Jenay Faulkner (4) and the rest of Greencastle-Antrim's shooters will be a big factor when the Blue Devils face Berks Catholic in the second round of the PIAA Tournament on Wednesday. (chris dunn — gametimepa.com)

 

After cruising to a big win in the first round of the PIAA Class AAA Tournament, one thing is certain for the Greencastle-Antrim girls basketball team: it's not going to come that easy again.

 

The Blue Devils (25-3) will face off against District 3 foe Berks Catholic (22-6) at Cumberland Valley on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the second round, and while Greencastle was the District 3 champion, the Saints were actually the No. 2 seed in the district tournament before losing to Conrad Weiser in the quarterfinals. The Devils went into districts ranked fourth. Berks Catholic also beat Conrad Weiser twice during the regular season and dominated Lancaster Catholic 52-18 in the fifth-place consolation game in districts – Greencastle beat Lancaster Catholic by only four points in the quarterfinals.

 

"This is going to be a very big challenge," Greencastle coach Mike Rhine said. "They are very big, very athletic and they have good guards."

 

Berks Catholic center Devon Merritt will pose the biggest threat to the Blue Devils. At 6-foot-2, Merritt gives the Saints a considerable size advantage, and she's also the team's leading scorer at 17.3 points per game.

 

"We're going to have to mix things up on how we guard her," Rhine said. "The problem with a player like her is that you can play perfect defense, force a miss and she will get the rebound and put it back in. We can't let that happen."

 

Each of Berks Catholic's top four scorers are 5-11 or taller. Courtney Wensel (6-0) is averaging 10.3 points per game, and Brooke Wensel and MiKayla Lea are both 5-11 and averaging 8.6 and 6.7 ppg, respectively.

 

Rhine said, "We have to finish every possession with rebounds. We've been rebounding well, and that will have to continue. We also may throw in some other things to catch them off guard."

 

On offense, Greencastle could have the advantage. The Saints generally play a 2-3 zone, which could give the Devils' shooters enough space to shoot from the outside. Jenay Faulkner (17 points per game), Hannah Crist (11.8) and Jane Herman (8.6) all have the ability to get hot from beyond the arc in a hurry. Greencastle has shot well from the 3-point line throughout playoffs, but made just 2 of 17 against Audenried Charter in the first round of states.

 

"Hannah is pretty good at getting past the first line of defense," Rhine said. "If she can do that, it could open up some space for us to shoot. But we have to attack. It's really tough to get open shots when you just pass the ball around the perimeter."

 

And for the first time this postseason, Greencastle may be the team pushing the pace. Berks Catholic isn't typically a pressing team – the Blue Devils have faced a press throughout the playoffs – which means the Devils will be looking to get out and run the floor.

 

"We will probably try to get out in transition and run a bit," Rhine said. "We just have to keep attacking and pass well to get our shooters open."

 

Game data: PIAA Class AAA girls basketball second-round game ... Greencastle-Antrim vs. Berks Catholic... 7:00 p.m. Wednesday at Cumberland Valley.

 

Media: Follow @liziarbogast and @ShawnCMichael on Twitter for live updates from the game.

 

Teams: Greencastle (25-3) picked up a 55-33 win over Audenried Charter in the PIAA first round ... The Saints (22-6) beat Pope John Paul II 63-57 in the first round.

 

At stake: The winner will face the winner of West Perry (24-3) vs. McGuffey (20-8) in the quarterfinals on Saturday.

 

P.O. pick: Blue Devils by 3.