Girls pick up hoops win over Greyhounds

By Ed Gotwals on 1/27/26

 

Greencastle-Antrim 63, Shippensburg 57: The Blue Devils avenged an earlier loss to the Greyhounds by dominating the fourth quarter in a Mid Penn Colonial game on Tuesday night at home.

 

Ellie Bigler

 

“We had some foul trouble in the first half and the bench kept us in the game in the second quarter,” G-A coach Scott McKeever said. “Then, led by Callie (Izer) and Kiersten (Swain), we put together a winning fourth quarter.

 

“Callie attacked the rim from the high post (she scored 8 points in the period) and Kiersten hit two of her four 3-pointers, and we pulled out to an 8-point lead with about 3 minutes to go. Then we closed it out on foul shots by Liv Carey, Ellie Bigler and Swain.”

 

Lily Weller tossed in 21 points for Shippensburg (9-10, 6-6 MPC) and Tressa Triplett added 12 points.

 

Swain poured in a career-high 28 points for the Blue Devils — she made 5 of 9 from long range and hit 9 of 10 free throws — and she was helped by Izer (18 points) and Sophie Fries (10 points).

 

Izer and Bigler each made 7 steals, and Bigler added 8 assists and 11 rebounds. Fries had 3 steals and 4 boards and Swain assisted on 3 baskets.

Blue Devils hoops team defeats West Perry

By Ed Gotwals on 1/22/26

 

Greencastle-Antrim 60, West Perry 27: Already leading by 15 points at halftime, the Blue Devils outscored the Mustangs 25-7 in the second half to claim a Mid Penn Colonial win Thursday night at home.

 

Liv Carey

 

With their third win in the last 4 games, the Blue Devils moved their record to 9-8 (5-6 MPC).

 

G-A coach Scott McKeever said, “Coming off a big win Tuesday over Waynesboro, I wanted the girls to understand that this game meant just as much to our postseason aspirations as that one did. They responded well across the board.

“I was pleased with our energy and execution. We had 17 assists and only 11 turnovers. That’s the kind of execution we’re looking for down the stretch.”

 

Kiersten Swain knocked down four 3-pointers on her way to 16 points to lead G-A. The team hit 8-for-19 from long range.

 

Liv Carey and Sophie Fries added 10 points each. Fries added 14 rebounds, Ellie Bigler had 5 assists, Callie Izer, Morgan Baer and Braelyn Cordell each had 3 assists and Izer added 5 boards and 4 steals.

Big 4th quarters lifts Blue Devils to win

By Ed Gotwals on 1/20/26

 

Greencastle-Antrim 75, Waynesboro 63: A big fourth quarter — including an 11-for-13 effort at the free throw line — lifted the Blue Devils to a 12-point win over the Maidens in a home Mid Penn Colonial game Tuesday night.

 

Sophie Fries

 

Waynesboro (6-9, 6-4 MPC) led by 7 points at halftime, but by the end of three periods, the game was tied 47-47.

 

Greencastle (8-8, 4-6 MPC) then put up 28 points in the fourth quarter to salt the game away.

 

For the game, G-A hit 29 of 43 foul shots, while ‘Boro made 13 of 20.

 

In the fourth, Kiersten Swain scored 9 points for the Blue Devils, while Ellie Bigler and Sophie Fries each scored 7. Bigler was 7-for-8 shooting free throws in that period and was 11-for-14 for the game.

 

For Greencastle, which had lost by 7 to ‘Boro earlier in the season, Fries dropped in 21 points and Callie Izer poured in 20 — both were career-high totals. Also, Swain produced 18 points and Bigler had 11.

 

Bre McIlquham notched 18 points for the Maidens, while Braelynn Pearson had 14 and Aly Shockey 11.

Northern hands Blue Devils  a division setback

By Ed Gotwals on 1/16/26

 

Northern York 44, Greencastle-Antrim 33: The Blue Devils kept the powerful Polar Bears within reach until a rough fourth quarter sealed their fate in a Mid Penn Colonial game Friday night at home.

 

Braelyn Cordell

 

Northern (12-2, 8-1 MPC) trailed 29-27 at the end of three quarters against Greencastle (7-8, 3-6 MPC), but rallied to take the win with a 17-4 advantage in the fourth period.

 

“The first three quarters were as tight as a game could be,” G-A coach Scott McKeever said. “It was a game that featured hard-nosed, physical defense. Scoring was difficult at both ends. Northern found some cracks in our defense early in the fourth to go from two down to six up.”

 

The Bears also hit 4 of 6 free throws down the stretch. Liz Montgomery led with 10 points.

 

For the Blue Devils, Braelyn Cordell led with 8 points, Ellie Bigler had 7 and Liv Carey and Kiersten Swain scored 6 each. Also, Sophie Fries grabbed 10 rebounds, Callie Izer had 4 boards and 3 steals and Cordell added 3 steals.

Blue Devils beat Eastern York in hoops

By Ed Gotwals on 1/15/26

 

Greencastle-Antrim 44, Eastern York 31: The Blue Devils held the Golden Knights scoreless in the first quarter and turned it into a non-league victory Wednesday night in a home game.

 

Callie Izer

 

G-A (7-7) held a 19-7 lead by halftime, led by Liv Carey and Callie Izer scoring 12 of those points.

 

“We had our best defensive effort of the season,” Greencastle coach Scott McKeever said. “The girls understood their individual assignments and went out and executed. This was a good team win against a good team.”

 

Eastern York (10-5), which got 15 points from Ivory Strawsbaugh, rallied to get within 3 points midway through the fourth quarter, but a 3-pointer by Kiersten Swain stemmed the rally. Izer made 6 of 8 free throws in the final quarter to pad the lead again.

 

Izer scored 11 points, took down 9 rebounds and added 3 steals. Swain also scored 11 points, Ellie Bigler had 9 boards and 5 assists, Sophie Fries got 8 rebounds and Carey had 5 rebounds.

Lady Blue Devils fall on road to Blue Raiders

By Ed Gotwals on 1/14/26

 

Middletown 62, Greencastle-Antrim 36: The Blue Devils had trouble playing the Blue Raiders — the No. 2 team in Class 5A in District 3 — and dropped a Mid Penn Colonial contest on the road Tuesday night.

 

 

“We kept it close in the first half, even though they made it difficult to run our offense,” G-A coach Scott McKeever said. “In the second half they had a couple of big runs that made it hard to get back in it. The girls never quit and I am proud of the way they compete.”

 

Kiersten Swain scored 8 points for Greencastle (5-8, 3-5 MPC). Liv Carey and Ellie Bigler each added 7 points, while Sophie Fries grabbed 8 rebounds and Bigler also had 4 boards and 2 steals.

 

For the Blue Raiders (13-0, 8-0 MPC), Jayla Koser led the way with 18 points.

Lady Blue Devlis Get Road Win at East Pennsboro

By Ed Gotwals on 1/9/26

 

Greencastle-Antrim 51, East Pennsboro 29: After a slow start, trailing 7-6 against the winless Panthers, the Blue Devils got it going and rolled to a Mid Penn Colonial victory Friday night in Enola.

 

By halftime, G-A (6-6, 3-4 MPC) held a 14-point lead.

 

“We didn’t start how I would have liked,” Blue Devil coach Scott McKeever said. “We need to get better at that, but once we got moving and brought the game up to our speed, things went much better.

 

“Our five starters are getting used to playing together and Alannah (Coleman), Morgan (Baer), Miranda (Martin) and Braelyn (Cordell) all contribute off the bench.”

 

Ellie Bigler

 

Kiersten Swain poured in 23 points for Greencastle. Sophie Fries had 13 rebounds and Ellie Bigler grabbed  9 rebounds and Callie Izer made 5 steals. 

Girls hoops defeat Gettysburg

By Ed Gotwals on 1/6/26

 

Greencastle-Antrim 67, Gettysburg 41: The Blue Devils scored as many points in the first half (41) and the Warriors did for the game and captured a Mid Penn Colonial victory at home Tuesday night.

 

Alannah Coleman

 

“Sometimes, like the Wizard of Oz goes, there is no place like home,” G-A coach Scott McKeever. “This was only our second home game in the first 11 games.”

 

The first period saw some torrid shooting, with the teams combining for eight 3-pointers, and G-A led by 4. But the Blue Devils (4-7, 2-4 MPC) outscored their foes 18-3 in the second to take a big lead at the half (41-22).

 

For the game, Greencastle held a 50-22 advantage in rebounds. Four players reached double figures in scoring — Sophie Fries (14), Ellie Bigler (12), Alannah Coleman (11, a career high) and Callie Izer (10).

 

McKeever said, “The game was very up-tempo from the tip to the end, with a lot of possessions. We did a good job of taking care of the ball against their full-court press, which led to some easy baskets. I was proud that our girls could match their pace and energy for 32 minutes.”

 

In other stats, Fries grabbed 20 rebounds, Bigler had 13 and Izer 10, and Izer had 5 assists.

 

For Gettysburg (6-6, 2-4 MPC), Bailey Irvin scored 15 points.

Balanced Mustangs top G-A girls

By Ed Gotwals on 12/5/25

 

South Western 56, Greencastle-Antrim 25: The Mustangs put 9 players in the scoring column and handled the Blue Devils in a first-round game of the South Western Tip-Off Tournament on Friday night in Hanover.

 

Liv Carey

 

South Western will play York Catholic in the final Saturday at 4 p.m., while G-A will play Carlisle at 2:30. The Herd fell 45-40 to York Catholic.

 

Carly Louey paced the Mustangs with 22 points, scoring 6 in the first period and 8 each in the second and third.

Greencastle (1-1) had no players in double figures. Liv Carey led in scoring with 8 points.