(Bob Stoler)Greencastle-Antrim's Katie Gelsinger (top left) and Chloe Hoover (far right) scramble for a loose ball against Palmyra's Josie Stovall (22) and Kathryn McClellan during Tuesday's District 3-AAA girls' basketball consolation game at Central Dauphin East High School.

By Ben Destefan

HARRISBURG — The captivating script seemed destined for a much different final chapter.

For nearly three months, the Greencastle-Antrim girls’ basketball team has been rewriting history during its rise to prominence, propelling the program to the brink of its first-ever berth in the state tournament.

On Tuesday night, the storybook journey unraveled into a disheartening ending.

Unable to solve Palmyra’s suffocating, man-to-man defense, the Blue Devils struggled with uncharacteristic mistakes throughout, culminating in a 45-26 loss in the consolation round of the District 3-AAA playoffs at Central Dauphin East High School.

Known for balance and ball movement, G-A’s season-low point total was largely in part to committing 32 turnovers, routinely losing possession before sets were able to develop.

When the Blue Devils did manage to put up a contested shot, they made only 9-of-40 attempts from the field, resulting in a 25-13 deficit at the half before a three-point third quarter produced a 34-16 hole entering the fourth, where G-A never got closer than 18.

“They’re a very solid defensive team,” Blue Devil head coach Mike Rhine said. “Our game plan was to use the dribble-drive, kick it out, create matchups and try to back door them. We just didn’t do it and they didn’t allow us to ever get comfortable.”

With the win, Palmyra (21-4) booked a return trip to the PIAA playoffs and advances to face Berks Catholic in District 3’s fifth-place game on Thursday.

The loss brings the Blue Devils’ memorable campaign to a close with a final record of 22-3, establishing a promising foundation for a team slated to lose only one starter in senior Chloe Hoover.

Still, as evident against defending district champion Palmyra, G-A must continue progressing in order to reach the next level.

“We’re just not strong enough with the ball as a group yet,” Rhine said. “We knew defense was going to be a big part of it, and they did things that we need to be able to do. There’s a natural growth period with a young team and hopefully our girls continue to improve as much as they did this year.”

Early on, both sides appeared out of sync, leaving the game tied at 8 at the end of one.

With Palmyra beginning to settle in, the frustration started to mount for G-A, as seven straight Cougar points opened the second prior to a Hoover 3 accounting for the Blue Devils’ first field goal of the frame with 4:45 remaining.

Maintaining a 15-11 lead, Palmyra closed the quarter on a 10-2 run, capped by a Kristen Smoluk layin and a 3 from Molly Gundermann, allowing the Cougars to seize control entering the locker room.

“The little run they had at the end of the second quarter was devastating to our confidence,” Rhine acknowledged. “It’s one thing to only be down 12 at the half, but when you’ve only scored 13, there’s a big difference.”

Things began to snowball in the third, with Palmyra’s relentless defensive effort stifling any attempt of the G-A comeback.

During the eight-minute span, the Cougars forced 12 Blue Devil turnovers, yielded just six shots and surrendered only one field goal — a Jenay Faulkner 3 with 2:30 remaining — to push its lead to 34-16 despite netting just nine points of their own in the frame.

In all, Palmyra outscored G-A 26-8 in the second and third, compounded by the Blue Devils committing 19 of their 32 turnovers during those two quarters.

Comfortably in command, a bucket by Katie Dembrowski granted the Cougars their largest lead of the night at 38-17 with 6:20 remaining, allowing Palmyra to slow the tempo over the closing minutes.

Despite a steal and finish by Hoover and a three-point play from Faulkner in the late stages, time ultimately expired on the game and G-A’s season.

“Our girls battled, they’re just a better team than us right now,” Rhine said. “We’ll take the experience we gained this year and try to build on it moving forward. I’m very proud of this team. It’s just a tough way to have it end.”

Smoluk led all scorers with a game-high 13 points followed by 12 from Maria Tukis, who did a tremendous job locking down G-A’s ballhandlers on the defensive end.

Faulkner paced the Blue Devils with 11 points while Hoover and Gelsinger both finished with five.

Of note, the Cougars’ convincing performance came without star senior Carly Richardson, a Bucknell recruit that missed the game with an ankle injury.

Richardson’s status for the remainder of Palmyra’s season remains unclear.