshire, and completed 92 laps before falling out with mechanical problems.

Shepherd has competed in 15 previous Daytona 500s, with a career-best finish of second in 1992 while driving for The Wood Brothers.

His team is a collaboration of BK Racing, Randy MacDonald of MacDonald Motorsports and Dell Hamilton of Support Military Foundation/HMR. “Whenever you can break a record or make history, it's something special. To have Morgan in the car and the SMF presented on the car we couldn't be happier,” said Dell Hamilton. “We are still looking for a presenting sponsor for the race, Support Military Foundation colors will be on the car but we are hoping for a presenting sponsor to come along and help us with this unique initiative.”

Shepherd made his Winston Cup debut in 1970 at Hickory Motor Speedway, driving the No. 93 Chevrolet for Bill Flowers. His first Cup win came in 1981 at Martinsville.

SPEED WEEKS COMING UP

More than a week of racing events will commence during Daytona Speedweeks, beginning Feb. 15 at Daytona International Speedway and culminating with the 56th Daytona 500 on Feb. 23.

Weekend Television Schedule:

Sat., Feb. 15: ARCA Racing Series Lucas Oil 200 (80 laps); Starts 4 pm ET; TV: FoxSports1.

NASCAR Sprint Unlimited (75 laps); Starts 8 pm ET; TV: FoxSports1.

Sun., Feb. 16: Daytona 500 Qualifying; Starts: 1 pm; TV: Fox. (Note: Only the top-two fastest qualifiers are locked into the Daytona 500. The rest of the 43-car field will be determined by the Gatorade Duels, two qualifying races on Thurs., Feb. 20, plus how teams finished the 2013 season in points.

EVERNHAM RETURNING TO HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS

Jeff Gordon’s former crew chief Ray Evernham, who created one of NASCAR's most dominant teams in the 1990s, is leaving his position as broadcaster with ESPN and returning to Hendrick Motorsports.

He will serve as a consultant and be involved with the competition department, and while he may be in the pit area for some races, he will not act as a crew chief

“Now not doing the ESPN thing will allow me to be involved in some of the management and some of the things that they're doing at (Hendrick) Motorsports,” Evernham told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

“The best way to avoid a conflict of interest is to choose one or the other. I'm excited about being able to go and being involved in the management team on the motorsports side. I'll be working with everybody at Hendrick Motorsports. I've met with crew chiefs. I think I've got a good perspective as they face different challenges. I will be going to meetings and be involved in competition things that I've not been involved with in the past three years or so.”

STILL NO SPONSOR FOR DALE JR.

There is still no primary sponsor listed for the 88-car.

A lot of companies might want to have their name and logo on the side of Dale Earnhardt Jr’s. No. 88 Chevrolet, but few have come forward. There are no exact figures, but it is estimated the price would be from $26-30 million per season, with a multi-year contract.

Rick Hendrick emphasized last week that he has no timetable or deadline to land a new deal.

“We will listen to anybody and we're always looking, but there's no feeling of, 'Golly, we've got to find somebody,' because we've got two really good sponsors,” Hendrick said. “I'm wanting a long-term deal that fits and isn't a conflict with the other guys. We don't put any timetable on it. We have plenty of time.”

Could you spare a couple million, Mr. Hendricks?

NASCAR CHANGES PENALTY STRUCTURE

NASCAR has restructured its penalty structure and appeals process beginning this season.

In addition to these changes, they also announced the appointment of a new Final Appeals Officer.

“NASCAR's Deterrence System is designed to help maintain the integrity and competitive balance of our sport while sending a clear message that rules violations will not be tolerated,” said Steve O'Donnell, NASCAR executive vice president of racing operations. “This (the new rules package) is a more transparent and effective model that specifically spells out that 'X' infraction equals 'X' penalty for technical infractions. At the same time, we believe the Appeals process allows a fair opportunity for our NASCAR Members to be heard, and have penalty disputes resolved by an impartial, relevant group of people with the ability to handle the complexities inherent in any appeal. This system has been tailored specifically to fit the needs of our sport.”

Bryan Moss, former president at Gulfstream Aerospace, has been selected as the Final Appeals Officer. Moss will hear matters on appeal from the lower three-member Appeals Panel, and serve as the last decision on penalty disputes for the sport.

According to O’Donnell, NASCAR's new penalty and deterrence system is easily understood and specifically lays out exactly what disciplinary action will be taken.

The NASCAR statement concerning the changes was three pages long. I consider it too wordy, complicated, and filled with obscure catch-all phrases to attempt to cover it in one news article, in a realistic manner. We’ll just wait and see how it all plays out after the first case of cheating is announced.

According to the numbers provided by NASCAR, in 152 appeals heard since November 1999; 107 were upheld, 32 were reduced, 11 were overturned and in two cases the penalties were increased.

Racing Trivia Question: Does Kurt Busch still plan on running this year’s Indy 500?

Last Week’s Question: Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards’ contracts are up at the end of the 2014 cup season. Who do they drive for? Answer. Roush Fenway Racing.

You may contact the Racing Reporter at hodges@race500.com.

Meghan Gilhool has spent three seasons on the Montrose girls’ basketball team distributing the ball to teammates that represent the Lady Meteors’ various scoring options.

Along the way, Gilhool has also increased the amount of the scoring she does herself.

Megan Gilhool

Gilhool was Montrose’s leading scorer with 14 points in the game that decided the first-half Lackawanna League Division 4 title and hit two free throws with four seconds left to wrap up a 41-38 win at second place Forest City.

The Lady Meteors completed a perfect first half in the division with the help of 16 points by Gilhool in a 60-40 victory over Lackawanna Trail.

The junior point guard averaged more than 13 points a game, along with five rebounds and five assists, during January to earn the latest Susquehanna County Transcript Athlete of the Month award.

“We talk about roles and different things we’re looking for,” Montrose coach Al Smith said of Gilhool, who went from being a key sub to taking over a starting spot as a freshman on the 2011-12 team that reached the state Class AA semifinals. “I think her shooting has progressed as she has gotten older so she’s shooting more and shooting with more confidence.”

Gilhool more than doubled her point production from her freshman to her sophomore years. She has nearly doubled it again to a team-high 14 per game on the season.

“This year, I definitely feel like I need to be a more vocal leader and I need to score more points,” Gilhool said. “But, this year, I think as a team we have definitely come together a bit more and everyone is realizing their roles and everyone is scoring a bit more.”

The Lady Meteors went 8-2 for the month, losing only in a crossover game that does not count in the division standings and in a non-league game against Lackawanna League Division 1 first-half champion Scranton Prep.

As usual, the biggest challenge within the division came from Forest City. Gilhool finally settled that win after having a bad miss on her previous free throw attempt while the Lady Foresters were attempting a late comeback.

“My Dad has always told me to just shake off whatever happened before,” Gilhool said. “I tried to do that and just relax and remember all the things – keep my elbow in and my form. That’s what I tried to think about and luckily it helped me.”

Gilhool has made an impact as a three-sport athlete throughout her high school career at Montrose. She is also a prominent member of both winning soccer team in the fall and a championship track and field team as a sprinter and javelin thrower. She was part of a district championship 400-meter relay team.

Meghan is the daughter of Joe and Dana Gilhool of Montrose. Her father is the Montrose athletic director.